INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA (June 21)
From Sampath’s Desk:
On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared June 21 as ‘International Day of Yoga’, months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed the idea. And from June 21, 2015 onward, International Day of Yoga is observed across the world every year to raise global awareness about the benefits of the ancient Indian practice. The resolution on ‘International Day of Yoga’ was introduced by the then Indian Ambassador to UN Asoke Kumar Mukerji that saw 177 nations joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for any UNGA resolution. Adopted under the agenda of the ‘Global Health and Foreign Policy,’ resolution 69/131 recognized that Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being of people and wider dissemination of information about its benefits would be beneficial to the world population. The word ‘yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit. In simple parlance, it means to ‘attach, join, unite and harness’ symbolizing the union of body and consciousness. The U.N. has confirmed that Yoga continues to grow in popularity across the world. Incidentally, June 21 is the longest day of the year in the mass northern hemisphere (the shortest in the southern hemisphere) having special significance in many parts of the world.
Yoga stresses a sense of respect for Mother Earth and life in communion with Nature. The benefits of continually performing Yoga are manifold. It helps maintain a balance between oneself and the environment, acts as an aid to one’s health, brings a balance between body, soul, and mind, and deals with tensions of life. Yoga promotes self-healing, enhances personal power, increases self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-credit, eliminates toxins from the body, removes negative thoughts from the mind, reduces stress in oneself, increases flexibility, and improves brain function. You can get your weight reduced if you so desire, which can help prevent or reduce the incidence of lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, and lung and heart diseases.
Yoga embodies unity of
mind and body, thought and action embracing a holistic approach beneficial and
useful to our well-being. Yoga is not just about physical exercises;
it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, nature, and the world at large. And, Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in
day-to-day life and hones one's skills of performance.
It is necessary to initiate Yoga in children from the school stage itself so as to raise them into physically and mentally robust citizens. Besides enhancing the concentration of children in their studies, the regular practice is a failsafe route to a healthy life - present and future. That is the foundation for the children's good health even in the machine-like life they may be faced with once they attain adulthood. Yoga produces not just better ‘today’ but also better ‘tomorrow’, as today’s preparation determines tomorrow’s achievements. A yoga-enabled healthy life is a passport to a better future of sound body and mind. Yoga is also a global soft power that can unite nations. We should have more people-to-people interactive programmes on Yoga for the populations of different world countries.
It was a no mean achievement for India to have got June 21 recognized as the ‘International Day for Yoga’ and a resolution to that effect adopted in the UNGA for which our
PM, Narendra Modi made a forceful plea accompanied by an effective and efficient campaign with the world body and across other nations - a great historic victory in earning international recognition for
one of India’s strongest and mightiest soft powers.
The wrong notion that Yoga is only part of Hindu customs, traditions, lifestyle, culture, or
practices has now been dispelled. The truth is that Yoga is a holistic set of
physical, psychological, and spiritual practices that can be pursued by the entire humanity. Yoga has of late become more popular than ever
before in the U.S. and the West bloc besides Canada, China, and Japan, earning a higher global and secular status which it richly
deserves.
On 21st June
2020, PM Narendra Modi led the country confining his Yoga exercises indoors due to the Covid-19 pandemic
unlike in the past when people did them with great enthusiasm in open places, many along with Modiji.
This year (2023), the highlight is the
participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Yoga Day observance at the
United Nations (U.N.) Headquarters in New York during his 5-day state visit to
the U.S. beginning June 20. Back home, there
will be Yoga Day celebrations all across the States and Union Territories.
The theme of International Yoga Day-2023 is ‘Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is one family). It beautifully captures our shared aspiration, mission, and vision for ‘One Earth, One Family, and One Future’.
People from all walks of life, regardless of
their level of experience, come together on this day to take part in various
Yoga-related exercises and activities. Workshops on Yoga, outdoor yoga sessions,
meditations, and talks on Yoga’s advantages may be among them. You can learn
about Yoga’s transformative abilities and adopt it as a way of life.
The day is an opportunity to find out the
basics of yoga and experience its numerous advantages The observance of
International Yoga Day honours Yoga, a tradition that has its roots in India.
Besides encouraging physical relaxation, yoga also helps lessen one’s stress
and anxiety and also stay fit health-wise, both body and mind. These are the
proposed activities:
Participate in a yoga class.
Do yoga at home
Learn about the origin of yoga
Post on social media about your yoga
experience
Inspire others to give yoga a try.
(R.SAMPATH)
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