UNITED STATES, June 21, 2016 (Christian Science Monitor): On Dec. 11, 2014 a wildly popular resolution was introduced to the United Nations General Assembly. A record number of countries – 177 – were willing to co-sponsor, making it so popular, it was adopted without a vote. But the resolution was not so much a political posture, as a physical one – or rather multiple postures, or asanas, as they are called in this case. The resolution established June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. That date, the longest day in the calendar year, was suggested by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who first brought the idea of the observance before the General Assembly.
Last year was the first time the date was internationally observed, and yogis came out to celebrate across the globe: yoga mats carpeted New York’s Times Square as yoga enthusiasts stretched and breathed as they moved between postures; Modi led a record-breaking 35,000 in a yoga class in Delhi; hundreds laid their mats for a yoga session beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris; and at the UN headquarters, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon donned a white track suit and participated in the practice there. This year, the United Nations kicked off their celebration Monday night by projecting images of yoga postures onto a side of the New York City headquarters, connecting the practice to living sustainably.
However, the global spread of yoga has not come without critique, particularly because of the spiritual component of the practice, which some feel interferes with their expressions of faith. In a homily at the Vatican last year, Pope Francis cautioned Catholics against believing that yoga could open them up to God, saying “only the Holy Spirit can teach us how to love and free us from our hardened hearts.” In the US, some parents whose children’s school created a mindfulness class expressed concern that the program was inculcating religious and spiritual beliefs they did not necessarily share.