On Sunday, June 21, 2026, the 12th International Yoga Day was observed across India, with political and spiritual leaders and the public joining mass demonstrations from Uttarakhand to Kerala to promote health, wellbeing and the country’s traditional systems of yoga and Ayurveda — activities that leaders also said have created new employment opportunities. (Photo: IANS/Wasim Sarvar shows a woman performing a yoga asana with a toddler at Kartavya Path, New Delhi.)
BJP MP Dinesh Sharma said yoga is “not just about International Yoga Day, but a resolve to promote and protect the health of people globally,” and added that India’s traditions of Ayurveda and yoga have become valuable global contributions and sources of work, with many people now serving as yoga teachers and practising Ayurvedic medicine.
Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria urged wider public participation, noting that while yoga is practised in many places, turnout is lower than expected. “I am ready to arrange as many yoga teachers as needed, but it won’t yield the desired results as long as maximum people don’t take part,” he said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took part in an event in Champawat. Parmarth Niketan Ashram spiritual head Swami Chidanand Saraswati praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for popularising yoga, saying Modi has taken it “from caves, mountains and the Himalayas to every household and across the world” and has shown that yoga teaches how to live and celebrate life.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak appealed for daily practice so the state “remains healthy and moves on the path of development.” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who led exercises in Rampur, credited sustained efforts by the central government for elevating yoga to an internationally celebrated heritage.
A sand artist in Prayagraj created a sculpture symbolising the intergenerational continuity of yoga. In Bhopal, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said yoga “unites us all, embodying the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’” and thanked the prime minister for globalising the practice.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi described yogasana as ensuring a “sound mind and sound body,” calling it one of India’s biggest contributions. Kerala’s National Health Mission director Anu S. Nair said the state organised International Yoga Day across nearly 700 yoga centres through the National Ayush Mission and activated yoga clubs at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
Original Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/international-yoga-day-leaders-say-yoga-ayurveda-generated-employment
Category: Health
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Publish Date: 2026-06-21 17:18:00
