The International Day of Yoga is being celebrated across the world every year June 21 since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, with the primary objective to raise awareness about the holistic practice for the promotion of mental and physical well-being. Speaking on the 102nd episode of ‘Mann ki Baat’ Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the theme for this year’s Yoga Day as ‘Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or ‘Yoga for the welfare of all as one world-one family.’ The theme embodies the essence of Yoga, which connects and unites everyone, said the PM. For the occasion, the PM appealed to people to integrate Yoga into their lives and make it a part of their daily routines.
On the occasion, Orissa POST speaks with experts about the benefits of the practice and it can benefit mankind. Priyanka Singhdeo, a Yoga teacher and fitness expert says, “Yoga can be beneficial for working and married women in a variety of ways. It can help reduce stress and increase feelings of calm and relaxation. It can also improve strength and flexibility, helping to keep the body fit and strong.” She adds that regular yoga practice can help improve focus and concentration, which can be useful for completing tasks and staying on top of work. “It can also cultivate a more positive outlook and create a greater sense of harmony in relationships with spouses and other family members.
Finally, yoga can help to create better balance in work/life responsibilities, allowing women to better manage their time and achieve greater work/life satisfaction,” she says. Sasmita Patanaik, another yoga instructor, says, “By definition, we know Yoga reduces stress, brings calmness, and improves energy. Its benefits don’t differ between age, spirituality, etc.
Before I started Yoga, I was feeling a kind of restlessness, too many thoughts running through my mind and my breathing was too fast. I started practicing and after a few weeks I experienced calmness of mind, structured thoughts, and no restlessness.” After that, she started spreading the message to people around her and many have acknowledged the benefits after practicing. “Working ladies are able to handle the problems in a very composed way and they have been more empathetic in approach which has yielded more productivity and collaborations,” Pattnaik said. Amrit Pattajoshi, a health expert says, “Yoga is the science of life, the science of health, and an art of living of special importance in today’s era as it empowers us to discover ourselves. It not only cures problems but takes us on a path of positive health.” Yoga helps by developing immunity and achieving homeostatic balance for our body and mind, by strengthening the defense mechanisms and preventing diseases. It helps people recover from addiction, anxiety, depression, sleep, and eating disorders. Ranjan Patra, another Yoga instructor, says, “You can unlock your energy through Yoga. The word yoga means skill, skill to live our life, to manage our mind, to deal with our emotions, to be with people, to be in love, and not let that love turn into hatred. Yoga is not a religion. Yoga is a science of well-being and youthfulness, integration of body, mind, and soul.” Yoga means to be in perfect tune; our body, mind, and spirit are in absolute harmony with existence. When we fine-tune ourselves to such a point that everything functions beautifully within us, the best of our abilities will naturally flow out of us, he adds.
He further explains, “When we activate our energies through yoga, we can function in a different way. If we bring in a simple yogic process and do a little bit of servicing every day for our body and mind then we will function much better.”
ARINDAM GANGULY &
SMRUTI REKHA BARIK, OP
