A hospital in India combines naturopathy and yoga to treat patients, including the indigent, who suffer from many of the chronic conditions of modern life.
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| Sita Ananth |
Imagine a hospital where you check yourself in voluntarily on a quest to improve your health and quality of life. Imagine services are free of cost for the indigent, and charges are determined on a sliding scale based on income.
Such a hospital exists and has for the last 28 years in Bangalore, India. The Institute of Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences (INYS) is a one-of-a-kind institution founded with a vision to render affordable care for chronic ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and arthritis by a judicious blending of the ancient methods of yoga and naturopathy. People travel from all over the world to this 250-bed hospital to take advantage of its unique combination of treatments.
To understand why this institution was started, one has to go back several decades when S.R . Jindal, who hails from an industrialist family and is a founder of several large aluminum extrusion companies in India, became frustrated with the allopathic approach to medicine.
As a young man, Jindal found relief in both nature cure, or naturopathy, and yoga, which at the time were not seen as complementary approaches to health. His and his family’s devotion to philanthropy, as well as his passion for learning about naturopathy and spreading the word about its benefits to the general public, led to the eventual founding of INYS in 1978.
INYS patients often must wait a few months before a room is available; they stay a minimum of 10 days, and are not allowed to leave the campus during that time. Many of the accommodations are cottages on the hospital’s vast campus, rather than rooms in a vast building. On the campus, the hospital grows its own organic produce, which it harvests and serves to patients.
Three aspects of INYS cause it to stand out:
Combining allopathic diagnostics with natural methods. Complete allopathic screenings are conducted at intake and during daily meetings with the patient’s assigned naturopathic physician. A diet of fruits, vegetables, juices or fasting--depending on diagnosis--is prescribed. Daily treatments include hydrotherapy, massages, mudpacks and baths, and customized yoga sessions. Acupuncture and physical therapy are used if indicated.
Adopting a business model that enables free care for some patients. While much of the care is heavily subsidized by the Jindal family trust, the pricing structure allows for higher charges for those with the means to pay, such as nonresidents of India, and a choice of private rooms or suites for those who prefer their privacy and can afford to pay for it. This model allows INYS to provide free care, which includes accommodations, food and treatments for the indigent or low-income patients.
Focusing on education and lifestyle training. At INYS, naturopathy is the treatment and yoga is the way to maintain renewed health. A large part of the program during the patient’s stay is attending various classes in healthy cooking; understanding the principles of naturopathy and training in natural remedies the patient can use at home; and lifestyle changes and management of the patient’s daily routine to incorporate aerobic exercise, yoga and meditation.
To learn more about INYS and its inspirational work, please visit www.naturecure-inys.org.
Sita Ananth, M.H.A., is project director of CAM for Health Forum/American Hospital Association.
The results of Health Forum’s newly released 2005 Complementary and Alternative Medicine Survey of Hospitals, co-authored by Sita Ananth, are available by visiting www.healthforumonlinestore.com and clicking on the Data Products tab in the upper right-hand corner.
The next annual Integrative Medicine for Healthcare Organizations Conference will be held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego on April 12-14, 2007. To be added to the mailing list, please e-mail Sita Ananth at sananth@healthforum.com.
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This article 1st appeared on September 26, 2006 in HHN Magazine online site.
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