About · Leadership
Guided by pioneers in the field.
APYTA is led by founders, an international organising committee and an advisory board spanning medicine, education and yoga therapy.
Founders & patrons
The vision behind APYTA.
Dr. H. R. Nagendra
Chief Patron
A mechanical engineer with a PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, Dr. Nagendra worked at the University of British Columbia, NASA and Harvard before turning to yoga in 1975. He founded S-VYASA in Bengaluru, served as its first Vice-Chancellor and is now its Chancellor. He has authored more than 30 books and over 100 research papers on yoga, received the Padma Shri in 2016, and is the monitoring mentor for the International Journal of Yoga.
Dr. R. Nagarathna
Chairperson
An MBBS from Bangalore Medical College with an MD in internal medicine and MRCP / FRCP from Edinburgh, Dr. Nagarathna is Medical Director of Arogyadhama, the holistic health centre at Prashanti Kutiram, and a faculty member at S-VYASA. Across four decades she has established evidence-based yoga therapy protocols for asthma, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer, with more than 80 publications to her name.
Kazuo Keishin Kimura
Vice President
A graduate of Tokyo University of Education, Mr. Kimura founded Yoga Niketan Japan in Tokyo in 1981 after studying in Rishikesh under Swami Yogeshwarananda, who initiated him as a Raja Yoga Acharya. He founded the Japan Yoga Therapy Society in 2003 and remains its president. In 2019 the WHO invited him as one of twenty international experts on benchmarks for yoga training, and he received the Indian Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution to yoga.
International organising committee
Running the association.
Dr. Vasudha M. Sharma
President
An Ayurveda physician and yoga therapy consultant with 25 years of clinical experience in integrative medicine, Dr. Sharma is co-founder and Director of Medical Services at Vivekananda Health Global, which has grown from a single Bengaluru centre to a network across India, South Korea and the USA. She holds a BAMS, a Masters in Yoga Therapy and a PhD in Yoga from S-VYASA, and heads APYTA's scientific committee.
Manoj Thakur
Vice-President
Manoj Thakur holds an M.Sc. in Yogic Sciences and has spent more than 30 years in yoga education, therapy and teacher training. Managing Director of S-VYASA Yoga Singapore, he has served as APYTA's Director and International Coordinator since 2016. Based in Singapore since 2003, he has run over 380 Yoga Instructor Certificate Courses and trained more than 5,000 students across Asia.
Yogi Mohan
Vice-President
Dang Hung
General Secretary
Founder, chairman and director of the Vietnam Yoga Academy, and president of the Malkham Yoga Association in Vietnam. A gold medallist at the International Yoga Championship in Malaysia, he lectures at both VYASA Yoga Singapore and the Vietnam Yoga Academy. With over 30 years of practice, he was the first to bring yoga into Vietnam's healthcare system and chairs the academy's scientific council.
Prashant Patel
Joint Secretary
Founder of Ancient Yoga Academy, with branches in Singapore and India, Prashant Patel has taught Ayurveda and yoga for over 30 years across more than a dozen countries. He combines Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, mantra and yogic counselling to treat psychosomatic ailments, and has built corporate stress-management programmes for organisations including Apple, Microsoft and Nanyang Polytechnic.
Rajendra
Joint Secretary
Mani
Treasurer
Manasa B R
Office Head & Coordinator
A yoga therapist, researcher and performing artist, Manasa holds a Yoga Instructor's Course certification, a Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy and an M.Sc. in Yoga Therapy from S-VYASA, where she is a research scholar studying yoga and Bharatanatyam. She has served as assistant professor and international liaison officer at S-VYASA, and is a soft-skills trainer and yogic counsellor.
Milind Sattur
Head, Curriculum
An advertising and media research professional based in Singapore, Milind Sattur has worked across a number of Asia-Pacific markets. He holds a Master of Management Studies (Marketing) and a Master of Science (Chemistry) from India, and a Master of Education (Educational Technology) from Australia. He is a certified yoga teacher with an advanced Hatha yoga instructor certificate.
Advisory board
Expertise that keeps standards high.
Medical & research
A medical doctor and integrative-medicine voice guiding evidence and safety.
Education & curriculum
Curriculum experts shaping accreditation and CPD standards.
International relations
Specialists supporting country chapters and global partnerships.
Join the professional body for yoga therapy.
Become a member and take your place in the region's recognised yoga therapy community.