Sangh Parivar

Noted yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who recently laid the
foundation stone for a $20 million yoga and ayurveda research centre in
Houston, has been invited by US Congressmen to display his yogic
excercises before them.

Congressman Nick Lampson, who attended Ramdev's five-day yoga camp held in Houston, invited him to Washington DC.

Republican
Lampson, whose Congressional district includes Fortbend County where
the yoga and research centre is being constructed, said the traditional
Indian exercises can indeed benefit the healthcare industry in the USA.

The
Houston centre, which will be based on the model of the 'Pathanjali Yog
Peeth' of Haridwar, founded by the yoga exponent 15 years ago, has
already raised over $5 million for the project, expected to be
completed in 2009.

"When the Haridwar centre was established, Rs
20,000 was borrowed to start the project. But in Houston, one-fourth of
the needed funds were raised on the very first day," Ramdev told PTI.

"Majority
of the people in India cannot afford healthcare and rising costs of
treatments, medicine and doctor visits and for those people yoga will
be a best alternative for having good health without paying anything,"
Ramdev, who wants to "revolutionise healthcare in India and around the
world", said.

The presence of a large Indian community prompted
the spiritual guru to choose Houston as the place for establishing the
centre, which will be set up in a sprawling 94-acre property in
Rosenberg, about 25 miles from Houston.

The project includes a
clinic to treat chronic ailments, a training centre for yoga teachers,
housing for active seniors and retirees, a herbal garden, retreat
centre, an vedic gurukul school for young children and a university.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jul/23yoga.htm