International Day of Yoga Around the Globe

Yoga is an ancient practice for the wellbeing of human body, mind and soul. It is a holistic practice which leads to the union of the body, mind and consciousness.
Yoga has become more essential in our daily life since the Covid-19 outbreak. The pandemic has exacerbated psychological suffering and mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, as pandemic-related restrictions continue in various forms in many countries. So, this message of yoga in establishing that both physical and mental health and strength has never been more important.
Yoga in Daily Life celebrated this special event of International Day of Yoga (IDY)  with practising asanas, pranayama and meditation via online and personal events around the world.

Our yoga master Vishwaguruji Paramhans Swami Maheswarananda travelled from India to Europe to celebrate the International Day of Yoga with his European yoga students. He arrived in June to open his European Tour in Croatia and after that he travelled through Slovenia to Austria to celebrate the Day of Yoga.
Please read about the Croatian tour on vishwaguruji.org here.

The weekend of summer solstice and Day of Yoga was magnificently celebrated by the system of Yoga in Daily Life. Please read our short reports on how the countries honoured the spirit of yoga.

Croatia

IDY Croatia 2021 - Yoga in Daily Life in Croatia, as every year from the beginning, participated in the celebration of this special day for the whole world. This year in 12 Croatian cities, we organized the celebration of Yoga Day by practicing on the beautiful beaches and in parks of Croatia and thus joined a large number of celebrations in Croatia and around the world.
Hundreds of people have practised yoga in 12 cities, as awareness grows every day about importance of yoga and how it helps in daily life to achive health of body, mind and spirit, especially in these difficult times. Yoga in Daily Life is everywhere recognised and acknowledged as a traditional yoga that in addition to asanas offers much more, the wisdom and spiritual aspect of yoga, as HE Mr Srivastava, Indian ambassador to Croatia mentioned in his speech in central celebration in Zagreb. The events in all cities received significant media coverage.

Hungary

A program series of "21 Days of Sadhana", which included daily free online practices and several special events, preceded the International Day of Yoga.

More than 400 yoga enthusiasts have participated at the program day by day till 21st of June.

China

China had 60 participants practising the system of Yoga in Daily Life  on IDY online or in person in different cities including Haikou, Wuhan, Peking, Chengdu

Haikou celebrated IDY with a special theme „Practice yoga to improve Covid condition" in the park.

Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver celebrated IDY a day earlier as 21st is a Monday. This Sunday happened to be Father's Day, so a few students could not turn up.  We met in the evening in Queen Elizabeth Park with 10 students and 2 families.  Total 22 participants plus a dog.

Australia

All the centres from Yoga in Daily Life Australia gathered together to offer a free webinar 'Boosting your immunity' on Sunday 9.30am until 12.30pm for the 2021 celebration of the International Day of Yoga. Each Yoga in Daily Life centre shared their expertise on a relevant topic. Yoga in Daily Life Brisbane, Sydney, Sunshine Coast, Perth and Tasmania offered an in-hall event and also connected to the online event from their yoga centre, while Yoga in Daily Life Melbourne and Yoga in Daily Life Adelaide participated fully online. Altogether, (online and in-person combined) around 98 participants joined-in this year. The event was also supported by the High Commission of India in Australia.

The opening ceremony and introduction were conducted by Yoga in Daily Life Adelaide. Tips for healthy living and an explanation of hatha yoga kriyas followed, with the demonstration of ‘agnisar’ and ‘nauli’ kriya by Yoga in Daily Life Sunshine Coast.
Yoga in Daily Life Brisbane carried on with an explanation on the respiratory system, the importance of breathing and practical guided relaxation including how to master the complete yogic breath.
Yoga in Daily Life Melbourne followed with yoga asanas for activating and balancing cardio-vascular and endocrine systems, with a special emphasis on the Manipura chakra as the most crucial for immunity. Yoga in Daily Life Tasmania continued with a guided relaxation technique (from the Hidden Powers in Humans® Book), for the activation of the Manipura chakra. While Yoga in Daily Life Sydney offered a guided session of Bhastrika Pranayama. The class  concluded with a guided meditation on the Manipura chakra by Yoga in Daily Life Brisbane and finally the highlight of the celebration; an inspiring talk by Vishwaguruji, Paramhansa Swami Maheshwarananda.
After the online event was over, the Yoga in Daily Life teachers in each centre engaged in Q&A sessions with students, providing guidance and practical advice for the participants in a relaxed atmosphere with the traditional Indian chai and snacks.

New Zealand

Jadan, India

South Africa

To celebrate and honour International Day of Yoga (IDY), practice included performance of Sarva Hita Asanas, Bari Khatu Pranam, Bhajan, Pranayama and Mantra, dedicated to the well-being, happiness and health of all living beings and our planet Earth.

Barcelona, Spain

Yoga class at Nova Icaria Beach in Barcelona:  
On Saturday 19th, Yoga in Daily Life master class was performed at Nova Icaria Beach, in Barcelona.

The class was presented in collaboration with Nova Icaria Sport&Fit gym. This event contributed to make yoga visible in the city and spread its practice and values among the people. At this moment, open air activities are allowed to be performed without a mask, following current COVID restrictions and keeping the distance among participants.

Online meditation:
On Sunday 20th, the online Meditation class was performed with participants from Huesca, Gran Canaria and different villages in Catalonia. It was a one hour session in the morning. The class was focused on mantra repetition and self-inquiry meditation.

Ukraine

On 20 of June 2021 International Day of Yoga (IDY) was celebrated by Yoga in Daily Life Ukraine in in Valley of Roses, Cherkasy. 
This year it was held together with the "Dharma" Club   and representatives of ISKCON.
The program included yoga classes and collective Om meditation, the promotion our System through Vishwaguruji's books and a feast where everyone could enjoy vegetarian food.
Our yoga teachers gave a lecture about yoga in general and about the speciality of our System of Yoga in Daily Life.
The event has created a great interest among practitioners, and those who haven't practiced yoga before. In total about 60 people participated in our program. 

Vienna, Austria

As in the years before, Yoga in Daily Life Vienna had an IDY event, organised by the Embassy of India in Vienna and Yoga in Daily Life Society, on Sunday, June 20, 2021, in the Vienna City Park. However, due to the Corona pandemic measures, the number of participants were limited to a total of 50 people.

The program started at 10am. A motivating and friendly speech of the Indian Ambassador HE Jaideep Mazumdar. Vishwaguruji gave us a happy surprise with words of blessings on IDY, transmitted to us by cell phone:

"Yoga is for our body, it is very important! As long as we live, we should live and stay connected with yoga. Yoga is spread all over the world. There are different types of yoga. It doesn't matter what kind of yoga it is, because yoga is for everyone. We should not say only my yoga is the best yoga. In India are the roots of yoga. Yoga leads people back to harmony, peace and understanding."

After a very lively and educational children's yoga demonstration, a relaxing and very harmonious exercise program begins, prudently led by Swami Umapuri helped by two other Yoga in Daily Life yoga teachers. They demonstrated asanas and pranayama, Sitali pranayama, a cooling breathing technique on this hot day, and mantra chanting concluded our practice session.

This morning in the middle of nature in the city park has wonderfully recharged us with life energy again.

Czech Republic

In celebration of IDY several programs and events were organised between 14-22 June in different cities.
Some of the programs are listed below:

• Yoga in Daily Life teacher Michael Vlček Tyagpuri presented Yoga in Daily Life and yoga in office exercises at IDY event for the staff and families of the Embassy of India in Prague
• June 19 Tábor, June 19, 9:30-15, yoga in park
• June 20 Brno - June 20, 10 - 13:30, yoga in park
• Zlín - June 20, 13:45 - 17, yoga in park
• Karlovy Vary – June 20, 14-17, yoga in park, photos 
• June 21 Prague, June 21, 16:30 - 20, yoga in park, Facebook event, photos
• Střílky, June 21, online yoga class via Zoom
• Kutná Hora, June 21, 17:30 - 19:15, yoga in park, Facebook event 
• Ostrava, June 21, 19-20:30, Yoga in Daily Life Centre Ostrava, lecture and discussion in Czech on "Yoga as a path to widen consciousness and to self-discovery"
• Prachatice, June 20, from 15, yoga in park; June 21 Open house in our yoga centre
• June 22 Online lecture on "Yoga for Healthy Joints" by Prof. Martin Repko, on YouTube in Czech language on June 22 from 20:00

Slovakia

Martin
We had a wonderful International Yoga Day (IDY) in the Yoga centre in Martin Slovakia on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th of June. We organised a Satsang for practitioners on Saturday and circa 50 of our dear friends and yoga practitioners came to exercise and listen to lectures on Sunday. Our lovely children practised educational and playful ways and then altogether we sat under shady trees in the garden of Yoga centre to eat sambar dhal, cakes. Even more, we had a chance to meet friends after a very long time. It was a very pleasant day. People are looking forward to the next one.

Banska Bystrica
Banská Bystrica celebrated International Day of Yoga (IDY) by walking and practising yoga in nature in the city Sliac. Vishwaguruji visited this place in 2006 and “purnima satsang” was celebrated there, where we built a stone mound. This year the weather was warm and sunny. The program was attended by 30 participants and not only from Banska Bystrica, but also from other cities like Zvolen, Detva, Krupina, Kremnica, B. Štiavnica and Brezno. We opened IDY by the stone mound while chanting Gayatri mantra and Shiva arti. We were practising asanas, relaxation and pranayama in the forest under the trees.

Romania

Yoga in Daily Life bhaktas and practitioners gathered in the Sri Alakhpuriji Ashram in Nadlac, Romania to celebrate together the International Day of Yoga (IDY). The program started with a Yoga in Daily Life for children class followed by a Yoga in Daily Life class for wellbeing containing Sarva Hita Asanas and a separate practice session of Bari Khatu Pranam. There were a variety of different activities for children such as games, painting and learning about the meaning of prashad and how to prepare it. The adults had a chance to engage in karma yoga and contribute to the maintenance of the ashram.

Serbia

Novi Sad, 

On Sunday, June 20, 2021, The Association of Yoga in Daily Life Novi Sad, Serbia, organised the celebration of the International Day of Yoga.

In Novi Sad, in Liman Park, about 60 members of the Association Yoga in Daily Life socialised and practised in very pleasant weather and in beautiful nature. It was especially nice to see the children who practiced with a lot of enthusiasm and skills.