ॐद्यौ:शान्तिरन्तरिक्षँ:गॅु शान्ति: पृथ्वीशान्ति: राप:शान्तिरोषधय:शान्ति:वनस्पतयः शान्तिर्विश्वे देवा: शान्तिर्ब्रह्म शान्ति: सर्वँ गॅु शान्ति: शान्तिरेव शान्ति: सा मा शान्तिरेधि ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति: शान्ति:
The meaning of this peace mantra is- May the world of Gods be peaceful, may the universe be peaceful, may peace spread throughout the earth, water, vegetation, Gods, and the entire universe. May peace remain in the Supreme Father Brahma, may only peace prevail everywhere. According to the Shanti Mantra, as quoted in the Vedas, when practicing yoga, one wishes for peace everywhere. One’s mind, land, water, air, earth, vegetation, and everything related to human life.
Table of Contents
Brief introduction to yoga
Yoga is a practice that connects the body, breath, and mind. These days, the word “Yoga” is gaining popularity worldwide. It was created by Lord Shiva( Adiyogi) and formulated and expanded by Rishi Patanjali. Yoga means the proper union of action and mind, which leads human life to the best path. Maharishi Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra says that योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्ः चित्तवृति निरोधःMeaning: People who practice yoga can do their work efficiently and effectively, and their minds become calm and focused.
World Yoga Day has been celebrated all over the world for the past 10 years. While celebrating World Yoga Day, which gives a message of unity all over the world, we hear about the great yogis and the originators of yoga, Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna, Buddha, and Maharishi Patanjali. Because these Gods and sages are considered the originators and developers of yoga.
Yoga research and testing
Many scholars in the world have done a lot of research, experiments, and developments in the context of yoga so far. It has been made clear through various research and practice that yoga and meditation are very important for self-peace and a healthy life, so it is good for everyone to practice them regularly.
Nowadays, we can see research being done in the field of yoga in many ways and genres. The first type of research on yoga works within the boundaries of existing science, extracting only those principles and techniques from Nepali and Indian traditions that science can evaluate through its own established research methods.
Research has shown that long-term yoga practice improves systolic and diastolic blood pressure and is therefore a lifestyle change that can help reduce high blood pressure. A study conducted on people over 40 years of age has shown that yoga can also help reduce age-related heart attacks. Yoga practice makes diet and lifestyle simple and conscious, which helps keep the digestive system, circulatory system, and respiratory system strong and regular.
Purpose of celebrating Yoga Day
The main objective of celebrating Yoga Day is to spread awareness about the importance of yoga and to make it known to many people, and to benefit from it. In order to achieve this objective, the United Nations General Assembly decided on 14 December 2015 and started celebrating International Yoga Day on 21 June every year.
First International Yoga Day
In the context of the beginning of the celebration of International Yoga Day, the International Yoga Day has been celebrated since 21 June 2015. After the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to celebrate International Yoga Day on December 11, 2014. The proposal was presented by the Government of India in the General Assembly.
Tradition of celebrating Yoga Day in Nepal
The tradition of celebrating Yoga Day in Nepal has been going on since ancient times. Yoga has been explained and demonstrated on days such as the birth or death anniversary of sages and famous people. Similarly, yoga has also been discussed and practiced on special days such as Shivaratri, Ekadashi, and Garupurnima.
As decided by the United Nations General Assembly, International Yoga Day has been celebrated every year on 21st June since 2015. Six months after the International Yoga Day was celebrated, the Nepal government also officially decided to celebrate National Yoga Day, so Nepal has started celebrating National Yoga Day on the 1st of the Nepali month of Magh.
And this year, we celebrated International Yoga Day on 21st June by organizing various programs. On the next Magh 1st (15th January), we will celebrate the 11th Nepal National Yoga Day. We will continue to celebrate the traditional yoga-related days that have been celebrated since the time of our ancient sages. Today, we can see that people are enthusiastically practicing yoga everywhere, in families, communities, schools, organizations, and institutions.
Yoga is becoming popular
When practicing yoga, people start to experience the positive effects it has on health, education, social and cultural spheres, and its popularity is increasing day by day. Yoga is not just a physical exercise, but it also controls mental tendencies like anger, jealousy, and pride, creating qualities like harmony, kindness, love, and compassion, and a person becomes an ideal citizen.
Yoga has been practiced in Nepal and India since ancient times. However, since the 19th century, Nepal has unfortunately been impoverished due to incompetent and genocidal governance, and more than 80% of the active population has been forced to go abroad for income generation. As a result, yoga and culture have been declining, and foreign cultures have been followed.
In recent times, Nepalis and Indians have traveled to different countries of the world for work and education. They practiced and spread the yoga tradition of Nepal and India. Seeing this, scholars and researchers from many countries have used and tested yoga with good results and public benefit.
As a result, a proposal was made in the United Nations General Assembly, and it was decided to celebrate Yoga Day every year on June 21. So, from June 21, 2015, not only was International Yoga Day celebrated, but yoga classes started being conducted in different countries in the world, and some have even included the subject of yoga in their school curriculum.
Conclusion
11th International Yoga Day 2025: Celebrated on 21 June with the theme “One Earth One Health: Yoga for Health”. Celebrated every year on 21 June since 2015, International Yoga Day promotes human harmony worldwide. It highlights human unity. Since its inaugural event in New Delhi in 2015, marked by two Guinness World Records.
The yoga day has evolved into a global peace movement. Each year brings a different theme: 2015’s theme was “Yoga for Harmony and Peace,” and “Yoga for Health” (2016) and “Yoga for Society”. Yoga and meditation bring relief to the human community suffering from hard work and overwork, mental stress, junk food, etc. So let us practice yoga daily and try to make our families and communities yoga-friendly.
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