Yoga as an Eco-therapy for Achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: An Explorative Study

Context: The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental and socioeconomic aspects of sustainable development. Yoga not only results in one’s physical and mental resilience but also develops positive feelings toward one’s environment to help protect it from destruction. Aims: The study aimed to understand the role of Yoga for achieving the United Nations SDGs and to draft a policy statement for its implementation to achieve the SDGs. Methodology: The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 included a review of available literature. Phase 2 included contacting experts from Yoga, community health, social work, and medicine from all over India and across the globe for discussion. Phase 3 included drafting the recommendations to be submitted to the CCRYN based on the results from the first two phases. Results: A total of 320 research articles (217 included) were screened. A total of 103 were excluded for reasons (being not relevant, inability to get full text of articles, and outcome of the study not matching). Phase 2 was conducted in three sessions with different groups of experts for their input. In phase 3, recommendations were finalized, and the policy statement was drafted. Conclusions: Yoga can help in achieving the targets of the UN SDGs. The recommendations, if implemented, can solve the issues endangering nature and the ecosystem. Thus, Yoga builds a harmony between humans and nature.