By Munish Arya

Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; 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. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help in wellbeing by Narendra Modi, United Nation General Assembly. 

UNGA held informal consultations on the draft resolution, entitled “International Day of Yoga”, on 14 October 2014. The draft text received broad support from 177 Member States who sponsored the text, which was adopted without a vote. This initiative found support from many global leaders. A total of 177 nations co-sponsored the resolution, which is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA Resolution of such nature.

International Day of Yoga is being celebrated across Dublin city for last 4 years. It was not possible to celebrate the International Day of yoga in person this year due to the covid19 pandemic. Rather this year Arya Yoga n’ Pranayam, founded by Munish Arya and Rachana Mishra, a Columbus Ohio based yoga studio organized and celebrated 6th International day of yoga on Sunday, June 21. The Theme for this year was “Yoga at Home, Yoga with Family” and “Yoga is good for community, immunity, and unity”

Over 300 Yoga enthusiasts and Yoga champions joined this online IDY event through Facebook, Youtube and Zoom and learned various yoga asana, Pranayam and their benefits led & demonstrated by Munish Arya.

Twelve other organizations also partnered with Arya Yoga n’ Pranayam for the event, EKAL Vidyalaya, FIA, Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Punjabi Virsa Ohio and other.

Arya Yoga n’ Pranayam has been serving the community and offer free live Yoga lessons over the weekends via Facebook.

Some highlights about International Day of Yoga

• The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated annually on 21 June since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014.
• The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his UN address suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many parts of the world.
• The first International Day of Yoga created a record for the largest yoga class and another for the largest number of participating nationalities.
• 177 nations co-sponsored the resolution, which is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any ‘United Nations General Assembly’ resolution of such nature.(Munish Arya is a Yoga Instructor in Dublin, Ohio. Email: aryayogapranayam@gmail.com)