Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition

International Day of Yoga , or commonly and unofficially referred to as Yoga Day, is celebrated annually on June
21 since its inception in 2015. An international day for yoga was declared by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014, almost unanimously. Yoga is
a physical, mental, and/ or spiritual practice attributed mostly to India. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN Address suggested the date of June 21, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world.

The idea of an International Day of Yoga was first proposed by Narendra Modi during his speech at the UNGA, on September 27, 2014.

“Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. This tradition is 5000 years old. It 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 the nature. By
changing our lifestyle and
creating consciousness, it
can help in well being .

Let
 us work towards adopting
an International Yoga Day, “ Narendra Modi said in the UN General Assembly

Following this initial proposal, the UNGA held informal consultations on the draft resolution entitled “International Day of Yoga”, on October 14, 2014. The consultations were convened by the delegation of India.

On December 11, 2014, India’s Permanent Representative Asoke Mukherji introduced the draft resolution in UNGA. The draft text received broad support from 177 Member States who adopted the text without a vote. This initiative found support from many global leaders. A total of 175 nations co-sponsored the resolution and had the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA Resolution of such nature.

When proposing June 21 as the date, Modi said that the date was
the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, [shortest in the southern hemisphere], having special significance in many parts of the world. From the perspective of yoga, the summer solstice marks the transition to Dakshinayana. The first full moon after summer solstice is known as Guru Poornima. Shiva, the first yogi (Adi Yogi) is said to have begun imparting the knowledge of yoga to the rest of mankind on this day and became the first guru (Adi Guru). Dakshinayana is also considered a time when there is natural support for those pursuing spiritual practices.

Following the adoption of the UN Resolution, several leaders of spiritual movement in India voiced their support for the initiative. Founder of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru, stated that “this could be a kind of a foundation stone to make scientific approach to the inner well-being of the human being, a worldwide thing [...]

It’s a tremendous step for the world.” Founder of Art of Living, Ravi Shankar lauded the efforts of Modi, stating that “It is very difficult for any philosophy, religion or culture to survive without state patronage. Yoga has existed so far almost like an orphan. Now, official recognition by the UN would further spread the benefit of yoga to the entire world.”

In India, the ministry of AYUSH released a letter to all government departments stating that “the government of India has decided
to take forward the momentum created by International Day of
Yoga, 2015 with greater and more active participation of youth during the current year celebrations.” The ministry will organize an event titled “The National Event of Mass Yoga Demonstration” at Chandigarh, which will be attended by the Indian Prime Minister.

India’s Permanent Mission to the UN will be organizing celebrations at the United Nations on June 20 and 21. A special event titled “Conversation with Yoga Masters – Yoga for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” is the centerpiece.