Hello Friends,
Couple of days back, i.e 21 June was celebrated as International Yoga Day by the United Nations and it's the designated day to celebrate the same every year.
Yoga is said to have originated during ancient India (around 6th or 5th BCE) just at the before the Vedic period as there is a mention in Rigveda (which is one of the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of Hinduism known as the Vedas) and is now being practiced by people all over the world as Yoga not only provides physical exercise but also allows us to practice mental and spiritual health to have a control on our body.
Although the Yoga gained prominence in India during the 1st millennium as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is written during the first half of the 1st millennium and the western countries came to know about the benefits of Yoga and started practicing the same only in 20th Century.
There is no definite information on who started Yoga in India, but it's credited that, Patanjali is the first person to have mentioned and written about the Yoga and as for as introducing Yoga to West is none other than Swami Vivekananda as it was him who visited Europe, America and Asian countries during 19th century (1893 to be precise) and participated in Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, America and was the first to preach about Vedanta and Yoga to Western people.
With the introduction of 21st June as International Yoga Day by UN in 2015 thanks to the proposal of Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi during the 69th Session of General Assembly of UN and approval of proposal by as many as 175 countries, Yoga is now being practiced all over the world.
As for as modern day Yoga gurus are concerned, it's Baba Ramdev, BKS Iyengar stands at the forefront and are the regular teachers of Yoga. Other religions like Islam and Christianity have welcomed Yoga with a sense of prayer and meditation.
UN Theme for Yoga Day 2018:
For the year 2018, the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations has selected the theme as Yoga for Peace with an eye on establishing peace among different countries and help achieve the goals of United Nations.
The theme released is as below:
So, let's make this resolution by UN a success and let's make a choice of becoming fit and healthy by practicing Yoga.
Thanks for reading, commenting and making this a success.