The MediYoga Institute is invited to the C20 - Integrated Holistic Health Working Group to share its world-leading expertise in the implementation of yoga and mindfulness in health care. Internationally, Sweden is considered a pioneering country in the field through the experience gained since 1997 in collaboration between the Mediyoga Institute, academia and the health care system.

Founded in Sweden in 1997, the MediYoga Institute is Scandinavia's leading research and training institute in medical and therapeutic yoga. The Institute's vision is a health-promoting, conscious and sustainable society through the implementation of evidence-based yoga in health care. The institute's work is based on a scientific perspective and evidence-based practice and has developed the yoga intervention "MediYoga-MOSI" which is currently used by licensed healthcare professionals in more than 357 healthcare units in Sweden.

Civil 20 (C20) is an official engagement group of the Group of 20 (G20) that provides a platform for civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world. Its mission is to shape policy recommendations to all G20 world leaders during the annual summit in September. In 2023, India is the host country.

"We are both grateful and proud to be invited to collaborate and contribute to the C20 as one of the global pioneers in evidence-based yoga. Sweden is a world leader and many countries are impressed by the Swedish model. One of the key factors is that we educate licensed healthcare professionals, which together with research strengthens quality and safety", says the institute's CEO Pär Krutzén.

Participation in the C20 marks a quality collaboration at the highest international level, with global leaders in health such as WHO's South-East Asia Director Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh and India's Health Minister Shri Narendra Modi leading the work.

The world is in dire need of holistic tools that are safe, effective, standardized and evidence-based. By collaborating globally and learning good examples from each other, new global policies can be presented to support economic, health-promoting and sustainable decisions and actions.

"Integrating evidence-based yoga as part of standard care is fully in line with the WHO recommendations for integrative holistic health. We have come a long way in Sweden but we need to raise awareness also for Swedish politicians and decision makers", says Pär Krutzén, CEO of the Institute.