Focus: Facts for prelims
Why in News?
On 21st June, the eighth edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY) was observed across the world in solidarity.
IDY-2022
- In the spirit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as the country celebrates 75th year of independence, International Yoga Day celebrations were held at 75 prominent Heritage spots across the country.
- A tribute to India’s ancient tradition of yoga, the event emphasized yoga’s role in achieving mental well-being in tandem with the theme for IDY 2022 – ‘Yoga for Humanity’
Significance of Yoga
- The Prime Minister spoke of Yoga’s role during the pandemic, on the occasion.
- While Yoga is not a part of culture across countries, enthusiasm has increased globally.
- He stressed the importance of breathing exercises like pranayama and anulom-vilom for strengthening our respiratory system.
- The mantra of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ which India has followed since ages, is now finding global acceptance.
- We all are praying for each other’s wellbeing, If there are threats to humanity, Yoga often gives us a way of holistic health.
M-Yoga App
- India and WHO took an important step by launching M-Yoga app world-over, which will provide many videos of yoga training based on common yoga protocol in many languages. This will contribute to the efforts of ‘One World One Health’.
- M-Yoga has been developed by the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of Ayush in partnership with the World Health Organisation.
A backgrounder to M-Yoga App
- The Ministry of AYUSH and the World Health Organization (WHO) had jointly undertaken a project in mid 2019, focusing on mobile-Yoga. It envisaged the concept of the ‘Be Healthy, Be Mobile’ (BHBM) under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
- Be Healthy, Be Mobile (BHBM) initiative is a global partnership led by WHO which supports the scale up of mobile health (m-Health) technology within the scope of the National Health system to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
About the IDY
- The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated annually on 21 June since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014.
- The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his UN address in 2014, had suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many parts of the world.
