Yoga may be a way to stay fit for some people but it is a discipline that keeps all kinds of diseases away from life. It is a very precious gift of Indian tradition. On International Yoga Day, know the specialty of yoga and its benefits…
International Yoga Day 2025: Be it a leader, actor or cricketer, you must have often seen some celebrity doing yoga. Yoga is not just a way to stay healthy but has become a lifestyle. People from countries all over the world including India have understood the power of yoga and are adopting it.
What is Yoga?
Yoga is not just a physical activity. Some people consider it as an exercise which is wrong. Yoga is a system in which a balance is created between the body, mind and soul and all connect with each other. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to connect. Yoga balances the body, gives peace of mind and makes the body healthy. Yoga includes asanas, pranayama, meditation, purification and thoughts. Yoga changes the entire personality of a person.
Lord Shiva is considered the first Yogi.
Yoga is a discipline that has the power to change life. It is believed that Lord Shiva was Adiyogi i.e. the first Yogi (Yoga Guru). About 15 thousand years ago, after meditating on the Himalayan mountains, he imparted the knowledge of his yoga to 7 disciples. These disciples propagated yoga.
Mention of yoga is found in Rigveda
about 3,500 years ago. Some historians believe that people practiced yoga even during the Indus Valley Civilization. That means yoga is 5 thousand years old. The method of controlling breathing is described in Atharvaveda, which is a part of yoga. Out of the 108 Upanishads written 2 thousand years ago, 20 were Yoga Upanishads. With time, yoga was divided into 4 parts – Rajayoga, Gyanyoga, Karmayoga and Bhaktiyoga.
The world came to know the power of yoga in 1893.
If you think that International Yoga Day made yoga popular, then you are wrong. The world first came to know the power of yoga in 1893. The credit for this goes to Swami Vivekananda. This year he gave a speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago and introduced yoga to the world. Gradually, yoga gurus like Paramhansa Yogananda, BKS Iyengar made yoga a part of the lifestyle of foreigners at the international level.
Hollywood actress made the trend
Hollywood has a big hand in making yoga a popular trend. In the 1940s, famous Hollywood actress Eugenia Peterson adopted yoga and made it popular among the people. She also opened a yoga studio in West Hollywood, after which it became very popular among the rich people of America. Eugenia Peterson was later named Indira Devi and she came to be known as the ‘First Lady of Yoga’.
Yoga tourism increased with the digital world.
In 2014, on the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the United Nations declared June 21 as International Yoga Day. Since then, every year yoga related programs are held all over the world on this day. But in 2020, when Corona came and people were looking for ways to stay healthy and wanted to keep their mental health in good shape, yoga helped them. During this time, people started learning yoga with the help of apps, YouTube channels and online classes with the help of the digital world. Rishikesh became a global center for learning yoga all over the world. Today, lakhs of people from India and abroad come here to learn yoga. This has also promoted yoga tourism.
