The 10th International Day of Yoga is being celebrated across the globe today. The main function was held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the celebrations from Srinagar. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Minister Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav and many other dignitaries joined the programme. Globally, Embassies and Indian Missions abroad will join the celebrations, reflecting yoga’s widespread influence.
On the occasion, the Prime Minister addressed the gathering and participated in the Common Yoga Protocol session, highlighting Yoga’s significance in nurturing physical, mental, and spiritual growth.
He underlined that the number of people practising Yoga is growing worldwide its utility is also being recognized by the people. He stated that there is barely any world leader who has not discussed Yoga during his interactions.
Throwing light on the growing acceptance of yoga around the world, the Prime Minister recalled inaugurating a Yoga Center during his visit to Turkmenistan in 2015 and pointed out that yoga has become extremely popular in that country today. He further informed that State Medical Universities in Turkmenistan have included Yoga therapy, Saudi Arabia has made it a part of their education system and Mongolian Yoga Foundation is running many Yoga schools.
Informing about the acceptance of Yoga in Europe, the Prime Minister said that so far 1.5 crore German citizens have become Yoga practitioners. He further added that yoga has become a topic of research today and multiple research papers have already been published.
Regarding the expansion of yoga in the last 10 years, the prime minister talked about a new yoga economy and mentioned the growing attraction for yoga tourism and people’s desire to visit India to learn authentic yoga.
He also mentioned yoga retreats, resorts, dedicated facilities for Yoga at airports and hotels, Yoga apparel and equipment, and personal Yoga trainers. He said all these developments are creating new employment avenues for the youth.
Regarding the theme of this year’s IYD -‘Yoga for Self and Society’, PM Modi said that the world is looking at yoga as a powerful agent of global good and enables us to live in the present without the baggage of the past.
To maximize the inclusiveness of Yoga benefits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also written a letter to all Gram Pradhans, encouraging grassroots participation and the spread of yoga in rural areas.