iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Today is the sixth edition of the International Day of Yoga. Unlike the past five years, there will not be any mass gatherings organized around the world to propagate the benefits of yoga, for obvious reasons.
However, India’s Ministry of AYUSH along with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) on Friday announced a unique international video blog competition, called ‘My Life My Yoga’.
The idea is to keep the spirit of the IDY alive and at the same time maintain the sanctity COVID-19 protocols. The aim of this competition is to let the world know that yoga can be a fun activity yet bring a transformative impact on the lives of individuals.
The contest ran in two legs. The first leg consisting of an international video blogging contest, wherein winners will be picked within a country.
The participants had to make a 3-minute video of performing yoga ‘asanas’ and put them on their preferred social media platforms with the hashtag #MyLifeMyYoga and also hashtag their country name tagging the AYUSH ministry.
The theme this year was ‘Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family’, officials said, which will enable people to observe the day at home with family members at 7 am on June 21.
“Earlier we had planned Yoga Day in a big way with the Prime Minister attending it in Leh but due to the pandemic situation, all plans are suspended. It is also not clear if the PM will go to Leh or not,” said Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said, speaking at a press conference.
At the Indian Embassy in the US, the yoga day was celebrated on Saturday, June 20, at 8:30 AM at the Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC. It was organized in partnership with Friends of Yoga and several organizations supporting Yoga.
The program started with a video of PM Narendra Modi addressing, “World is fighting a pandemic of monumental scale but yoga provides multi-dimensional solutions to the multiple challenges Covid-19 has brought”. He said, “Yoga offers something for everyone. It enables a strong mind and a healthy body.”
With so much confusion and chaos, the world today needs yoga and meditation more than ever.
It doesn’t just have a positive impact on one’s body, but it also changes our mind and our perspective on things. When we have clarity in our mind, we have the power to take bold unregretful decisions, and yoga is that tool that offers clarity in mind.
Vinay Sahasrabuddh, President of ICCR said that the video blogging competition will give a huge number of testimonials which will help in spreading the word about Yoga and its overall benefits not just health-wise but also towards the approach to human life as well.
The prize that was announced for this competition was Rs 1 lakh, 50,000 and 25,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranking within each of the categories, for Indians; and $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 along with trophy and certificate will be given to those ranking first, second and third for people outside India.
