Priest advocates use of yoga to combat HIV-AIDS

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Priest advocates use of yoga to combat HIV-AIDS

19 Feb 2009, 0530 hrs IST, TNN

PANAJI: Fr ph Pereira, the first Christian priest to be awarded

the Padma Shri for social work this year, has said that in India

where

anti-retroviral treatment is beyond the reach of most people, yoga

can delay the onset of full-blown AIDS by five to ten years,

depending on the age of the person.

Popularly known as Fr Joe, the 67-year-old founder of Kripa

foundation has done pioneering work in the field of yoga for alcohol

de-addiction and HIV-AIDS in India and abroad for the last 27 years.

A native of Vasai, the priest attended the anniversary celebrations

of Kripa Rehabilitation Centre at Anjuna on February 15 and is

presently teaching yoga to a group of Britishers. He is a certified

instructor in the B K S Iyengar school of yoga.

Fr Joe has established several Kripa centres in Goa, including the

Kripa counselling centre at Mapusa and the Kripa rehabilitation

centre at Anjuna. " I teach yoga for alcohol addiction recovery and

for HIV-AIDS. Yoga is a very powerful means for strengthening the

immune system of a person, " Fr Joe said.

Kripa also runs a employee assistance programme to optimise employee

performance at the Goa Shipyard Limited, Vasco. Kripa has 48

facilities in 11 states in India and six collaborative centres in

Zurich-Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Canada, USA and Sao Paolo-

Brazil.

Reminiscing, Fr Joe said it was in 1981 that he first treated three

patients from Mother Theresa's Home in Mumbai for addiction, and all

three got cured. Mother Theresa was so happy that she called him to

Kolkatta and offered him her male orphanage to open his second and

one of the largest rehabilitation centres in Kolkatta.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/Priest_advocates_use_of_yoga_to

_combat_HIV-AIDS/articleshow/4151984.cms