AIR Spotlight: International Yoga Day for Humanity

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panelists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. In this article, the International Day of Yoga and its significance are discussed in detail.

Context:

International Day of Yoga is celebrated every year on the 21st of June. 

• The first International Day for Yoga was celebrated in 2015. 
• This year’s theme was yoga for humanity. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings on the 8th International Day for Yoga from the heritage city of Mysuru in front of the iconic Mysuru Palace. 
• Taking to social media, the Prime Minister said that this whole universe starts from our body and soul, yoga makes us conscious of ourselves and builds a sense of awareness. He used the phrase – “shantim yogam bindati” which means yoga brings peace to us. 

Keeping the overarching theme of the 75th independence day in mind, the Ministry of Ayush chose 75 locations for Union Ministers to participate in Yoga Day.

Know the background, origin and history of Yoga as a cultural export of India in the linked article.

New Initiative – Guardian Ring

• It is a collaborative exercise between 79 countries, the United Nations and Indian Missions abroad to illustrate that yoga signifies the power that surpasses national boundaries. 
• It underlines the “one sun, one earth” concept which signifies the unifying power of yoga. 
• The celebration started in Japan (the land of the rising sun) with Surya Namaskar.
• Along the lines of the theme of this year, the programme showcased people of different nationalities coming together to celebrate Yoga at the crack of dawn. 
• Almost 80 Indian missions organized events on a grand scale at iconic locations.
• The Indian embassy in Beijing carried out many programmes in the run-up to International Day for Yoga, 2022. 
  • A yoga teacher Mohan Bhandari carried out a session on pranayama at the embassy cultural centre. 
  • Also, the Indian embassy in China was connected to 75 schools of yoga across China to commemorate the event. 
• In Bangladesh, more than 1000 people participated in the embassy event. 

Conclusion (Yoga as soft power)

• The government is trying to harness the popularity of Yoga and its benefits to project India’s contributions to the world in the field of health and well-being and also spirituality.
• It can also be a big tourist boost for the country with many people visiting the country, especially with a focus on learning and practising yoga in its birthplace.
• The idea behind the Yoga day celebrations and the government’s efforts in this direction is that humanity should acknowledge and celebrate Yoga – India’s gift to the world.

Read more Gist of AIR Spotlight here.

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