Srinagar, June 19: The Directorate of Ayush, Department of Health and Medical Education is all set to hold the International Day of Yoga celebrated across the world annually on June 21.
Director AYUSH J&K, Dr. Mohan Singh, stated that they have already conducted 100 days of pre-Yoga Mahotsav, themed “Yoga for Women Empowerment,” under the Ministry of AYUSH.
“In this regard, we worked with many women related organizations to make sure that women maintain their physical, mental and social health through yoga intervention. These programs were held at Girls Higher Secondary Schools, Colleges, Higher Education Institutions, Govt. Medical Colleges, Women Police Personnel,” he said.
Ahead of the 20 Yoga Day, the department conducted training programs on common yoga protocols and people have been trained for the same in floriculture gardens.
As the importance of yoga becomes more widely accepted, there is an increasing demand for trainers. To meet this demand, mid-level healthcare providers have been trained as demonstrators, and their services are being utilized for common yoga protocols.
The Directorate of AYUSH in collaboration with departments have conducted events at different places wherein participants learned yoga through these events.
Singh stated that yoga sessions will be conducted in all dispensaries, and mass demonstrations of common yoga protocols will be held at all district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir. The live streaming of mass demonstrations by the Prime Minister of India would be held at all the District Headquarters.
Officials said in Srinagar the main event will be held at SKICC.
Apart from that nine tourist destinations across the Union Territory have been identified where the live streaming would be displayed on big screens for which a trial run has been conducted.
The Director AYUSH said in March, the department started count down days and planned iconic sessions across all districts in J&K and districts were asked to hold sessions.
“Today Non-Communicable Diseases like obesity, cardiovascular diseases, etc. are a huge challenge and people are encouraged to take in Yoga to prevent and fight the diseases and decrease the impact of diseases. Yoga holds a key importance in daily life,” he said.
Earlier the Ministry of Ayush, GoI had directed to organize sessions and involve the community and make it a continuous process and it make it part and parcel of people’s lives.
“There has been a much better response in Kashmir than Jammu. Because there is a lot of mental stress in Kashmir and Yoga reduces stress and it is a good intervention. There is also drug addiction which is a huge disease,” the director said.
Dr Singh said in the future the department will converge Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Cells in districts and work to limit the incidence of NCDs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Yoga Day is celebrated across the world on June 21 since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his UN address in 2014, had suggested the date of June 21, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many parts of the world.
Ensure mass participation of youth: DC Kupwara to Officials
The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kupwara, Ayushi Sudan chaired a meeting of concerned officers to review the arrangements for ‘International Day of Yoga’ being observed on June 21.
It was decided that the main events for celebrations of ‘International Day of Yoga’ will be organized at lawns of Government Degree College (Boys) Kupwara and at Teetwal (close to the Zero Line) where mega yoga sessions will be held to commemorate the day.
During the meeting, DC called for inter-departmental coordination, besides ensuring mass participation of youth for the success of the events.
She said that the purpose of celebrating ‘International Yoga Day’ is to raise awareness among the public about the benefits of practicing yoga in life. Highlighting the benefits of doing Yoga in everyday life, Ayushi said that Yoga is an invaluable gift from our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action. It is a holistic approach that is invaluable to our health and our well-being.
The DC directed the concerned departments to ensure cleanliness, display Screens, Yoga mats, uniforms and power-back up at the venues.
The stakeholder departments were asked to make all the necessary arrangements well in time.
DC also reviewed the preparations for Sashakt Yuva events which are being organized at GDC Boys Kupwara and Townhall Kupwara, on June 20.
ADDC Kupwara, Gulzar Ahmad; ACR, Kupwara, CEO LBDDA, Principals of Degree Colleges of the district, CMO, CEO, District Ayush Officer, besides other district officers were also present in the meeting.
