Union AYUSH Minister Shri Prataprao Jadhav Highlights Mind-Heart Link for Holistic Health at IHW Conference 2025

The International Integrative Health and Wellbeing Conference at Kanha Shanti Vanam brings together leading voices from medicine, Ayurveda, and yoga in a push for evidence-based integrative care models.

The third edition of the International Integrative Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Conference 2025 commenced at Kanha Shanti Vanam with a renewed call to align traditional wisdom and scientific health care. The event, hosted by the Heartfulness Institute, drew attention to the synergy between mind and heart as a pathway to holistic health, with Union Minister for AYUSH, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, delivering a keynote that emphasized this very connection.

Held under the theme Mind-Body Medicine for Cardiac Health, Lifestyle, and Mental Wellbeing, the conference witnessed participation from institutions including AIIMS New Delhi, ICMR NITM, and ITRA. Policymakers, researchers, medical professionals, yoga experts, and meditation practitioners came together to explore unified healthcare systems rooted in both modern science and ancient practices.

Speaking at the conference, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Hon’ble Minister for AYUSH, said, The IHW 2025 is a confluence of major streams for holistic wellness bringing meaningful and relevant discussions and deliberations on holistic health. The serenity of Kanha Shanti Vanam is exemplary for a perfect ecosystem. Our traditional medicine is self-sustaining with no side-effects. The modern lifestyle related health problems can be dealt with the right interventions such as adopting traditional wisdom of yoga and meditation as postulated by Maharshi Patanjali.
He further highlighted the impact of the Ministry’s ‘Prakriti Parikshan Abhiyan’, which aims to personalize lifestyle improvements based on Ayurvedic principles. This initiative is part of a broader push to digitize health access and embed traditional wisdom into mainstream preventive care. Shri Jadhav echoed the Prime Minister’s vision by stating that universal healthcare access is, in itself, access to justice.

Dr Krishnamurthy Jayanna, Chair of the Heartfulness Research Council, opened the session with a welcome address following a group Heartfulness meditation. The meditative setting of Kanha Shanti Vanam, often referred to as the world’s largest meditation center, provided the perfect backdrop to explore the psychological and spiritual dimensions of wellness alongside physical and clinical aspects.
The event emphasized the value of combining traditional Indian medicine systems like Ayurveda, Yoga, and Meditation with evidence-based research and modern medical practices. Experts stressed the role of integrative health in tackling non-communicable diseases, particularly those driven by lifestyle stress, poor mental health, and cardiac risk factors.

Across various panels, practitioners and educators discussed the need to validate traditional methodologies through modern frameworks and incorporate them into national healthcare strategies. Institutions like ICMR NITM and ITRA presented research collaborations and ongoing studies that aim to bridge the existing gap between empirical wisdom and structured clinical evidence.
As India builds a more future-ready healthcare model, conferences like IHW 2025 stand as pivotal efforts to unify ancient heritage with scientific rigour. Heartfulness Institute’s role in facilitating such conversations shows its evolving contribution not just to personal wellness but to systemic healthcare evolution.

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