Yoga: India's gift to the world for wellness

Yoga, an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition, offers a holistic approach to health and well-being, encouraging inner peace and balance in a rapidly changing world.

- Satnam Singh Sandhu

The theme of the 11th International Day of Yoga is: Yoga for One Earth One Health. It inspires a unified movement, transcending geographies, cultures, and professions.

Thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the acceptability of yoga has been enhanced to the extent that it is practiced as a way of life and has given India a unique recognition before the international fraternity.

On September 27, 2014, in his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), PM Modi proposed to dedicate June 21 as the day to celebrate yoga across the world.

Less than three months later, on December 11, 2014, 193 members of the UNGA and 173 co-sponsor countries unanimously approved the resolution, which agreed that yoga offers a holistic approach to health and well-being, and that widespread promotion about its benefits is necessary for the global population's health.

Ten years later, UNGA president Dennis Francis underscored its significance by terming yoga "a powerful metaphor for the United Nations itself", underlining the power of yogic practices in addressing the physical and mental health problems of the modern world.

The mass participation stands testament to the fact that the world has now accepted and is celebrating yoga.