The Union Minister of Ayush, Sarbanand Sonowal inaugurated Yoga Mahotsav 2022 in New Delhi, an event meant to observe the countdown of 100 days to the prelude to the 8th International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2022. The dignitaries present on the occasion included: the Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Sikkim Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Union Minister for Labour and Employment and Environment Bhupender Yadav, MoS for Ayush Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai and MoS for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi and Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, President, Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh.
The theme of 100 days, 100 cities and 100 organizations is the focus theme for the International Day of Yoga 2022 (IDY 2022) campaign and will be celebrated all across the globe till the 21st of June 2022. To celebrate the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, for the first time yoga will be demonstrated at 75 of the Heritage and Iconic cultural sites on the 21st of June 2022.
Other programs included in the event are Yoga programs, Yoga demonstrations, workshops and seminars which will be held not just in India but across the globe. The Ministry will disseminate the benefits of using World Health Organisation’s (WHO) mYoga App, Namastey App, as well as Y-break App. Along with that, various activities and programmes focused exclusively on the individuals will also be launched on MyGov platform, which includes Photo contest, quiz, discussion, pledge, poll survey, jingle, and so on.
In the introductory speech, Sarbananda Sonowal said that the International Day of Yoga (IDY), which is to be held this very year, will be the eighth edition of International Day of Yoga organised by the country. This is an opportunity to campaign for the masses so as to promote health, wellbeing and peace between the people across the globe.
He said that the 100 day countdown to the International Day of Yoga will officially mark the initiation of our journey towards the celebration of the International Day of Yoga 2022, which eventually will be our journey towards the freedom from likes of disease, stress and depression.
The Minister added that since the World Health Organisations’ Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is being established in India, it is the obligation of our country, which has great and deep knowledge and wisdom of yoga and the traditional health practices, to guide the world on the path of peace, well-being, as well as on better and affordable health.
He added that since 2015, under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, the IDY has gone on to become a mass movement and has been recognized as the biggest public initiative in the world where more than 250 million people are practicing common yoga conventions developed and propagated by the Ministry of Ayush.
The minister further added that the ministry has undertaken relentless initiatives to make and present yoga as an Indian brand meant for the world peace and health and also to promote the motto of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’ (One India, Great India).
Speaking on this occasion, Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, said that Haryana became the first state in the country to establish a Yoga Commission and the state is in the process of establishing an Ayush University in Kurukshetra Haryana, in a 100 acre area. He said that the Haryana government has also taken steps to make compulsory the availability of an Ayush Doctor in nearly 2000 Public Health Centers in the state of Haryana.
Prem Singh Tamang, the Chief Minister of Sikkim in his address proposed to establish a National Yoga and Meditation Institute near Kritunga Lake in Sikkim, in line with the IDY. He added that it will act as a global institution by imparting knowledge and understanding about the yoga and its practices. He said that Yoga is an essential part of the school curriculum of Sikkim and almost 500 teachers are enrolled to impart the services and knowledge related to yoga.
In his Address, Bhupender Yadav said that on the path of environment friendly lifestyle, Yoga and Ayush as a whole, have a lot to contribute to the country and the communities. He said that the state is amending the Bio-diversity Act with the aim to have a lasting and positive impact on the growth of the Ayush systems. He went on to request the Ayush Minister to organise Yoga programmes alongside the countdown series at celebrated sites like 49 select lakes and 52 tiger reserves.
Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, the Secretary to the Ministry of Ayush said that AIIMS had undertaken studies to measure the impact of Yoga when compared to the Gym goers. The studies suggest that the physical improvements in both the groups were moreover same, but whereas Gym goers were seen to have enhanced ‘Rajo-gun’ and ‘Tamo-gun’, the group practicing yoga was seen to have enhanced ‘Sato-gun’, Kotecha remarked.
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