Doctor, it is time to heal thyself, says Yoga expert

Confronted with the maladies of fast paced life, coupled with the impatience of their demanding patients, the time has come for physicians to heal themselves.

And the advent of various factors including super- specialty and a constant nagging to update professional knowledge has made doctors more stress-prone taking a toll on their physical and mental health resulting in psycho somatic and lifestyle disorders, says a city-based Yoga Physician Dr Vineeta Ketkar.

Dr Ketkar, an MBBS who has undergone a 14-year training in Yoga therapy, claims that her interaction with a large number of medical practitioners has prompted her to offer a holistic support for the members of her fraternity that could enable them to promote their own well being that would be ultimately passed on to the patients.

Doctors are now admitting that fierce competition - one comes across half a dozen clinics in a lane in urban India---less time for proper clinical examination, an ever-increasing list of investigations and growing impatience and mistrust of patients, was affecting quality of their life rendering them more susceptible to the ailments to are supposed to treat, Ketkar told PTI revealing findings of her survey.

Apart from the material aspect of the issue, a steady but perceptible erosion of ethical values that governed the medical professional in the past, too was proving to be an unsettling factor for many physicians, she said.

We, through our medium, want to make doctors better equipped physically, mentally and also spiritually to deal with the prevailing scenario. It is important to promote their self-belief that they can sustain themselves and also flourish by adhering to a principled practice, Dr Ketkar said.

She said the holistic approach that imparts basic Yoga training to doctors covers Yama, Niyam, Aasana, Pranayama, Pratyahar, Dharna, Dhyan and Samadhi, the eight basic tenets of the Ashtangyoga propounded by Patanjali.

The doctors can also be trained to pass on their knowledge gained to the patients by selectively prescribing and complementing specific Yoga therapy to suit their needs and thus help in early recovery, Dr Ketkar said.

A brief history of science of Yoga, Vedas and Upanishdas and study of the principles in Bhagadgita is part of the programme chalked out by her, which she says, was evoking an encouraging response from physicians.

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