Yoga, an Indian tradition that we have gifted the world, is a powerful tool for inner engineering through which one can explore the metaphysical and achieve spiritual oneness.

Yoga enables one to truly connect with oneself. It enables an expansion of physical and mental abilities and helps us become the best version of ourselves. Afterall, inner tranquility is the recipe for greatness. This is the reason Yoga has gained unprecedented popularity across the globe with people in the United States of America, Canada, countries in Europe, Japan and South Korea adopting and practicing yoga in large numbers. The beginning and peak of the global pandemic were definite inflection points. Today, the popularity of Yoga has soared from Los Angeles to Okinawa and from London and Paris to Sydney and Auckland.

Yoga is a drugless Indian system that emphasizes stress management, lifestyle, and diet correction to reduce the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity and even cancer. The Ministry of Ayush has, since its inception, gone the extra mile in promoting Indian traditional medicine systems of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and Sowa Rigpa. It has made these endeavors in a bid to establish India as the holistic health capital of the world.

The Indian Prime Minister had proposed at the United Nations, in 2014, the idea of celebrating June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. The proposal was passed by the general assembly with a record 175 countries supporting India. On June 21, 2022, the Prime Minister of India will, once again, be leading the celebrations of the Eighth International Day of Yoga 2022, in Mysuru, performing yoga with 15,000 people. Additionally, the celebrations will feature a whole host of attractions. There will be a two-day physical and digital exhibition. The physical exhibition will have around 148 stalls exhibiting the latest innovation in the field of yoga and in other Indian traditional medicine systems.

The digital exhibition will allow for unique features like Yoga with the Prime Minister, a display where users can do an instructed yoga session (with a three-dimensional projection of the Prime Minister) and their movement is detected and shown on a giant display. This has been made into a challenge with posture recognition Kinect technology where users will have to complete five yoga asanas in a limited time frame and score maximum points. The user will have to do each asana correctly to move onto the next one.

The Digital Yoga Exhibition will showcase the evolution of Yoga from the pre-historic to the modern period. It will feature a Heal in India and Heal by India wall which will showcase career opportunities in yoga, training, institutions, and research in Yoga and its efficacy in disease mitigation and prevention. The digital exhibition will also highlight COVID success stories, Yogas impact on peoples lives, and practical demonstrations.

The theme of International Day of Yoga 2022, Yoga for Humanity, is indeed yoga for health for all. Yoga alone is inner engineering in the truest sense. Yoga is Indias gift to the world. Yoga is Indian tradition, embraced by the world. In a divided world, Yoga is a uniting force bringing people together through compassion and kindness. It is all-inclusive, and respects diversity. Practicing Yoga brings joy, health, and inner peace. It deepens the connection between an individuals inner consciousness and the external world. For these intrinsic values embedded in Yoga this years International Day of Yoga has been given the theme Yoga for Humanity.

Apart from its obvious health and spiritual benefits aside, yoga has become an important avenue for professional growth.

As per some industry estimates, the size of the global yoga market analyzed by enrolment in online and offline yoga courses, and yoga accreditation training programs was valued at USD 38 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 66 billion by 2027, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.6% from 2021 to 2027. North America leads by the sheer size of its yoga market, but the Indo-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest compounded annual growth rate at least until 2027. Yoga has emerged as an important area of commerce, employment generation and entrepreneurship development.

It is with this in mind that the International Day of Yoga, 2022, being observed on June 21, has instituted the Startup Yoga Challenge Contest, to invigorate the youth to innovate for India and for the world. Thanks to its global popularity, yoga institutes in India and across the world will require several qualified and certified trainers. India can supply well-qualified, and accredited yoga teachers and practitioners to the world.

Yoga truly is one of the many ways India contributes to making the world a better place, a place with healthy, content people who step up for the collective good of humanity, eliminating war and strife. As Indians, it is our duty to not just embrace this great Indian tradition but also to promote it globally as a tool for harmony and universal brotherhood.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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