YOGA: One Earth, One Health

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA: JUNE 21

- DR. PARVEEN KUMAR*

June 21, this year marks eleventh ‘International Yoga Day’. Having its roots in the ancient traditions of India and a healthy practice handed over as a valuable gift to entire humanity by India, Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment.

It signifies a well knit harmony between human beings and their environment, and embodies a holistic approach to health and well-being. It just is not about few exercises but aims to discover the sense of oneness with one-self; the world and the nature. Yoga’s origins can be traced to northern India over 5,000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in ancient sacred texts called the Rig Veda. The Vedas are a set of four ancient sacred texts written in Sanskrit. Researchers and historians trace the development of yoga back 5,000 years. Some take yoga origins even further back to 10,000 years. India is widely considered one of the most spiritual places on Earth and it’s easy to see why. It is home to several of the most sacred sites in the world and it offers more than 1,300 yoga retreats, yoga ashrams and yoga teacher training courses.