Noted yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who recently laid the foundation stone for a $20 million yoga and ayurveda research centre in Houston, has been invited by US Congressmen to display his yogic excercises before them.

Congressman Nick Lampson, who attended Ramdev's five-day yoga camp held in Houston, invited him to Washington DC.

Republican Lampson, whose Congressional district includes Fortbend County where the yoga and research centre is being constructed, said the traditional Indian exercises can indeed benefit the healthcare industry in the USA.

The Houston centre, which will be based on the model of the 'Pathanjali Yog Peeth' of Haridwar, founded by the yoga exponent 15 years ago, has already raised over $5 million for the project, expected to be completed in 2009.

"When the Haridwar centre was established, Rs 20,000 was borrowed to start the project. But in Houston, one-fourth of the needed funds were raised on the very first day," Ramdev told PTI.

"Majority of the people in India cannot afford healthcare and rising costs of treatments, medicine and doctor visits and for those people yoga will be a best alternative for having good health without paying anything," Ramdev, who wants to "revolutionise healthcare in India and around the world", said.

The presence of a large Indian community prompted the spiritual guru to choose Houston as the place for establishing the centre, which will be set up in a sprawling 94-acre property in Rosenberg, about 25 miles from Houston.

The project includes a clinic to treat chronic ailments, a training centre for yoga teachers, housing for active seniors and retirees, a herbal garden, retreat centre, an vedic gurukul school for young children and a university.