Introduction
It is a day of reckoning for the Indian-origin breath
exercise Yoga. After a careful deliberation, the Indian government could convince
the international body United Nation to celebrate the beautiful yogic exercise to
establish a state of sound health in people. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO) definition, the state of sound health can be achieved only
when there is a constructive balance between body and mind. The premises of
yoga begin from there. Through a series of breathing and physical exercise, it
brings a harmony between the mind and the body.
It does not matter whether a yogi is from a different faith or not. What
matters is how these exercises are done by that person.
Growing Popularity
Ever since the beginning of 1980s, people from India have
taken the principles of yoga to different countries and demonstrated to people
living there. Over a period of 30+ years, there has been a steady growth in the
number of people who practice yoga at home and workplace. Many masters of this
primordial exercise have customized the principles of yoga to meet the
requirements of people in different countries. While transforming the basic
tenets of yoga exercise to meet the needs of the customers, these masters have
kept the cultural sensitivities in mind. These masters have been hugely
responsible for the growing popularity of this exercise that aims to restore the
healthy balance between body and mind. Other countries of the world have slowly
begun to acknowledge the positive effects of body-mind exercise. Even the most conservative countries from the
Gulf region have begun to embrace the body-mind exercise to reap its health
benefits. This is especially true of countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Designation of International Yoga Day
Immediately after coming to power, the Indian government
under the leadership of Narendra Modi took steps to elicit the views of other
countries about Yoga. Over a period of 3 months, the government took the
feedback about the popularity of this ancient exercise. Armed with the huge volume
of data, Narendra Modi addressed the United Nations General Assembly and
requested the world countries to support the Indian government’s initiative to
spread the message of yoga as an exercise to more countries. He told that the
6000+ year old Indian body-mind exercise can be used as a holistic medicine in
a stricter sense. He showed the member countries the statistics of the positive
change this exercise brings in the lives of people after adopting it. The
member countries hurdled over it and gave their nod for designating a day for
Yoga internationally. Henceforth, the world body ratified an agreement to
designate June 21 as the International Yoga Day in December 2014.
First International Yoga Day
On June 21, 2015, India would join the growing number of
world countries to take an oath to further the cause of yoga for establishing a
world order where health issues get plummeted.
On that day, the Government of India would unravel a website dedicated
to the cause of yoga. It would be maintained by the Ministry of External
Affairs, Government of India. On this day, various yoga instructors world over
would conduct classes, seminars and practical sessions for the benefit of
general public. This would be done free of cost so that people get a glimpse of
what the yoga is. In India, there would be
a large yoga exercise planned to such a grand scale that people from all walks
of life can drop in and participate in it. The followers of Ram Dev are
planning a big even with the aim of making into the record books for conducting
biggest yoga events. Other spiritual gurus are also planning to do the same in
our country.
