International Day of Yoga or Yoga Day is being celebrated on 21st June of every year and it has been celebrated annually from 2015. The Day for was declared by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014.
Prime Minister of India proposed the date of June 21st which is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shared the views of the importance of the Yoga around the world.
Definition of Yoga: Yoga is a physical, mental, and/ or spiritual practice accredited mostly to India
Focus: Promotion of global health, Harmony and Peace
Aim: Encouraging the practice of Yoga & Meditation, creating awareness about Yoga & its benefits and taking up it in one’s day-to-day habits
Prime Minister headed second International Yoga Day in Chandigarh with 30000 participants
- Prime Minister along with 30,000 participants have joined to celebrate Second International Yoga Day on June 21st in order to treat diseases like Diabetes and Hypertension through the Yoga
- Participants: Prime Minister, Defence Force Personnel, School children and other participants from all ages from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana
- Venue: Chandigarh
- Prime Minister and the participants performed various Yoga ‘asanas’ in a mass demonstration of ‘Common Yoga Protocol’
- Prime Minister urged the participants to practice the Yoga in controlling the diabetes and he suggested starting campaign to create the awareness about Yoga
- Expressing the benefits of Yoga, he stressed that Yoga is helping to get rid of diabetes and also helps it guarantees wellness
President of India inaugurated 2nd International Yoga Day celebrations in Rashtrapati Bhavan
- The 2nd International Yoga Day is being celebrated in Rashtrapati Bhavan along with 1000 participants.
- Participants: President, Secretariat officers and personnel, their family members, members of Delhi Police, ITBP and scholars from IITs, IISERs and IISc Bengaluru
- Organised by: Rashtrapathi Bhawan collaboration with Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga
- They performed Yoga ‘Asanas’ as per Common protocol decided by Ministry of AYUSH
Countries around World celebrated 2nd International Yoga Day
- International Yoga Day is being observed by 193 countries around the World to mark day with full enthusiasm.
- Venue: Times Square in New York
- Over 1000 people participated to mark a day which has become a global festival
- About 8.7 percent of United States citizen keeping Yoga as habit as per Yoga Journal Study and about 20 Million Americans Practice Yoga
- Indian missions present in the world are observing the events at Indian High Commissions and Embassies
- Indian Peacekeepers implemented 13 missions around the world also participated in the events.
- 35 foreign missions participated in the Main yoga event in Chankyapuri, New Delhi, India
- At the US embassy, American ambassador to India Richard Verma took part in the yoga day event.
Isha Founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev headed Yoga session at UN on 2nd International Yoga Day
- Spiritual leader and Isha foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev headed a yoga event at the UN on the event of the 2nd International Yoga Day
- Theme: Yoga for the sustainable Development Goals
- India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations stated earlier that Sadhguru would lead the yoga event at the United Nations headquarter
- United Nations building was lighted up with Parvatasana on occasion of International Yoga Day
Union Ministry of AYUSH released Yog Geet for 2016 International Yoga Day
- The AYUSH Ministry released a Yog Geet in association with the celebration of the 2nd International Day of Yoga
- Duration: 3 Min 15 Seconds
- Language: Hindi
- Written and Produced by: Deeraj Sarawat
- Sung By: Gandhar TD Jadhav and Gatha Jadhav
- Composed by: Sumanto Ray
- The Yog Geet song was chosen vide a national level competition conducted by the AYUSH Ministry from 1000 entries
- Union Human Resource Development Minister gave away prizes to winners of ‘1st Yoga Olympiad’
- Union HRD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani delivered the 1st Yoga Olympiad prizes to winners in New Delhi
- The Minister thanked and expressed the benefits of Yoga. And she announced that Yoga departments be revamped in 6 Central Universities.
- A total of 322 students and their 80 teachers from 21 states/UTs were participated in the Yoga Olympiad Performance. In the four categories, a total number of 48 participants, 4 each for Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were selected.
Haryana’s Faridabad made a world record by gathering One Lakh Participants in International Day of Yoga Celebration
- About One Lakh participants being participated in Haryana’s Faridabad to mark the International Day of Yoga setting a new world record
- Delegates: Yoga Guru Ramdev, BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Krishnan pal
- BJP President stated that enthusiasm delivered by the people towards Yoga marked the victory of the Campaign to promote the Yoga
- With the initiatives of Prime Minister People in 170 countries have adopted Yoga as a part of their lives and International Yoga Day is being celebrated in 193 countries
Gujarat State made a New Guinness Book Record by practicing yoga with more than 1600 pregnant women
- About 1632 pregnant women were participated in Gujarat’s Rajkot city and made a new Guinness Book record by practicing Yoga in the event of International Yoga Day
- Venue: Rajkot, Gujarat
- Earlier, the record was made by China, where more than 900 pregnant women had taken part in the yoga practice.
India’s first Yoga Out Patient Department inaugurated in Jaipur
- Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched the State’s first Outpatient and research centre for Yoga at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur on occasion of the International Day of Yoga
- Venue: Jaipur, Rajasthan
- Inaugurated by: Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
- Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) runs yoga OPDs in government hospitals in New Delhi
PM Modi announces International Yoga Award and National Yoga Award
- PM announced two yoga awards, one international and another one national that are to be given away on the occasion of International Yoga Day.
- One will be for excellent contribution in the field of yoga internationally and the other for excellent contribution to yoga in the country.
- A special committee will formulate the rules and decide the jury.