IYA celebrates 7th International Day of Yoga 

The corona pandemic did hit all of us hard, but the way people celebrated 7th International Day of Yoga in June 2021 the world over established that the mankind will bounce back. People found ancient traditional systems of medicines to be more helpful in freeing themselves from the clutches of the deadly virus. Yoga, which originated 5,000 years backs did wonders to the people by liberating them from toxins and balancing their mind, body and soul.

Online platforms like Zoom, Cisco Webex, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others have revolutionised the way people work. In a matter of merely 18-20 months it has took over all of yoga fraternity opening doors for the people who have faith in Yoga and want to learn the ancient Indian science.

This time the theme for IDY was ‘Be with Yoga, Be at Home’. To spread awareness and mobilize people to accept Yoga as part of their lifestyle the Member Institutes, Associate Centers and State Chapter Committees of Indian Yoga Association organised various events, webinars, yoginars and programs on digital platforms. We take you on a small tour…enjoy the ride!

Member Institutes

Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar

Dr. Chinmay Pandya, Pro Vice Chancellor, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya on the occasion of International Day of Yoga.

International Day of Yog Protocol, demonstration by students and volunteers of Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya at Shantikunj, Haridwar.

Ghantali Mitra Mandal

Ghantali Mitra Mandal, Thane on the occasion of Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Yoga Department and on the eve of International Day of Yoga organised a Webinar on Patanjali Yoga Darshan in the evening from 5:30pm -7:30pm. The keynote address was given by Dr Makarand Newalkar, Dy.Exe.President, Ghantali Mitra Mandal and Dr Shriram Agashe, expert, Yoga and Indian Philosophy marked his presence as the guest speaker. Others who marked their presence were Smt Sujata Bhide, President, Shri Ninad Athaiye, Executive President, Dr. Mrudula Chaudhari, Secretary, Shrikrishna Mhaskar, Head, Yoga Department.

Kaivalyadhama S.M.Y.M. Samiti

Kaivalyadhama organised Yoga sessions at various places in Mumbai. Here are few glimpses of the same

Shri Subodh Tiwari, Vice President, IYA during a yoga series organised by the Gujarat SCC of IYA

Yoga session at ETOS Syntel Global
Yoga Guru Ravi Dixit, Joint Director,
Kaivalyadhama on during a yoga session with Tata Memorial

Mokshayatan YogSansthan

Yog namaskar, Year Long show with Zee News Digital to promote Yog at home from IDY2020 t0 IDY 2021

Mokshayatan Yog Sansthan organized a curtain raiser for 7th IDY 2021 at the Company Garden Ground from 24th March to 28th March 2021. It was inaugurated by Sh.Dharam Singh Saini, Minister of AYUSH, Uttar Pradesh Government, MP Sh.Pradeep Chaudhary, Swami Bharat Bhushan ji and Chairman Ravindra Miglani. They also participated in the 5 day yoga camp held alongside

Mokshayatan organized the Global Yoga Conference 2021 from June 15-18, 2021. The inaugural address by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare and was presided over by Minister of State for Defense GOI and addressed by yoga scholars and gurus from USA, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Japan, China, Taiwan, Mauritius, Austria & South Africa etc.

Swami Bharat Bhushan ji, Member, Governing Council, IYA conducted an Aushadhi Yagna session on May 24, 2021 for purification of the environment

Simhavlokan: The review of long series of IDY-21 Activities at closing ceremony in presence of Honorable AYUSH Minister of UP Dr Dharm Singh Saini with presentation of Awards of Honor to experts of Yoga. Ayurveda. Specialists of Modern Medicine, Homeopathy and Diet disciplines who contributed in bringing out “Yoga Solutions for Prevention & Management of COVID-19

Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar

Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar organised yoga sessions to celebrate 7th IDY 2021. Here are few glimpses

Parmarth Niketan

Special International Day of Yoga live Morning Session from the world famous Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, on the holy banks of Mother Ganga, in the lap of the Himalayas, with the divine presence, blessings and inspiration of Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Member, Governing Council, Indian Yoga Association inspiring message of Pujya Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji on the occasion, who joined the celebrations online.

The Common Yoga Protocol session was conducted by Pujya Sadhvi Abha Saraswatiji, Yogacharya Dr Indu Sharmaji, Ganga Nandini ji, Parmarth Rishikumars and family at the feet of the iconic Lord Shiva of Rishikesh.

Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA)

The 7th IDY-2021 with the message of ‘Yoga for Wellness’ given by Hon’ble Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modiji was heralded with series of invited webinars, lectures and Special talks on Yoga by the Officers of S-VYASA followed by Common Yoga Protocols administered by the Principals, Faculties, therapists, internees and students of S-VYASA, the school of Yoga and Naturopathic Medicine and Sushrutha Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore at regional, state, national and international platforms.

Dr. H R Nagendraji, Chancellor, S-VYASA addressed as Chief Guest, Guest of Honour to around 35 various programs hosted by the Yoga enthusiasts around 4 continents comprising of 56 countries. He also gave message to 22 organizations.
S-VYASA collaborated, associated and offered Yoga programs and common Yoga Protocol (CYP) developed by Ministry of AYUSH, GoI with around 170 organizations and lectures delivered by many staff members, yoga therapists, medical internees, Yoga, Naturopathy and Ayurveda students comprising of 25 states of India.

The School of Yoga and Naturopathic Medicine, S-VYASA celebrated Yoga Day

On the occasion of 7th International Day of Yoga, The School of Yoga and Naturopathic Medicine (TSYNM), S-VYASA faculty members and students were involved in various activities to promote the theme of this year’s IDY, ‘Be at home, Be with Yoga’ and ‘Yoga for wellness. The faculty members took part in multiple webinars and promoted yoga as a lifestyle measure on different forums and at various institutions.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram

IDY morning satsang with Nataraj, Kalyani 7 Padmavati from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram, Kerala

IDY morning satsang with Nataraj, Kalyani 7 Padmavati from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram, Kerala

IDY talk, ‘Health is Wealth. Peace of Mind is Happiness. Yoga shows the Way’ by Padmavati (Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram, Kerala)

IDY evening satsang with Sri PC Kapoor from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram, Madurai

The Art of Living

Millions of Yoga enthusiasts from 123 Countries join Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to celebrate IDY 2021

Assam Rifles partnered with Art of Living to celebrate IDY 2021 with more than 500+ Jawans/Officers and their families joining in Shillong

National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj invited Art of Living for a Webinar on “Role of Yoga in Rural India’s Health” by Swami Brahmachitt ji. More than 750 members of NIRD & PR from 29 states joined the IDY Common Yoga Protocol followed by the Webinar.

Art of Living partnered with Indian Consulate in New York and organized IDY 2021 celebrations at Times Square.

Government of Himachal Pradesh invited Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to address the State IDY event in the presence of Honourable Chief Minister Shri Jai Ram Thakur and Hon. Health Minister Shri Rajiv Saizal.

The Yoga Institute

Hon’ble Shri Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India, Dr. , Director The Yoga Institute and other dignitaries throwing light on Yoga and its importance on 19th June 2021.

The Yoga Institute celebrates Yoga Mahotsav in association with Hon’ble Minister, Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari ji and Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, Shri Shripad Y Naik ji, on the occasion of 7th International Day of Yoga.

The Yoga Institute flagged off the celebrations of The 7th International Day of Yoga at the Raj Bhavan, in the presence of our Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari ji. The Yoga Institute continues to spread the goodness of Yoga to all.

Dr. Hansaji sharing her wisdom at a virtual conference with the Embassy of Mmuscat.

Dr. Neha ji, explains the importance of yoga in daily life and especially Ahar Vihar Achar Vichaar (AVAV) at the office of to the Ccommissioner of Central Tax.

An exclusive Yoga session on 7th International Day of Yoga for CCRAS Research Ayurveda employees.

The Yoga Institute along with Times of India’s exclusive home edition of The Yoga the Bay on 7th International Day of Yoga with a message to practice Yoga and stay fit.

Little yoga ninjas excited for their fun Yoga session on 7th International Day of Yoga. Children during the camp have learnt various techniques to increase their concentration and awareness.

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari celebrated International Day of Yoga 2021 online as well as in actual in which around 2000 people participated.

Yoga practice sessions as per common yoga protocol were conducted for all the registered participants on 19th and 20th June 2021 from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. on ZOOM which was broadcast live on YouTube and physically. The yoga demonstrations and instructions were given by Vivekananda Kendra Chennai Karyakarthas.

The program started with lighting the lamp and prayer. Sri. Saravanakumar, Karyakartha, VK Madurai sang a patriotic song which was followed by welcome address by Smt. Sariga, Vice Principal, VKV Kanyakumari. Mananeeya Sri. Hanumanth Rao Ji, All-India Vice President, VRM & VK gave the Asirvachan in which he expounded the positive effects of Yoga and stressed upon the continued practice of Yoga.

Then, yoga practice (as per CYP) was done for which the demonstration and instructions were given from VK Chennai. The yoga practice session was completed with Sankalpa which was led by Sri. Natarajan, Karyapaddhati Pramukh, VK Madurai. Smt. Thangalakshmi, YCC Coordinator, VRM & VK gave the vote of thanks with a brief introduction of Kendra activities. The whole program was anchored by Kum. Vedha Vidhya, Karyakatha, VK Chennai and it was concluded with Shanti Mantra.

With COVID precautionary measures other events were organised physically at Chennai, Madurai, the staff and their family member also participated to celebrate and IIT Madras.

Yoga Vidya Niketan

Yoga Vidya Niketan conducted various programs and Yoga workshops to celebrate the International Yoga Day on June 21, 2021. All workshops were inaugurated with the blessings of Yoga Vidya Niketan’s Founder Chairman, Yogacharya Padmashri Sadashiv Nimbalkar Gurujee and concluded with his Ashirvachan.

Yoga Vidya Niketan organized workshops on Surya Namaskar, Shuddhi Kriya, Pranayama and Meditation at their Vashi centre. At Damale Yoga Kendra Surya Namaskar workshop and Yoga practices were conducted. In the evening, a lecture by Dr Shubhada Purandare – ‘Corona ani Karmayoga’ was held.

At Matru Mandir, Goregaon Yoga Centre online zoom session was organized and Yoga Vidya Niketan’s Trustee and Senior Teacher Shri Vinod Joshi delivered a lecture on the concepts of ‘Pancha Kosha’.
At Vile Parle Yoga Centre, yoga practices, meditation workshop, at Nana Palkar Yoga Kendra, Yoga Practices workshop and at Ahuja Yoga Centre, yoga practices, Omkar pranayam workshop were held.

Yoga Vidya Niketan also conducted Mudra and Pranayama workshop for Senior officials of HPCL at Marol, Mumbai, lecture and Yoga practice session for 500 rural Maharashtra school students was also organised and at SIES College, Nerul, Navi Mumbai lecture on ‘Practice of yoga and a proper lifestyle’ was held.

International Associate

Portuguese Yoga Confederation

Portuguese Yoga Confederation commemorated the 19th Anniversary of the International Day of Yoga, for the first commemoration was in 2002, meaning, that this year we celebrated for the 20th time this International Day, which filled us with joy and strength for further aims. The Confederation commemorated IDY in 26 Localities, 24 Cities from North to South of Portugal, and 2 abroad, involving 35 Áshrama individual or either grouped up to celebrate it together. It was beautiful and full of strength.

Associate Centers

Chiranjiv Foundation

Chiranjiv Foundation along with Indian Yoga Association organised a 3 day webinar to celebrate the 7th IDY from June 10-12, 2021 from 7:00pm -8:30pm. The webinar saw the presence of Guruji Dr HR Nagendra, President, Indian Yoga Association, Swami Govinddev Giri, Dr Sanjay Malpani, Shri Madhadasji Rathi, Dr Manmath Gharote, Dr Narendra Sahastrabudhe, Dr Srinidhi Parsarathi, Smt Dhanashre Lele, Shri Ramkumar Rathi and Dr Sunanda Rathi

Project ‘Life’

Project ‘Life’ collaborated with 8 institutes including Indian Yoga Association to spread Yoga awareness on 7 International Day of Yoga and conducted IDY common protocol practice physically with government protocols for COVID-19 and virtually. More than 1400 Yoga enthusiast got benefitted with humanitarian activity of project ‘Life’ with mission to protect Yogic cultural and knowledge.

Sri Garuda Spiritual Development Trust

Sri Garuda Spiritual Development Trust organised a Yoga Camp to spread awareness and sensitise people about the benefits of Yoga especially in this pandemic time when modern medicine is unable to help and yoga has surface as one of the best solutions available.

Yoga Clinic

Yoga Clinic celebrated the 7th International Day of Yoga virtually with the Madhya Pradesh SCC of Indian Yoga Association, VYASA Center and Maa Ananta Abhudya Sanstha. The chief guest for the event was Morcha Shri Lal Singh Arya, National President BJP Scheduled Caste, Yogacharya Shri Virendra Harit Shammi Ji, resident of France. Shri Shri 1008 Mahamandaleshwar Shri Narsingh Das, was present as the special Guest and Dr. RH Lata, Vice Chairperson, MP SCC, IYA and Director, Yoga Clinic. Many principals and students of prestigious colleges also participated

Damaru Foundation

Damaru Studio celebrates its Annual Yoga Festival ‘Bilva 2021’

Damaru Studio, an Associate Center of IYA, celebrates its Annual Yoga Festival ‘Bilva 2021’, with eminent speakers of the Yogic World from July 1-31, 2021. Bilva’s theme for 2021 is ‘Cultural Appropriation of Yoga – Today’s necessity to embrace the inherent Indianness of the Yogic tradition’.

Bilva is aimed to bring awareness, and to honour the Indian roots of the Yogic tradition. To practice yoga holistically, it is important to embrace the lineage of the yogic practice that finds its origins in the Vedas. Yoga has been practised for many millennia in the Indian subcontinent and the yogic teachings are precious pearls of insight for all humanity. However, in recent years, it has become convenient to minimalize yoga to the mat, because it seems that most of today’s world fails to comprehend its holistic teachings. Bilva is thus a step forward to bring forth more awareness and acknowledgement of the depth of Yogic tradition which we are proud to have inherited from our ancestors!

Globally renowned eminent scholars joined the festival with Smt Mauli Bavisker, Joint Secretary, Gujarat State Chapter Committee, IYA also the brainchild behind Bilva. The Speakers for the festival were Padmabhushan Pandit Dr. David Frawley (Vedic Scholar, USA), Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani (Ananda Ashram, ICYER), Shobana Srinivasan (Director, KYM), Dr. Vijay Kumar (LYU), Prof. Sharad Joshi (Chairman, Sri Aurobindo Society, Vice President, IYA-Gujarat), Yamuna Harshavardhana (Author), Charvi Shah (Vedanta Teacher), Mauli Bavisker (C-IAYT & Founder, Damaru), Nrithya Jagannathan (Director, KYM), Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy (Director, Indica Yoga) and Dr. Anuradha Choudry (Sankritist, IIT Kharagpur). Great insights, knowledge beyond books and unique perspectives are discussed and shared in these talks at Bilva.
Everyone can listen to this rich knowledge repository on Damaru’s YouTube Channel RealmOfDamaru.

Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Chennai

Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Chennai organized various events in collaboration with Tamil Nadu State Chapter Committee, Indian Yoga Association. Online workshops were held for COVID-19 patients, elderly, kids, women, school teachers, meditation, yoga classes, awareness programs, common yoga protocol demonstration, free elocution competition, smile and heal program, 12 rounds of Suryanamaskar, Nada Yoga, world record attempt- virabhadrasana for 90 seconds, immunity building, 21 June 21 Minutes 21 Seconds 21 Yogasana by 21 Achievers Programme, Kalari Yoga Programme, Guided Chanting and value added course programs was also held.

AYG Academy

Dr Nutan Pakhare, Founder, AYG Academy on the occasion of 7th International Day of Yoga organised a Facebook Live and participated in E-conclaves and other events. Dr Nutan Pakhare participated as the speaker @CME conducted on June 10, 2021 to speak on the ‘Role of Yoga in Women’s Reproductive Health. The event was organised by Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) Alumni Association in collaboration with ICYER at Ananda Ashram, Pondicherry, FOGSI young Talent Promotion Committee and Nationwide Quality of Care Network (NQOCN) Loni, Obstetrics and Gynecology Society, Loni.

AYG Academy also participated in the International Yogacon organised by American Yoga and Meditation Academy. Here are few glimpses
Begampur Art and Culture Society celebrated the Yoga Day online with as many as 137 people participating in the virtual program. in this yoga day. To mark the month of June as Yoga month, the Society organised the yoga festivals throughout the month with yoga, pranayama, meditation workshops.

Cosmic Yoga Studio

To mark the celebrations on the occasion of IDY 2021, Cosmic Yoga Studio participated in Vellore Fort grounds in the yoga event organized by Ministry of Culture. The session were spearheaded by by Yogacharya Anju Sakthivel, Yoga Therapist Purusothaman Raja and Yoga Trainer Danush. M. The yoga experts also taught people at the Narayani Golden Temple in the event organized by Sri Narayani Hospital. They took part in other events also.

On the occasion of the International Day of Yoga Mohanji, Founder, The Himalayan School of Traditional Yoga (HSTY), attended a free class of traditional yoga for youth empowerment, in the school for primary and secondary education Anton Skala in Stara Pazova, Serbia. It was attended by children with developmental and learning difficulties, organized in cooperation by Mohanji Serbia Association and the Himalayan School of Traditional Yoga. The celebration saw the presence of Madhusudan Rajagopalan, Director, HSTY.

“Through our platforms, people can express their kindness and compassion with selfless actions which add value to the society. The areas of charity work include providing food, shelter for all living beings, but also health care, clothing and education,” said Mohanji.

The yoga class was led by a licensed HSTY instructor Stasa Misic. After introducing the children to yoga and its benefits, the class was filled with light yoga positions (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama) and children had the opportunity to feel yoga in a traditional way through play, movement and fun, regardless of their previous experiences with exercise and their knowledge of yoga.

Celebrating the physical and spiritual prowess that yoga has brought to the world, and to commemorate the International Day of Yoga on June 21, Shrimad Rajchandra Mission (SRMD) Yoga delivered a series of special workshops and sessions at prestigious institutions around the globe, benefiting thousands.

It has indeed been a matter of great honour that SRMD Yoga was invited by distinguished Consulates, Embassies and Consulate Generals of India – diplomatic missions of India, several corporate organisations and establishments, to impart the message and the practice of yoga to diverse audiences across ages and geographies. These IDY 2021 initiatives also garnered the esteemed support of Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.

Special Yoga & Meditation workshops were conducted at the High Commission of India in London with The Nehru Centre, London; High Commissions of India in Fiji and in Mozambique; Indian Embassies in France, Kuwait (in collaboration with Seva Darshan), Djibouti, Belgium, Luxembourg, and European Union; the Consulate General of India in Sydney, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Chicago, New York & San Francisco, California.

Corporates like the L&T Group, Samsung R&D Institute-Bangalore, Decathlon Sports India, KKR Equity, educational institutes across the world as well as the Eastern Command of Indian Army, Department of Labour, USA among others, also collaborated with SRMD Yoga.

Commemorating the occasion, Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai joined by those present at SRMD Yoga’s International Headquarters, Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram in Dharampur, participated in the virtual yoga session while adhering to the COVID norms of masking and social distancing.

Shrimath Yoga

Shrimath Yoga organized a talk by Shri Krishna Prakash on ‘Yoga Beyond Asanas’ and it was well received on the occasion 7th International Day of Yoga.

Vivekananda Yoga Abhayas Sanstha

The 7th International Day of Yoga was celebrated online and at home by the Vivekananda Yoga Abhayas Sanstha keeping in mind the guidelines to be followed during COVID-19 pandemic.

Yoga Gangotri

Yoga Gangotri organised a 15 days Yoga Yajna, a series of yoga presentations and yoga performances to spread awareness about the importance of Yoga from June 7-21, 2021 virtually. Many national and international yoga experts, yoga masters participated in the series. Shri Daniel from South Korea, Yogini Erica Kaufman from USA, Yogini Prema Nagesh from Oman, Yogi G. Radhakrishna from Malaysia, Dr. M. K. Sridhar, Register, SVYASA University, Bengaluru, Dr. Shashikanth Jain M.B.B.S, M.D. (Yoga), Dr N. Aradhya Guruji, Founder Yoga Gangotri, Dr. Mamatha Devraj, Mumdev Yoga Hub, Dr. Eshwar N. Acharya, Ex. Directer CCRYN and other gave presentations on various topics.

The main event was organised in the outskirts of Bengaluru with around 100 participants. Under the guidance of Dr. N. Aradhya Gurujii advance yoga pradarshan, yoga Nritya was performed by the students. Even Common Yoga Protocol was demonstrated and performed by all the participants.

Shri Ashok Keni, ex-MLA and Shri Rudresh, President of Karnataka State Rural Infrastructure Board were presented to congratulate all the participants.

Narchinthanai Vattam

Narchinthanai Vattam virtual celebrated IDY 2021 in collabration with Indian Yoga Association, Rotary Club of Chennai Harmony, FYST, MAHER, Easy Yoga Studioz and Indian Institute of Yoga & Naturopathy, Coimbatore.

On the occasion, Narchinthanai Vattam organised drawing competition on Importance/benefits of yoga during pandemic (or)any yoga posture (or) yoga in your life), essay competition in English on International Day of Yoga (or) yoga for everyone and in Tamil on yoga is a life journey (or) role of yoga in preventing covid-19. Tamil elocution competition on life with yoga (or) a scientific approach of yoga (or) Life improvement through yoga was held. Yoga competition was also organised.

Yogalaya Health Care Institute

Yogalaya Health Care Institute, Associate Center of IYA in collaboration with Faculty of Yoga Sciences and Therapy, MAHER and TN SCC, IYA celebrated 7th International Day of Yoga.

The Institute held free online yoga classes for women, common yoga protocol demonstrations, Online Yoga Quiz Programme 2021 with Smt S.Ezhilarasi, IYA Professional Member and Director, Yogalaya Health Care Institute.