International Yoga Day 2020 Theme

The International Yoga Day is celebrated on 21st June every year all around the world to create general awareness among people and community to get harmony and peace through Yoga. This year also the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has all set to celebrate Sixth International Yoga Day on 21st June at "Leh" in Ladakh

Why is International yoga Day Celebrated:

Yoga is essentially a spiritual, physical, mental practice based on extremely subtle science which focuses on calmness, peace, confidence and bringing harmony between mind and body. "Yoga" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" which means "to join" or "to unite". The aim of Yoga practice is to overcome all kinds of suffering that lead to a sense of freedom in every walk of life with holistic health, happiness and harmony.

Theme for 2020 International Yoga Day:

International Yoga Day 2020 Theme is not declared by the UN or Ministry of Ayush, India. There are two themes for World Yoga Day 2019, the United Nation declared the theme"Yoga for Climate Action" and the Ministry of Ayush, India declared the theme "Yoga for Heart" for Yoga Day.

Origin of Yoga:

The Yoga has its origin thousands of years ago, long before the very first belief system were born. The seers and sages carried this powerful Yogic science to different parts of the world including Asia, the Middle East, northern Africa and south America. In India the Yogic system found its fullest expression, however modern scholars have noted marveled at the close parallels found between ancient cultures across the globe. Yoga is widely considered as an "Immortal Cultural Outcome" of the Indus Saraswati Valley Civilisation - dating back to 2700 BC and has proven itself to cater to both material and spiritual upliftment of humanity. Though Yoga was being practiced in the pre-Vedic period, the great sage Maharishi Patanjali systematized and codified the then existing Yogic practice, its meaning and its related knowledge through Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. After Patanjali, many sages and Yoga masters contributed greatly for the preservation and development of the field. Yoga has spread all over the world by the teaching of eminent Yoga masters from ancient times to the present date.

In 1893, Swami Vivekananda addressed the world parliament of religion in Chicago, America in which he introduced Yoga to the western world. After that many eastern Gurus and Yogis spread Yoga throughout the world and on a large scale people started accepting it. Even Yoga began to be studied in the form of a subject, and then it came out that there are long term benefits of Yoga.

Pre-Vedic Yoga period
Source:www.mea.gov.in

How did International Yoga Day start Brief History:

International Yoga Day was celebrated on 21st June, 2015 for the first time. The idea of International Yoga day was first proposal by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, during his speech at the United Nation General Assembly, on 27th Sep 2014. It was declared as "International Yoga Day". While addressing the United Nations General assembly (UNGA) the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi said - "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 the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day". The 193 member of UNGA approved the proposal by consensus with a record 177 co-sponsoring counties a resolution, to establish 21 June as "International Yoga day".

Source:www.news18.in

First International Yoga Day:

The Ministry of Ayush successfully organised 1st International Yoga Day on 21st June, 2015 at Rajpath, New Delhi. First International Yoga Day has made two Guinness World Record viz. the Largest Yoga Lesson involving 35,000 participants and maximum number of Nationalities participated in a single Yoga lesson.