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YOGA DAY

1. Introduction:

         Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi while addressing the United Nations General Assembly on 27^th September 2014 said “Yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature.”

 

2. Steps in the Past:

• Establishment of the Central Yoga Research Institute in 1976 (which later became the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga) & the Central Council for Yoga and Naturopathy in 1978. These bodies worked as implementing arms of the government in various activities to promote Yoga.
• Yoga was not recognised as a healthcare system even in official documents but only as a therapy. In 1995 attention was focused on developing all AYUSH systems, including yoga, by including AYUSH healthcare systems under the newly created department of Indian Health Systems and Homoeopathy.

• The Indian Health Systems and Homoeopathy department was changed to the department of AYUSH in November 2003 to bring a sharper focus on the development of AYUSH systems.
• Programmes like ‘Yoga in School Health’ (in which school teachers were trained and a Yoga Teacher Manual was published) and ‘Yoga in Parks’ continued but only with limited success.
• Nearly 150 Swami Vivekanand District Yoga Health Centres were established that benefited more than 8 lakh patients, but the scheme had to be closed due to its structural limitations.

 

3. Transformative Steps Taken for Promoting Yoga

• The new government, in May 2014, changed the approach towards the role of Yoga and its relevance in public health.
• On 9th November 2014, a dedicated Ministry of AYUSH was created, and now Yoga has become a part of it .
• On 11th December 2014, 193 members of the UNGA and 173 co-sponsor countries unanimously approved the resolution of the United Nations in which the establishment of 21^st June as the International Day of Yoga was passed.
• In its resolution, the UNGA agreed that Yoga offers a holistic approach to health and well-being, and that widespread promotion about the benefits of practising Yoga is necessary for the global population’s health.
• Since 21st June 2015, the International Day of Yoga (IDY) is being celebrated across the globe through various activities and programmes relating to Yoga and wellbeing.
• The Ministry of Ayush is the nodal Ministry for all the Yoga-related activities and has designed a “Common Yoga Protocol (CYP)” programme to celebrate International Yoga Day in a standard manner.

 

4. Reforms by the concerned ministry regarding organising the International Day of Yoga

• Establishment of the National Yoga and Naturopathy Promotion and Development Board, a national level advisory body

• National Yoga and Naturopathy Promotion and Development Board was set up in February 2016 under the Ministry of AYUSH to advise the Ministry on various programmes for the development of Yoga.
• Encouragement to Yoga certification to ensure quality and excellence in Yoga training
• To improve the quality of Yoga training available to the citizens of the entire country, the certification of Yoga professionals and the verification of Yoga organisations were recognised by the Ministry as matters of priority.

 

• Work was initiated with the cooperation of the Indian Quality Council and was later centralised under the Yoga Certification Board (YCB), which had been established to function as a special body. Activities of the YCB include certification of Yoga professionals, verification of Yoga organizations, approval of Yoga professionals’ certification bodies and grading of Yoga organizations according to placement standards.
• Ministry of AYUSH has collaborated with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to remove gaps between the demand and supply of skilled yoga trainers and different aspects of skill development in yoga.
• Motivation to evidence-based research in Yoga with the help of prestigious institutions like an AIIMS
  • Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research (CIMR) at AIIMS, New Delhi, which is funded under the Centre of Excellence Scheme of the Ministry of AYUSH, has obtained excellent research outcomes in the field of integrative treatment of various disorders by using Yoga.
  • Collaborative research efforts through the autonomous body under the AYUSH ministry, the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), include yoga therapy in mental health, Covid- 19, heart diseases and cancer. Collaborating institutions include NIMHANS Bengaluru, AIIMS Rishikesh, HSC group of cancer hospitals, Indian Association for Palliative Care and Indian Cancer Society.
  • Yoga has figured at the 7th place in the Top-10 list of ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine).

 

• Promotion of Yogasana as Competitive Sport

• The Ministry of AYUSH and the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports have recently recognized Yogasana as a Competitive Sport formally.
• The National Yogasana Sports Federation (NYSF) was constituted, and in November 2020, the Sports Ministry recognized it as National Sports Federation.
• A total of 51 medals have been proposed in four sports under seven categories: Yogasana, Artistic Yoga (individual and double), Rhythmic Yoga (individual and group), Individual All-rounder Championship and Team Championship.
• Yogasana will also be included in the Khelo India programme. Efforts would be made to include Yogasana in Asian Games and Olympic sports in the future.
• Massive outreach efforts through governmental and private collaborations
• Enhancing access to Yoga treatment and training through a network of 12500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres
• Starting a universal project called ‘Yoga for All’ to reach the entire population in five years (the scheme is in its final stage now).

 

5. Efforts to Bring Yoga into the Mainstream:

• During the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Prime Minister had given a call to the nation to celebrate Yoga Day at home, titled “Yoga at home, Yoga with family,” which received an unexpectedly sizeable public support.
• According to the figures given by the stakeholder organisations, a total of 1.52 crore families took part in the friendly Yoga demonstrations on the International Day of Yoga on 21st June, 2020.
• In addition to that, around 5.97 crore individuals also participated in the International Day of Yoga, 2020. Based on these statistics, India’s total number of IDY 2020 participants was estimated to be around 12.06 crore.
• The number of foreign tourists coming to India for Yoga training has increased significantly since IDY 2015; in four years, i.e., in 2018 the number increased by 37.4% (Tourism Statistics at a Glance, Ministry of Tourism, 2014, 2018).

 

6. IDY 2021: Enthusiasm unfazed

• Estimates based on self-declaration indicate that 156.86 million persons participated in IDY 2021 in India.
• Various activities undertaken by the Ministry in the run up to International Day of Yoga resulted in an estimated outreach of 496.1 million this year.
• The involvement of Indian missions abroad saw over 50,000 people participating through various activities and Yoga left its footprints in iconic places such as Times Square in New York, Eiffel Tower in Paris and inside the Tokyo Skytree, world’s tallest tower, where people observed the 7th IDY with gusto.
• A dedicated 10-episode TV series, underscoring various dimensions of the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) for different stakeholders was telecast on DD India.
• The launch of Namaste Yoga App for making Yoga accessible to all at any point of time marked another technological milestone achieved by the Ministry.
• As a part of commemorating 75 years of independence, the Ministry of Culture organised 7th IDY at 75 cultural sites of the country.
• Ministry of AYUSH undertook several activities and campaigns in association with the MyGov platform to promote and people’s engagement with IDY 2021.
• Apart from the PM Yoga Awards, for which 120 entries were screened in the first round of the selection process, six other activities were organised through MyGov.
• These included IDY Quiz, IDY Pledge, IDY Survey, IDY Discussion, IDY Jingle Contest and Video Campaign.

• The Prime Minister announced on 21st June 2021 the launch of WHO MYoga App which has been developed in collaboration with Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga. This App offers a collection of learning modules and practicing sessions 10, 20 and 45-minute duration.

 

Source:  PIB Booklet on Unflinching Aims of TransformationalReforms YOGA DAY

AG/ RN/ SB

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