Like last year, this time too, yoga and health enthusiasts across the world will be celebrating the International Yoga Day, the seventh in the series, on June 21, within the confines of their homes as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt normal life.
Various Ministries, organizations in the private and government sector and State Governments are holding events to mark the D-Day in a big way, with the Union Ayush Ministry taking the lead by marking the beginning of a 10-episode series on various aspects of the protocol to be telecast on Doordarshan India from June 11 to June 21. The Ministry also announced launching of a mobile application, “Namaste Yoga”, devoted to Yoga, at the curtain raiser event organised online on Friday here.
At the event, Union Ayush Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the series’ central message will be “Be with Yoga, Be at Home”, which is relevant in these times of health emergency while Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar talked in details about how yoga can become a way to a healthy and happy life.
The series is produced by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY).
Spiritual leaders and yoga gurus including Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sister Shivani and Swami Chidanand Saraswati, at the event emphasised various unique and encompassing features of Yoga, ranging from deeper spiritual dimensions to its daily life and Covid related usefulness.
For their parts, organisations like National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) too have planned yoga sessions for their employees. NCDC is conducting 2-month long yoga session online thrice-a-week from June 14 for its staff and members of cooperatives in the country under the guidance of the yoga experts from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga AnusandhanaSamsthana (S-VYASA), from Bengaluru.
"The session is being held as rural healthcare focused AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR initiative of NCDC and as part of a pact signed between by NCDC with S-VYASA. We have also agreed to jointly set up Yoga wellness centres and naturopathy facilities across the country through local cooperatives," informed NCDC MD Sundeep Nayak.
Yoga Wellness centres in rural areas are expected to make good business models for cooperatives to strengthen the healthcare delivery system, he added.
Yoga expert and CMO from S-VYASA Hospital, Amit Singh who will conduct the sessions emphasized on importance of yoga during Covid times. It can effectively lower stress inducing hormones, strengthen the nervous system, stimulate the lymphatic system, while removing toxins from body, he said, citing various clinical findings in this regard.
Chhattisgarh government too is gearing up to hold “Chhattisgarh Virtual Yoga Marathon” to spread awareness among masses about health benefits of Yoga, an official from the State government said.
The United Nations theme for International Yoga Day 2021 is 'Yoga for Wellbeing', recognizing yoga as a valuable tool in improving holistic health and providing stress relief.
To create awareness among people and for their wider participation on yoga day, the Ayush Ministry has also launched a jingle contest for the public for d upcoming D Day.