21st June 2020 marks the 6th annual United Nations(UN) International Day of Yoga (IDY) to raise awareness about the benefits of practicing yoga and to educate the public on the importance of choosing a healthy lifestyle to achieve good health. The first IDY was celebrated on 21st June 2015.
UN declared IDY 2020 theme as “Yoga for Health – Yoga at Home”
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared June 21st as International day of yoga by the resolution A/RES/69/131 on 11th December 2014.
ii.The proposal for establishing the IDY was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the opening of General Assembly’s 69th session and 175 member states supported the proposal.
India Celebrating Yoga Day:
i.To encourage the people to practice yoga in their homes with their family, The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), Government of India has maximised the use of social and digital media platforms to assist people in participate in the online events.
- Ministry of AYUSH in India is promoting IDY 2020 with the theme as “Yoga at Home – Yoga with Family”
ii.The ministry and the yoga institutes focused on the training of Common Yoga Protocol(CYP), streamed the CYP session of social media and Doordarshan for the people to learn the protocol.
iii.Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, Ministry of AYUSH informed about the Ayush Sanjivani app generating data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH advocacies.
iv.Prahlad Singh Patel, The Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism organised Namaste Yoga campaign from 19th to 21st June and performed Surya Namaskar at Purana Qila and asked the people participate in the online campaign by posting their Surya Namaskar videos on the social media with #10MillionSuryaNamaskar & #NamasteYoga.
Events:
i.In this year 2020, the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations organised the online celebration of the IDY on 19th June 2020 considering the social distancing measures and lockdown situation due to the pandemic.
ii.The UN has offered yoga resources on the Coronavirus portal’s section on Wellness.
iii.“My Life – My Yoga” video blogging contest announced by Prime Minister Modi to raise awareness about yoga.
Yoga:
i.The word “yoga” is derived from Sanskrit which means to join or to unite symbolising the union of body and consciousness.
ii.In the Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030, the World Health Organization(WHO) mentions yoga as a way to improve health.
Static GK:
The Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (I/C)– Prahlad Singh Patel
The Union Minister of State AYUSH– Shripad Yesso Naik
