New Delhi: Amid Covid-19 pandemic which has caused havoc across the world, yoga is a ray of hope for all as it not only ensures physical well-being but also keeps us mentally fit in the stressful and anxious times, Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar said on Monday on the occasion of International Day of Yoga.
Speaking at an event organised by the National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC) online to mark the day, the Minister recalled that credit for International Day of Yoga being observed every year on June 21 goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had introduced the proposal in this regard in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. It was adopted by the Assembly after over 175 countries across the world passed a resolution in its favour, he said.
“Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice that is helping people to lead a healthier lifestyle in the backdrop of Covid-19. The pandemic is not only affecting the physical health of people but is also impacting the psychological and mental health of the people who are being forced to live a restricted life.”
“Hence, it is important to understand that keeping one selves mentally fit is very important. When we are mentally fit, we can handle any crisis well. Amidst the Covid-19, Yoga is a ray of hope for all of us. It helps boost our immunity system, fight diseases while strengthening our mental well-being,” he further added.
Tomar also talked about the NCDC’s Ayushman Sahakar scheme launched last year with the focus on rural India. “It is a unique scheme aimed to improve health infrastructure facilities across the country particularly rural health sector. In the next few years, credit to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore will be doled out under the scheme to reachout to the beneficiaries.”
Guruji Dr H R Nagendra, Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA), the unique Global Yoga University of Bengaluru spoke about how yoga can help bring in mindfulness, self-awareness, and numerous other health benefits for people in rural areas where virus has caused devastation, infecting many and claiming numerous lives.
Stressing on the need for adopting Covid-19 appropriate behaviour like use of mask and social distancing norms, he advised doing yoga exercises daily, at least half-an-hour to improve the immunity of the body to fight the virus.
“We have seen that there is some degree of evidence presently to say that yoga practices could provide much needed body immunity and could assure a disease-free homeostatic state for the body,” he said while adding that the Covid-19 pandemic has also given everyone a great opportunity to be at home with their family members which was not possible two years ago in fast-paced hectic life.
NCDC MD Sundeep Nayak said that the importance of Yoga has increased during the pandemic and will help make people healthy, wealthy and wise.
Talking about the NCDC’s initiatives, Nayak said that the Corporation has launched two-month long yoga session online thrice-a-week from June 14 for its employees and members of cooperatives from across the country.
He said the yoga session is being held as a part of the pact signed between the NCDC and S-VYASA last year. As per the agreement, the two organisations have also agreed to jointly set up Yoga wellness centres and naturopathy facilities throughout the country with the help of local cooperatives.
Earlier, Lt Col Baljeet Singh, Chief Director of the Laxmanrao Inamdar National Academy for Cooperative Research and Development (LINAC)-NCDC while welcoming the guests said that yoga is deep rooted in India’s ancient system and its role has become all the more important in view of disturbance in daily life due to the Covid-19 crisis.
During the virtual event, yoga guru from S-VYASA, Pawan Singh held yoga classes for the benefit of numerous participants representing NCDC headquarters and its regional offices as well as the cooperatives societies across the country.
