International Day of Yoga

June 21 is celebrated as International day of yoga. On December 11th, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Yoga day.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means to connect. It connects mind, soul and body.Yoga in India is considered to be around 5,000-year-old mental, physical and spiritual practice. Yoga was originated in India in ancient time when people were used of meditation to transform their body and mind.

Yoga is a part of our Indian culture that runs over the centuries. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, yoga is associated with meditation.

The Idea of an international day of yoga was first proposed by the prime minister of India, Mr.Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly on, September 27, 2014, wherein he stated: "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.

OBJECTIVES OF WORLD YOGA DAY

International Day of Yoga has been adopted to fulfil the following objectives:

To let people know the amazing and natural benefits of yoga.
To connect people to nature by practicing yoga.
To make people get used of meditation through yoga.
To draw the attention of people worldwide towards the holistic benefits of yoga.
To reduce the rate of health challenging diseases all over the world.
To bring communities much closer to spend a day for health from a busy schedule.
To enhance growth, development and spread peace all through the world.
To help people in their bad situations themselves by getting relief from stress through yoga.
To strengthen the global coordination among people through yoga.
To make people aware of physical and mental diseases and its solutions through practicing yoga.
To protect unhealthy practices and promote and respect the good practices to make health better.
To let people know their rights of good health and healthy lifestyle to completely enjoy the highest standard of physical and mental health.
To link between protection of health and sustainable health development.
To get a win over all the health challenges through regular yoga practice.
To promote better mental and physical health of people through yoga practice.

21st June is also celebrated as the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and it has great significance in many parts of the world.