Yoga to Mitigate Hardships of Pandemic
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Delhi, May 04 – The Ministry of Ayush and the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) have tapped into the spirit of IDY to encourage the public to pursue Yoga as a daily routine for good health and well-being. The two Ministries came together to organise a virtual event on 2nd May 2021 to mark 50 days in the countdown to IDY-2021. The International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2021 is coming up in less than two months from now.
The event also carried a recorded video of Shri Kiren Rijiju, the Sports Minister in conversation with Shri Pullela Gopichand about the importance of Yoga for sports persons. There was also a message on Yoga from Smt. Anju Bobby George, celebrated athlete.
The programme was streamed on the Social Media platforms of the Ayush Ministry and the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, and attracted more than 5000 viewers. Taking cognizance of the current spurt in Covid 19 cases, it is necessary to avoid a congregation of people for the promotional activities of IDY-2021. Hence all the IDY 2021 promotional activities are happening via the digital, virtual and electronic platforms to encourage participation by citizens from their respective homes. The Ministry of Ayush has, in this context, been propagating the message “Be with Yoga, Be at Home”.
Consequent to the second surge in Covid 19, there is wide-spread concern over the pandemic’s impact on people’s physical and mental health. In this exacting phase, Yoga with its multi-faceted benefits, is proving to be of immense help to the public. Yoga is more than a mere physical activity, and offers multiple health promotive and stress-relieving rewards to its regular practitioners. These re-assuring and redeeming features of Yoga can go a long way in finding balance in our day-to-day lives in the changed reality of the pandemic. Consistent practice of Yoga helps to improve health and strengthen natural immunity. Practice of Yoga is known to help in improving their metabolism, maintaining proper blood circulation, and reducing vulnerability to various ailments like respiratory disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes etc. Yoga also improves mental health and emotional resilience and enables people to cope with fear, anxiety, stress, boredom, depression and frustration, which are commonly reported in the present difficult times. IDY-2021, therefore, is a timely occasion to usher Yoga in, into the thoughts and everyday lives of common people.
The virtual event held on 2nd May 2021 provided wider promotion and publicity to IDY and promoted the spirit of participation in this event, which over the years, has emerged as a global health seeking movement. The Common Yoga Protocol (CYP), one of the best introductory programmes for beginners to learn Yoga, was discussed in the event, and the need to reach CYP to the maximum number of people for their benefit was highlighted.
The Common Yoga Protocol (CYP), a specified sequence of Yogasanas of 45 minutes duration lies at the heart of IDY observation. It was developed by some of the most accomplished Yoga gurus of India in 2015. It was designed for easy learning by common people, irrespective of their age and gender, and can be learnt through simple training sessions and online classes.
A galaxy of Yoga experts participated in this online event conducted in a “deferred streaming” mode. They included Dr. H. R. Nagendra, Chancellor of the SVYASA University in Bengaluru, Shri O.P. Tiwari, Secretary-General of Kaivalyadhama in Lonavala, Yogacharya Shri S. Sridharan from Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai, Dr. Madanmohan, Emeritus Professor of Physiology and Director of the Centre of Yogic Science AV Medical College & Hospital, Puducherry and Smt. Kamlesh Barwal, Coordinator, Art of Living Foundation, Bengaluru.
