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| Official logo for International Day of Yoga |
"This
year’s observance of the International Day of Yoga highlights the important
role healthy living plays in the realization of the Sustainable Development
Goals, adopted last year by all 193 United Nations Member States” says UN
Secretary General Mr. Ban-Ki-Moon on the occasion of the 2nd International
Day of Yoga marked on 21st June of each year by resolution 69/131 of United
Nations. Yoga which means to join or unite
is a 5,000-year-old ancient physical,
mental & spiritual practice that originated in India, which is said to balance
human being’s physical health & mental well-being. This year’s theme for International
Yoga Day is; Yoga for harmony & peace.
Even though many have proposed to celebrate a Yoga
Day, it was on 11th
December 2014, that the UN General Assembly declared 21st June as the
International Day of Yoga. The
declaration came after the call for the adoption of 21st June as
International Day of Yoga by Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi during
his address to UN General Assembly on 27th September 2014. There are
nine different forms of Yoga according to Indian
sage Patanjali who is known as the father of the modern Yoga who assimilated
and included all aspects of Yoga into a certain format and authored the Yoga
sutras. The nine forms of Yoga includes; Hatha
yoga, Kundalini yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga, Jnana
yoga, Raja yoga, Mantra yoga, Tantra yoga & Kriya yoga. As
the world marks the second International Day of Yoga, thousands of people from
all walks of life across the globe aimed at spreading the message of 'Yoga for
peace and harmony' are performing Yoga exercises to support the yoga initiative
with several events.
International
Yoga Day aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing
yoga. People
across the globe have benefited by the practice of Yoga for decades and many
believe that the official recognition by the UN would further spread the
benefit of Yoga to the entire world.
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