Everyday Yoga Day At Ministry Of AYUSH

“Yoga wellness festival is a year-long yoga programme, focusing on 10-20 minutes of yoga with utmost benefit. In today’s busy schedule, practicing an hour-long yoga is difficult”- Dr Ishwar Basavaraddi

India presented the International Day of Yoga (IDY) as an initiative in UN general assembly four years ago. With Ministry of AYUSH, the country is gearing up for upcoming World Yoga Day. It is planned to be eco-friendly in 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the ceremony of International Day of Yoga in Ranchi on 21 June 2019. The theme of 2019 World Yoga Day is “Yoga for Climate Action”. 

Yoga is an amalgamation of physical, mental and spiritual practice. Yoga was started thousands of years ago in India. Since then yoga has spread throughout the World. Curing diseases is an aspect of yoga and can be practiced as a preventive measure. It improves the psychosomatic system of the body. The health benefits of yoga have encouraged masses to practice it at home. People have adopted yoga as a part of their daily routine.  

In 2014, India observed first International Day of Yoga (IDY) on 21 June 2015, under Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s headship. Active participation of 35,985 people of India was seen. This year, 30,000 participants are estimated to attend the Ranchi event. It is expected to be bigger and better. The event will be eco-friendly including the yoga mats. Keeping the theme in mind, the event will focus on greenery. People are expected to wear khadi clothes and organic yoga mats will be seen. On the D-day, Yoga asanas will be focused on heart care, as it is one of the main causes of death in India and a large group of people are suffering from the same.  

World Yoga Day, an initiative  

Tracing back the history of International Day of Yoga, Dr. Ishwar V. Basavaraddi, Director of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), Ministry of AYUSH told BW Wellbeingworld, how this movement began. PM Narendra Modi urged United Nation General Assembly for adopting International Day of Yoga on 21st of June. During the UN meet on 27th September 2014, he said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies the unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.”   

On December 11, 2014, the UN General Secretary declared 21st June as the International day for Yoga. Thereafter, 177 member countries adopted the resolution. The first International day for Yoga was celebrated on 21st June 2015 with the theme “Yoga for Harmony and Peace”.   

Aspects of Yoga day  

Dr. Basavarddi shed light on the five aspects of yoga day in India. After the first yoga day celebration, MDNIY received an increased number of application and inquiry. It is seen that the aspiring candidates are considering it as a serious career option. Bright students with high aggregates are also applying for various courses at MDNIY. There has been escalated the demand for research in yoga as well. Secondly, the ministry is also planning to administer “Yoga for Workplace” to reduce the work stress and cope up with it. Yoga can make office workers happy.   

They also encourage the yoga practice in societies, families and nearby. It will develop bonding among people. He called this mass movement “Yoga in Mohalla”. Yoga can contribute to world peace naming it as “Yoga for world peace”. Practising yoga is bringing the institutions and nations together. Coming from different parts of the World and uniting with the practice of yoga is drawing harmony among people. Last but the most important aspect of yoga is increased employment. Yoga day has led to increased demand for yoga trainers in hospitals, schools, and other private sectors. It has opened the doors and has provided jobs to many. The expansion in the employment rate has also one of the contributions of yoga. Now, yoga is considered a good career option among the youngsters of the country.  

Yoga wellness festival in India 

Ministry of AYUSH in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has come up with an initiative at MDNIY known as “Yoga wellness festival”. Dr. Basavaraddi mentioned “the festival is a year-long yoga programme, focusing on 10-20 minutes of yoga with utmost benefit. In today’s busy schedule, practicing an hour-long yoga is difficult”. Breaking down the misconception, he added, “Yoga is for everyone. Considering yoga as a religious practice is wrong. People are getting noticeable outcomes from it. Significant behaviour change in masses is one of the positive results of yoga”. 

“Through yoga, India is getting recognition in the World. It has also contributed to the change in society. People are turning less stressful, which is leading to living a happier life. Under the government scheme, Ayushman Bharat, around 1.5 lakh yoga teachers have been employed. Yoga also contributes to their personality”, said Dr. Basavaraddi. They are growing as strong individuals in the society and making the World a better place to live. 

In order to get fit, this millennial generation is spending hours in gym. Many believe in loosing sweat over gym equipment, as technology is what is trending these days. One can only hope that they acknowledge the perks of yoga. For them posting gym videos is cooler than practicing yoga on yoga mats at home. What they don’t know is, lifting weights at the gym have limited benefits but what yoga does, is not restricted with physical benefits only. It also improves the mental health of an individual. Yoga is an overall workout for the body, all it needs is a yoga mat to revive a healthy lifestyle.