Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the people to turn yoga into a mass movement, making it a way of life for people.
Addressing the International Yoga celebrations in Visakhapatnam beach on Saturday, he said, “We need to build a movement that leads the world towards peace, health, and harmony, where every person begins their day with yoga and finds balance in life.
Stating that yoga takes “us from ‘me’ to ‘we’, he called for the beginning of Yoga for Humanity 2.0, wherein inner peace becomes global policy.
The Prime Minister was joined by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and several State and Union Ministers in the Yoga Day celebrations along the Visakhapatnam beach. Over two lakh people, including thousands of students, participated in the record-breaking campaign.
“Yoga is the pause button that humanity needs to breathe, balance, and become whole again.
It gives us confidence that we are not isolated individuals but part of nature. It might initially focus on our individual health and well-being, but gradually, our care and concern extend to our environment, society, and planet,” he said.
“The world is going through some tension and unrest. Instability has been increasing in many regions. In such times, yoga gives us the direction of peace,” he said.
“Over the last decade, about 175 countries have joined the yoga day celebrations. It is no mean achievement. It is a collective effort to further human progress,” Narendra Modi has said.
Modi stated, “11 years later, we see that yoga has become an integral part of the lifestyle of millions of people around the world.”
Appreciating the Andhra Pradesh Government for hosting Yoga Day celebrations, he said yoga gives us a direction of peace in a world that is experiencing tensions, unrest, and instability.
“Our divyang (differently-abled) friends are studying yoga scriptures, scientists are practising yoga in space, and in villages, young friends participate in Yoga Olympiads,” he said.
It conveys the message that “we are not isolated individuals but part of nature”. He elaborated on yoga’s role in personal and collective growth, stating that initially, individuals learn “to take good care of our own health and wellness,” and “gradually our care and concern extend to our environment, society, and planet”.
Acknowledging global challenges, he lamented that “unfortunately, today the entire world is going through some kind of tension”, and “in many regions, unrest and instability are increasing”.
“Yoga gives us direction towards peace. It is a pause button that humanity needs to breathe, to balance, to become whole,” he said.