NEW DELHI: India has been holding yoga events every year on June 21 since 2014, when UN adopted India’s resolution to mark the day as International Day of Yoga (IDY).Celebrating IDY was first proposed by PM Narendra Modi at the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Highlighting yoga’s universal appeal, he suggested the Summer Solstice – June 21 – as the appropriate day for the purpose. With 177 UN member states co-sponsoring the resolution, the proposal received overwhelming support, with IDY being first celebrated in 2015.A survey commissioned by Ministry of Ayush has found that this exercise has led to nearly one in every four persons in India incorporating yoga – which includes asana sequences, breath control exercises and meditation – into their lifestyle.While 11% of the respondents – 30,084 people from across the country – said they practise yoga daily, 13% said they do it sometimes.However, 75% of people still don’t practise yoga. To encourage such people, the survey report suggests complementing high-visibility flagship events such as IDY with grassroots mobilisation, digital platforms, and institutional partnerships. One of the moves by govt in this direction is a plan to upgrade existing parks in various panchayats (rural) and municipalities (urban) into Yoga parks where people can practise yoga every day.The Ayush ministry report also calls for embedding yoga instruction within school and university wellness programmes to foster early habit formation among young adults (18-24 years).The middle-aged groups can benefit from flexible work arrangements and digital access, which offer opportunities to scale virtual and office-based yoga interventions and convert occasional participants into consistent practitioners, the researchers suggest. They highlighted that nearly 17% of the elderly – the highest of any age group – practise yoga regularly.“The elderly people recognise the benefits of yoga, but they face barriers in including the practice in their daily lives. To address this, senior citizens-focused modules-such as chair-based asanas, balance exercises, and guided breathwork- should be delivered through community health centres and assisted-living facilities, ensuring that older adults can safely and confidently integrate yoga into their daily routines,” said Raghvendra Rao, director of Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN).He also stressed the need for more yoga trainers and accessibility to yoga classes, offline or through digital mode. Subhash Giri, professor of medicine at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital, stressed that yoga provides numerous physical, mental, emotional, and long-term health benefits.Saima Wazed, regional director of WHO Southeast Asia said: “The benefits of yoga are well-documented. Studies have shown that 77% of people report feeling physically stronger after practising yoga regularly; 82% of patients with chronic inflammation experienced a nearly 50% reduction in symptoms after just six weeks of daily yoga. A study by Harvard Medical School found 60% of participants with depression experienced a significant reduction in symptoms after practising yoga twice a week for eight weeks”.
