INDIA, June 23, 2016 (The Diplomat): On June 21, 2016, the world welcomed the second celebration of the International Day of Yoga – constituted last year by the United Nations through a resolution that won the support of 177 member states. In his message on Yoga Day, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared the importance of promoting healthier lifestyles as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which all member states adopted last year.
This emphasis on the ability of yoga to balance the mind and the body was echoed also in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own address to the nation this year. Describing Yoga Day as a people’s movement of sorts, he declared that it was a healthy practice for both atheists and the religious, and the most inexpensive route to health. “At zero budget, nowhere in the world is one assured of health — but that is what Yoga gives you. Even the poorest of the poor can do this at ease and keep themselves healthy,” said Modi, reminding the gathering that no other day has received this kind of encouragement and speedy acceptance the world over.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s speech at the UN on the International Day of Yoga last year more explicitly emphasized the importance of yoga as a tool for unity and India’s soft power. “Yoga serves as a reminder of the potential for men and women to live in harmony with each other, as well as with nature, at a time when violent forces are threatening to destabilize society,” Swaraj said. “Yoga is an important antidote to such negativity — to move us on the path of peace.”