Tuesday, June 9, 2015

International #YogaDay at UN to be broadcast at #TimesSquare

Celebrations commemorating the first International Yoga Day will be broadcast at Times Square to a global audience.The India-led celebrations will also feature a special lecture and demonstration by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.


The United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga on Dec 11, 2014.  Addressing the UN General Assembly on 27 September 2014, the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi had said: "Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day."  On Dec 11, India's Permanent Representative introduced the draft resolution in UNGA. The draft text received broad support from 170 Member States, including USA, and the draft text was adopted without a vote. Hence, June 21, 2015 is the first International Day of Yoga. Government of India is planning to celebrate IDY 2015 in all the countries around the world.