As India celebrated the 11th International Yoga Day with record numbers, remember: the doors are always open for you to join in the Yog world and it’s never too late, writes ABHI SINGHAL
Yoga is a magnet; it pulls you through itself once you start practising it. When you hear the word ‘Yoga’, you sense calm, you sense stillness — and that calm and stillness become a daily peace in one’s life. India celebrated the 11th International Yoga Day on 21 June 2025, and this year marks a decade of India consecutively celebrating Yoga and taking it to the global stage. A practice initiated and pitched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 2014 UN address has now become a global success, year after year.
The first International Day of Yoga was observed across the world on 21 June 2015. The Ministry of AYUSH made the necessary arrangements in India. A total of 35,985 people — including Prime Minister Modi and dignitaries from 84 nations performed 21 asanas (yoga postures) for 35 minutes at Rajpath in New Delhi. This event became the largest yoga class ever held, with the highest number — 84 — of participating nations.
In 2025, Yoga Day once again created world records. The largest gathering for a yoga session at a single venue was achieved with an impressive 302,000 (3.02 lakh) participants joining on 21st June 2025. Another milestone was the largest mass Surya Namaskar demonstration, with 22,122 tribal students participating on 20 June 2025.
There is something very special and healing in Yoga that has led to these numbers increasing year after year into the lakhs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “After 11 years, we can see that Yog has worldwide become a way of living for crores of people. Yoga is for everyone — beyond boundaries, beyond backgrounds, and beyond age or ability.”
Yoga demonstrations emphasised physical resilience and national service in some of the country’s most challenging terrains — such as the Siachen Glacier, where Indian Army personnel performed yoga at the world’s highest battlefield; Galwan Valley, where sessions were held at over 15,000 feet, symbolising India’s message of peace and inner strength; and Rohtang Pass, Sela Tunnel, and Pangong Lake, where personnel from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) practised yoga in extreme weather. Atop the Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu & Kashmir — the world’s highest railway bridge — yoga was performed, marrying engineering excellence with spiritual harmony. People also flooded X (formerly Twitter) with tweets about how Yoga has changed their lives. Believe me say that it is never too late to begin your yoga journey. Whether you’re young or old, fit or unfit, the best part about Yoga is that it welcomes you as you are. With its various benefits, even a few minutes a day can transform your mind and body.
Five Basic Asanas for Beginners
Tadasana (Mountain Pose): Improves posture, balance, and coordination. Tadasana also helps increase awareness of body alignment and breathing.
Vrikshasana (Tree Pose): It enhances balance and concentration while strengthening the legs, back and the core.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose): This asana strengthens the spine, opens up the chest and lungs and relieves the stress and fatigue.
Balasana (Child’s Pose): It gently stretches your hips, thighs and ankles. It also helps in calming the mind and relieving tension.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose): It strengthens your arms and legs, improves blood flow to the brain and also energises the body. Downward Dog stretches the hamstring and calf muscles.
Advantages of Yoga
Yoga is inclusive — accessible to people of all ages and fitness levels — making it an ideal daily practice for anyone seeking better health and balance. Yoga is a powerful tool to centre your thoughts, bring clarity.
Yoga Brings Calm
Yoga has a unique way of grounding the mind and body, offering a quiet retreat from the chaos of daily life. Through slow movements and controlled breathing it creates space for inner stillness. The focus on the breath helps activate the body’s natural “rest and digest” response — reducing stress levels and lowering the heart rate.