Hyderabad: In another groundbreaking partnership, Heartfulness has joined forces with Reliance Foundation to host a unique athlete-centric meditation program at India House, Parc de La Villette, Paris, during the Paris Olympics in 2024. The event on July 29 will be attended by Guest of Honor Alexandra de Coubertin, President of the Pierre de Coubertin Society and member of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission. The Society is named after Pierre de Coubertin, known as the father of the modern Olympic Games.
This exciting collaboration between Heartfulness and Reliance Foundation is an opportunity to showcase how sports can be a vehicle to bring all types of people together, irrespective of their background, identity or ethnicity. The event, led by Heartfulness, will take place from 29 July to 1 August and 7-8 August.
Conceptualised by Reliance Foundation in collaboration with the Indian Olympic Association, India House is India’s first Olympic country house, which will serve as a home away from home for all Indian athletes and celebrate over 100 years of India’s participation in the Olympic Games as a team.
The theme of the experience is “Inner Skills for Athlete Excellence” and aims to apply Heartfulness Meditation to achieve peak athletic performance. Titled “Applying Meditation to Achieve Peak Athlete Performance”, the event also aims to elevate Indian culture, sports and traditions. During the event, participants will explore various Heartfulness and Meditation techniques that will help athletes achieve and sustain peak performance, manage stress to maintain mental clarity in pressure situations, and recover and increase resilience using meditation. The goal is to inspire athletes, coaches and enthusiasts and empower them with the tools they need to improve their performance and reach their full potential, thus enabling athletes to discover the intersection of meditation and sports excellence.
Speaking about the event, Rev. Dr. Daji, World Leader of Heartfulness and President of Sri Ram Chandra Mission, said, “Athletics is not just about physical and physiological strength, it is also about mental strength. Often, athletes lose despite having the best qualifications because they do not develop mental resilience. Resilience, focus and peace of mind are essential to tackle any situation, be it in sports or in life. This is where Heartfulness meditation comes in. I am happy that Reliance Foundation has collaborated with Heartfulness to empower not only athletes but people from other backgrounds as well. Through Heartfulness, we hope to awaken the dormant consciousness of athletes and sports enthusiasts and help them unleash their limitless potential. This occasion at the Paris Olympics is a monumental one for us.”
Keynote addresses will include “The Power of Meditation in Sport”, “How Meditation Enhances Athletic Performance” and “The Future of Meditation in Sport”. Participants will also have the option to experience Heartfulness Meditation as a guided group activity.
About Heartfulness:
First developed in the early 20th century and formalized as a teaching in India in 1945 through the Sri Ram Chandra Mission, Heartfulness offers a set of simple meditation techniques and lifestyle changes. Its purpose is to bring peace, happiness, and wisdom to one mind at a time. These techniques are a contemporary form of yoga designed to support contentment, inner peace, serenity, compassion, courage, and clarity of thought as the first steps toward a purposeful life. They are simple and easy to adopt, and are suitable for people age 15 and older from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs, and economic situations. Ongoing training in Heartfulness practices continues in thousands of schools and universities, with more than 100,000 professionals meditating in corporations, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies around the world. More than 5,000 Heartfulness centers are supported by thousands of certified volunteer trainers and millions of practitioners in 160 countries.
