INDIA, June 21, 2020 : People across the world celebrated International Yoga Day on June 21 from the confines of their homes as restrictions continue due to the coronavirus outbreak. In India, the celebrations kicked off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation where he emphasized on the importance of yoga in our lives and urged people to practice Pranayam, breathing exercises, to improve their respiratory system amid Covid-19 pandemic. “It is a day of universal brotherhood,” said PM Modi in his address on the sixth International Yoga Day.
Following PM Modi’s address, a team from Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga demonstrated a 45-minute Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) which was live broadcast on the television as gatherings were cancelled to abide by the Covid-19 guidelines on social distancing. To encourage people to celebrate the occasion at home, with their family members, “Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family” theme was set for this year’s Yoga Day. Following International Yoga Day’s inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, the day is celebrated every year since June 2015.