By Bhagirathi Jena
As India celebrates the 12th International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2026, the theme ‘Yoga for Healthy Ageing’ carries profound significance for a nation undergoing unprecedented demographic transformation.
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Since independence, India has evolved from a predominantly agrarian society into a rapidly modernising nation, bringing newer and more complex challenges. The world finds itself at a crossroads of stress and unrest, making yoga more relevant than ever as a holistic approach to physical, mental and emotional well-being. The demographic reality is urgent: India’s elderly population, aged 60 and above, is projected to more than double from 100 million in 2011 to 230 million by 2036, meaning nearly one in seven Indians will be a senior citizen within a decade.
This fundamental shift in the country’s social and economic fabric demands a reimagining of how we approach ageing.
Healthy ageing extends beyond mere longevity, emphasising ‘health span’—the period lived in good health. The World Health Organisation defines healthy ageing as developing and maintaining functional ability enabling well-being in older age, encompassing five domains: meeting basic needs, learning and decision-making, mobility, building relationships, and contributing to society. Longevity without functional ability is an insufficient goal, and with older adults constituting 20% of the global population by 2050, health systems must pivot toward preserving independence, social participation and emotional resilience.
Yoga offers a comprehensive approach to maintaining mobility, mental well-being and emotional resilience throughout ageing. A 2025 Indian trial demonstrated that a four-week yoga regimen enhanced balance, gait speed and quality of life in elderly with balance impairments, reducing fall risk—a major concern.
Beyond observable outcomes, research indicates regular yoga practice reduces oxidative stress, dampens chronic inflammation, enhances immune regulation and has been linked with protecting the body’s cells from premature ageing. India’s scientific community has launched a pioneering initiative to revolutionise understanding of how Indians age at the molecular level.
The BHARAT study—Biomarkers of Healthy Aging, Resilience, Adversity, and Transitions—is India’s first large-scale, comprehensive research project on ageing. It aims to establish reliable, population-specific health norms through a multi-centre design recruiting volunteers across diverse age groups with balanced urban-rural and gender representation. Extensive biological samples and detailed clinical, lifestyle and environmental data are being gathered and analysed using advanced computing techniques to identify new health markers and build predictive models of how Indians age.
Integrating yoga into geriatric care offers tremendous opportunities. The BHARAT study provides an ideal platform to assess yoga’s molecular impact and identify those most likely to benefit, paving the way for personalised yoga prescriptions. Deeper collaboration between healthcare professionals and the yoga community, along with continued research into yoga’s mechanisms, will maximise its benefits for holistic healthcare, honouring its cultural significance while advancing global health.
India stands at a critical juncture where demography, science and tradition intersect. The greying of the nation is inevitable, but its adverse consequences are not.
BHARAT offers a rigorous scientific foundation, enabling healthcare to move from a reactive, disease-centric model to a proactive, prevention-oriented one grounded in indigenous data. Yoga provides a time-tested, holistic practice addressing physical, mental and molecular dimensions of ageing at negligible cost with minimal side effects.
When these streams converge—when molecular insights from BHARAT validate yoga’s benefits, and when yoga is systematically embedded into public health policies—India can craft a unique, culturally appropriate paradigm for healthy ageing. This is about adding life to years, not merely years to life, ensuring millions who grow old in coming decades can do so with dignity, vitality and resilience.
The path forward lies in bridging laboratory research with community practice, science with tradition, and policy with people—a holistic vision India, with its ancient wisdom and modern ambition, is uniquely positioned to realise. As we observe International Yoga Day 2026, let us commit to this vision, recognising that the wellbeing of our elderly population reflects our collective humanity and our commitment to a society where every individual, regardless of age, can live with purpose, connection and joy.
The writer is a Senior Officer at the Parliament of India.
