In news- The Ministry of Culture celebrated International Day of Yoga at 75 cultural heritage locations across the country.
Key updates-
- The extensive drive has been titled “Yoga, An Indian Heritage”, and is part of India’s “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” campaign.
- The theme for International Yoga Day 2021 has been decided by the UN to be “Yoga for well-being”.
- The number of participants for yoga sessions were restricted to 20 at each site.
Prime minister announced that India, along with the United Nations and WHO, is launching an app called M-Yoga aiming to provide easy access to Yogic practice all over the world.
International Yoga Day-
- The word ‘yoga’ derived from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolising the union of body and mind.
- The proposal to observe an International Yoga Day was first introduced by PM Modi in his address during the opening of the 69th session of the UNGA in 2014.
- The draft resolution was endorsed by a record 175 member states.
- The day aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.
- It has been celebrated every year on June 21 since 2015.
- June 21 is picked for celebrating International Yoga Day as it marks the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere – the longest day of the year and considered auspicious in many cultures.
- The first-ever International Yoga Day saw the participation of nearly 36,000 people at Delhi’s Rajpath and created two records — a Guinness World Record for the largest yoga class at a single venue and the other for the highest number of nationalities to have participated.
Celebrations were held in 192 of the 193 UN member countries, except Yemen.
Source: The Hindu
