International Yoga Day, which is celebrated on 21st June, every year, was first celebrated in 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this possible by initiating the celebration proposal in September 2014. It was accepted on 11th December 2014, by the United Nations General Assembly. The proposal was supported by more than 170 countries. The date 21stJune was chosen for multiple reasons with one of them being the June Solstice. Yoga in India has been in practice from 5thcentury BC and is now gaining popularity across the world. The celebration aims to increase the reach further, to have the entire humankind experience its benefits.
International Yoga Day is celebrated to emphasize the holistic health benefits of yoga. Some of them are as follows.
- Yoga helps in balancing all aspects of wellness: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual.
- Mentally, it brings in a sense of peace and clarity, and relieves stress.
- Emotionally, it helps in living in the moment with a sense of calmness.
- Physically, it strengthens the body’s stamina and maintains flexibility.
- Spiritually, it heals the soul and creates a sense of oneness.
- Overall, it helps in making healthy lifestyle choices.
International Yoga Day and its themes:
International Yoga Day is celebrated internationally with a unique theme every year.
2015 | Yoga for Harmony and Peace
This was the first edition of World Yoga Day. In India, this was significantly celebrated in Delhi, with more than 35,000 people, including dignitaries from 84 nations and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event went on for more than 30 minutes and 21 asanas were performed. It was organised by the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy). In the United States, more than 70 organizations joined hands in celebrating it in more than 100 cities. Worldwide, more than 190 countries conducted demonstrations!
2016 | Connect the Youth
This, being the second edition, was prominently celebrated at Chandigarh in India. The event was a success with more than 30,000 people across India. The event was organised by the Ministry of AYUSH, for the second time in a row. Around 150 differently abled people were also a part of the session. Additionally, a two day conference was organised in Delhi on Yoga for Body and Beyond. In other parts of the world, the celebrations were carried out with various yoga related events.
2017 | Yoga for Health
In India, the main event was organised at Lucknow, by the Ministry of AYUSH. The event witnessed a participation rate of 50,000 plus people, including 80 foreign delegates. Additionally, a conference on Yoga for Wellness was organised in Delhi. And globally, this was celebrated in a number of creative ways. The Times Square in New York witnessed 1000s of yoga enthusiasts. Japan initiated a league to support the yoga movement. The celebration was also prominent in China, Dublin and Athens among others.
2018 | Yoga for Peace
The theme encourages the concepts of world peace, unity in diversity, diversity inclusion and cultural acceptance. In India, Rajasthan made a Guinness World Record with a yoga session with a participation rate exceeding a lakh! Internationally, the celebration was prominent in Istanbul among other nations.
2019 | Yoga for Heart
The theme for 2019 is Yoga for Heart. In India, the event will be held prominently at Ranchi. Globally, the celebration will be significant at Washington with more than 3000 yoga enthusiasts expected to be a part of it. And a total of 50,000 people worldwide, are expected to be a part of this celebration! Additionally, the celebration will be evident in fitness centres across the world!
Practicing yoga at the workplace:
Since we end up spending a considerable amount of time at work, making conscious health choices at workplace goes a long way in retaining our good health. Yoga is one such practice, and the following benefits that yoga can bring in, makes it evident that it’s worth organising yoga events at the workplace.
- Relieves stress and anxiety, and promotes a sense of clarity and calmness.
- Increases focus and performance quality, thereby increasing the productivity.
- Helps in retaining good physical health, improves stamina and maintains flexibility.
- Helps in retaining confidence.
- Keeps the workplace environment vibrant.
- Keeps the workforce healthy and happy.
Ways to incorporate workplace yoga.
Considering the numerous benefits that yoga has, organising this at your workplace could be a huge success. The following are a few things to keep in mind while doing so.
- Choose which asanas you’re willing to demonstrate.
- Ensure the asanas are simple and easy for beginners.
- Choose a spacious venue.
- Pick a timeslot that’s suitable for all employees to avail.
- Inform the importance of choosing attire that’s comfortable for performing yoga.
- Ensure the essentials like yoga mats are in place.
- Inform the team in advance to have them come prepared.
Interested in knowing how other companies celebrated International Yoga Day?
Microsoft
In 2017, Microsoft celebrated World Yoga Day by launching a feature that they created on Bing, specifically to support the practise of yoga! The feature displays content in images and videos, to make it easier to include yoga as a part of the daily workout routine. Additionally, the feature also makes it possible to choose the relevant asanas as per the requirements.
Accenture
Accenture runs a blog that features employee stories as a gesture of appreciation towards their employees. One of the stories, which is an experience based article, highlights the benefits and changes that yoga can bring into our lives. Anxiety and stress management, time management, control over physical health, control over confidence, clarity and calmness, are some of the concepts the snippet covers.
The Fuller Life
At The Fuller Life (TFL), we’ve been organising events in the employee wellness and employee engagement space for more than 17 years now. Yoga is one of our fun events to bring in relaxation and fitness to the workplace. And we’re proud to have been organising yoga events for more than a decade now!
Here’s a gist of what we’ve done in the past.
Desktop Yoga : An exciting way to get fit without leaving your desk. The yoga instructor guides you through basic stretches and keeps you moving.
Classroom Yoga : Exercise improves teamwork! Through group sessions, colleagues are led by an expert trainer to keep it going.
This year we had many of our employees take part in the Yoga session early in the morning before they sat down to work the rest of the day. This has not only helped us remind ourselves about being fit but has also helped us feel fresh and happy all day.
This makes it evident that yoga has the power to revamp our lifestyle choices. It’s also clear that yoga helps in creating healthier workplaces with happier workforces.
You’re just a call away to make yoga a part of your organisation!
Contact The Fuller Life and discover how to make every day a new experience!
+91 80500 58002/3 | reachus@thefullerlife.com
