In run up to Yoga Day, Centre held marathon 100-day online streaming Yoga workshop series

The Union Ministry of Culture on Sunday informed that the National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune in association with the Regional Outreach Bureau had been holding a marathon 100-day Yoga workshop series, that began on March 13 this year.

As per the official release, the National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune in collaboration with the Regional Outreach Bureau (ROB) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has been conducting LIVE Yoga sessions under "Common Yoga Protocol" (CYP) through its YouTube channel.

The 100-day programme has been streaming online since March 13, 2021 for one hour daily from 7:00 am-8:00 am in the run-up to International Yoga Day, whose theme is "Yoga for well-being".

Director, NIN, Pune, Prof. K Satya Lakshmi, said that yoga for wellness is an apt theme amidst the hardships posed by the pandemic.

"These sessions have acted as an effective self-management strategy to cope with stress, anxiety and depression, and maintain well-being during the challenging time of COVID-19. The objective of the initiative was also to promote and reinforce CYP amongst the public", she added.

The online CYP sessions were based on Common Yoga Protocols curated by the Ministry of AYUSH. CYP is a specified sequence of Yoga drills of about 45 minutes duration.

These live Yoga sessions were conducted through video conferencing mode in English, Hindi and Marati and were screened through social media handles of Regional Outreach Bureau, (Maharashtra and Goa) and NIN, Pune.

Prakash Magdum, Director, National Film Archive of India and ROB, Pune said: "Keeping in mind the restrictions put in view of the pandemic, the rationale behind this initiative was to keep providing basic yoga training to people through online mode. The initiative is also in tandem with the Central Government's call for this year's International Yoga Day - Be with yoga, Be at home."

The 7th International Day of Yoga comes up at a time when the world is fighting COVID-19. In view of the restrictions on congregational activities, the lead event of the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2021 will be a televised programme, scheduled to begin at 6.30 am which will include the address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

International Day of Yoga over the years has not only boosted Yoga's popularity, but also expanded its geographical presence by inspiring its adoption in several new territories.

( With inputs from ANI )