In news– Eighth edition of the International Day of Yoga was observed on 21st June 2022.
About International Day of Yoga-
- 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.
- Recognized by the UN, 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.
- The theme for 2022 was ‘Yoga for Humanity’.
About Yoga-
- Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind (Chitta) and mundane suffering (Duḥkha).
- There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
- Yoga is first mentioned in the Rigveda, and is referred to in a number of the Upanishads.
- The first known appearance of the word “yoga” with the same meaning as the modern term is in the Katha Upanishad, which was probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE.
- Yoga continued to develop as a systematic study and practice during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India’s ascetic and Śramaṇa movements.
- The most comprehensive text on Yoga, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, date to the early centuries of the Common Era.
- Yoga philosophy became known as one of the six orthodox philosophical schools (Darśanas) of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium CE.
- Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra.
The fundamentals of Yoga-
Yoga works on the level of one’s body, mind, emotion, and energy. This has given rise to four broad classifications of Yoga they are;
- Karma Yoga (where we utilize the body)
- Jnana Yoga (where we utilize the mind and intellect)
- Bhakti Yoga (where we utilize the emotion) and
- Kriya Yoga (where we utilize the energy).
All ancient commentaries on Yoga have stressed that it is essential to work under the direction of a guru.
Source: The Indian Express
