More than 50,000 people across India participated in nearly 1,000 free yoga and meditation sessions organised by the Isha Foundation on Sunday to mark the 12th International Day of Yoga. The venues included corporates, educational institutions, medical establishments, government bodies, defence organisations and community spaces.One of the largest gatherings was held at Sadhguru Sannidhi Bengaluru in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district, where more than 3,000 people, including Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets, students, villagers, volunteers and members of the public, took part in yoga and meditation sessions in the presence of the Adiyogi statue.The event brought together around 1,700 NCC cadets, 200 BSF personnel, 100 villagers, 100 volunteers and several hundred members of the public. Senior BSF and NCC officials in attendance included additional director general Tsewang Namgyal, inspector general Dinesh Kumar Yadav, deputy inspector general Sanjay Yadav, inspector general Shiv Adhar Shrivastava, deputy inspector general Amrendra Kumar Singh and air commodore Kamal Chadha, deputy director general of the NCC Karnataka and Goa Directorate.At the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, more than 700 people participated in the celebrations, including 500 students from the Young Indians Coimbatore Chapter and 200 personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).In a post on X, Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation, said International Day of Yoga serves as a reminder that yoga is a universal tool for human wellbeing.“The International Day of Yoga is a reminder that what we call Yoga is not a philosophy, an ideology, a belief system or a religion. This is the science and technology for inner wellbeing. Whatever your religion, race, caste, creed, gender, these technologies render you to optimal existence, to peak performance in body, mind, emotion, intelligence and energies and above all, it will unlock the potential of the genius that is in every human being,” he wrote.Addressing participants on the occasion, he said the completion of 12 years of International Day of Yoga marked an opportunity to expand awareness of yoga’s benefits.“What we call as yoga is not a philosophy, is not an ideology, not a belief system, not a religion, nor definitely it is not about twisting and turning your body as a lot of people seem to understand,” he said.He described yoga as a means of achieving inner wellbeing, adding that “as there is a science and technology for external well-being, there is a whole science and technology for inner well-being.”The Bengaluru programme began at 8am with cultural performances by Sounds of Isha and Project Samskriti, followed by the National Anthem, addresses by dignitaries, yoga sessions and guided meditation practices. Participants were introduced to Upa Yoga, Yoga Namaskar, neck practices and the Miracle of Mind meditation process.Among those attending was Dhaatri, an NCC cadet and student of Nitte International School, who said the experience left her feeling calm and refreshed.“We came here by 8 in the morning. The programme started with a beautiful song, followed by martial arts, Bharatanatyam and yoga asana performances. Later, we practised a few asanas and then took part in the seven-minute ‘Miracle of Mind’ meditation, which was introduced in Kannada today,” she said.“It was a very pleasant feeling. I feel very calm right now. It was nice.”
