June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014. Yoga, a 6,000+-year-old
physical, mental and spiritual practice having its origin in India, aims to transform body and mind. The declaration came
after the call for the adoption of 21 June as International Day of Yoga by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi
during his address to UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014 wherein he
stated:
"Yoga
is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mindand body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man andnature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise
but to discover the sense of oneness with your self, 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”
”By changing our
lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change,”
he told the group of nations at the time. ”Let us work towards adopting an
International Yoga Day.” On Thursday, 177 countries co-sponsored the
resolution to establish an international day of yoga, Pakistan, India’s
neighbor and long-time rival did not join in doing so. Malaysia is also not
sponsoring the event. Islamic clerics sparked controversy in 2008 after issuing
a fatwa against yoga, because of its association with Hinduism.
The resolution on
'International Day of Yoga' was introduced by India's ambassador to UN Asoke
Mukerji and had 175 nations joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for
any general assembly resolution.
It is also for the first time that such an initiative has been proposed and implemented by any country in the UN body in less than 90 days.
It is also for the first time that such an initiative has been proposed and implemented by any country in the UN body in less than 90 days.
