On June 21, 2016, the world celebrated its second International Yoga Day. The brainchild of Indian Prime Minister and an avid yoga practitioner Narendra Modi, International Yoga Day is not just a day for the Yogis. Anybody looking for the oneness of mind and body can find his refuge in Yoga.
In this herculean world of work, pressure and stress, Yoga has proved to be a liberator. Spirituality is often synonymous with the age old practice of Yoga. For most people, Yoga is a way of life. It is faith , it is worship, it is peace, it is pure. In technical terms, Yoga is a discipline. It teaches you the ways of a healthy living in body and mind, in gradual steps that need to be mastered in order to climb the successive treads.
A yoga enthusiast myself, when I remember my yoga classes in school they remind me of the endless bending and twisting of body parts and holding of postures that weren't as easy as they seemed. At times all your body feels is pain. But it is the aftertaste, the feeling of it that makes you realize how delicate and soothing Yoga can be.
The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ which means ‘to unite’. Indeed, Yoga has stood up to its meaning. The International Yoga Day has brought people from across the globe together to celebrate and sustain the richness of this tradition. From Melbourne to New York , Chennai to Kuala Lumpur, Belarus to Beijing every city whether big or small, rich or poor, is celebrating this spirit of unity. Earlier this day, Al Jazeera interacted with an amazing yoga teacher, Noor. Noor who teaches the Muslim women community in Qatar has been in the profession for several years. In doing so, she is makes an effort to blend this Indian tradition into the conservative lives of Qatari women. In a place where even the law challenges such efforts, this woman is embarking on a journey of her faith in Yoga. It is thus proved that a practice like Yoga is not just confined to uniting the mind and body. It is uniting people across borders both geographical and theological.
The origins of Yoga dwell in the past and it is quite surprising that it took so long for an International Yoga Day or even the idea of it to be recognized. Though a Yoga Day has come late, it has embraced the world in such a short span of time. Just imagine how prisons and asylums can be transformed by the practice of yoga, how rehabs and refugee camps can also enjoy added benefits of Yoga. And what if we incorporate yoga into our everyday lives? I believe we should. The benefits of Yoga are the result of a long term engagement with this practice. In fact, for Yoga practitioners, every day is a Yoga day. Definitely, it is clear that we do not need a Yoga Day to realize the importance of this art but we certainly need one to make sure that we do not ignore it either.
