From Visakhapatnam to New York, World Embraces International Yoga Day

It was in 2015, that the Indian government under Prime Minster Narendra Modi, had got the United Nations to mark June 21 as International Yoga Day. On its 11th edition, the increase in its scale was evident in the way the day was celebrated on Saturday.

Modi himself led it on a beachfront at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh where a Press Information Press Information Bureau reported that five lakh men and women participated in a group session along with him. It added reported, ‘Yoga sangam events were held simultaneously at more than 3.5 lakh locations across India. This year, special contests such as Yoga with Family and youth-focused initiatives under Yoga Unplugged have been launched on platforms like MyGov and MyBharat, encouraging mass participation.’

The theme this year was, ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’, a paean to how human well being is interconnected everywhere. Across India, from Union ministers to leaders of political parties took part in group sessions. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took part in an event at the Arun Jaitley Institute of Financial Management in Faridabad, Haryana while Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce Minister, did his asanas at the ancient Kanheri caves in Mumbai.  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh joined soldiers at the Northern Command in Jammu & Kashmir while External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker posted on social media that he had joined the diplomatic Corps at Nehru Park, Delhi in the morning to celebrate the day.

The day was marked by a slew of yoga events internationally too. At Times Square in New Yoga, more than 10000 participated in over seven sessions. In Tokyo the wife of the Japanese prime minister led the celebrations. The Indian embassy of Japan posted on X, ‘The event brought together dignitaries, government representatives and over 2000 friends of India and yoga enthusiasts in a shared celebration of wellness and harmony.’ It was a display of global unity.

As Prime Minister speaking at the event in Visakhapatnam said, ‘The simple meaning of Yoga is to join. And it brings great happiness to see how Yoga has joined the world.’

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