Yoga has been one of India’s greatest gifts to the world and humanity at large. Indeed, the practice of yoga has existed in our culture since the beginning of civilization and mankind. The Indian God Shiva is considered to be the first yogi and is also referred to as the Adiyogi.
It is said the Lord Shiva taught this ancient form of yoga to 7 sages who travelled to all corners of the world and spread knowledge about it. It is, however, in its birthplace of India that yoga has thrived and reached new heights.
Yoga has been one of our nation’s biggest cultural exports and the Western world has begun to adopt this practice after realizing the numerous benefits that it brings to the human mind and soul.
In India, spiritual leaders like Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan have always talked about the importance of yoga and meditation in maintaining a holistic and balanced lifestyle.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken this message on to a global stage by getting the United Nations to declare 21st June as the International Day of Yoga. Over 193 countries supported this proposal by India which shows the growing popularity of yoga across the world.
Yoga day celebrations
On 21st June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a crowd of over 50,000 people in the practice of yoga to celebrate the International Day of Yoga. Despite the pouring rain, the entire ground was full of people by 5 pm who followed the Prime Minister in celebrating this day of pride for India.
Similarly in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan performed yoga with 4 generations of his family Shah Satnamji Sachkhand Dham Dera Sacha Sauda. In a unique display of how yoga can transcend generations, the Revered Saint demonstrated yoga to the world together with his mother, children, grandchildren and sons-in-law.
In the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a new world record was created when 54,522 people practicing yoga together at the same venue at the same time. The previous record was set on the 1st International Day of Yoga in 2015 when 35,985 people practiced yoga together at an event organized by the Ministry of AYUSH.
Sound mind in a sound body
While a lot of us tend to concentrate on the fitness of our body, the health of our soul sometimes ends up taking a back seat. Yoga provides a wonderful way of achieving harmony between our body and mind so that their potential can be utilized to the fullest.
In a world that is filled with stress, yoga provides the human mind with the power to combat all the negative energy around us.
Indeed, as the mind gets filled with constant negative thoughts, Pranaayam and Yoga are the ideal way of bringing it back on to the right track.
Yoga, therefore, not only makes your body fit but also results in an overall development of your personality. The positive energy created by the art of yoga results in people accomplishing tasks without any stress and leads to an improved quality of life. Moreover, the biggest advantage of yoga is that it can be practiced by absolutely anyone regardless of their age.
From India to the world
With the blessings and guidance of Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, yoga teaching has been formally imparted to students since 1994. In fact, the skills of yoga were showcased on an international stage for the first time in 2001 by the students of Shah Satnamji Educational Institutions.
In fact, over 11 students from these institutions have already represented India and won numerous international awards in the field of yoga.
Under the guidance of the Revered Saint, over 107 medals have been won by students of Sirsa-based institutions of which 46 medals have been at an Asian level and 61 medals at the World Championship level.
Last year, the Revered Saint was honored with an award by the Yoga Federation of India, Asia Yoga Federation, International Yoga Federation, and the International Yoga Sports Federation for his contribution to the field.
The gift of yoga is being valued by the world as can be seen by the massive interest expressed by Westerners in coming to India to learn this ancient holistic art.
As Indians, it is our duty to ensure that we instill a great appreciation for yoga especially amongst our youth and children so that we can work towards achieving a society that is not just physically fit but also spiritually pure and evolved.
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