21st JUNE 2019_International Yoga Day
_JYOTI PATEL
It’s June, which means International Yoga Day
is just around the corner! For many, this has become a wonderful annual
tradition to honor yoga and the connection between people and nature.
International Day of Yoga is celebrated on
June 21st,
It’s that time of year again, to refresh, renew and
revitalize!
In September 2014, at the United Nations
General Assembly, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi announced that he
wanted to have a day of yoga to honor the connection between man and nature,
health and well-being, and oneness with self.
As he stated, “For us in India, respect for
nature is an integral part of spiritualism. We treat nature's bounties as
sacred. Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. Yoga embodies
unity of Mind & Body ; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment;
harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being.
It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself,
the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness,
it can help us deal with climate change and in bettering our well-being. Let us
work towards adopting an International Yoga Day."
He also proposed celebrating this day on June
21st, which has significance in many parts of the world and is also known as
the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day in the Southern
Hemisphere.
The first International Yoga Day was on June
21, 2015 and it has been a growing event since then.
1. Practice yoga
This
one’s an obvious idea, but I have to cover it.
Regardless
of how much time you have, I challenge you to connect breath with movement on
June 21st. Step onto your mat, onto the ground, or simply sit up taller in your
office chair, and CONNECT.
Find
that sweet spot where the exterior becomes fuzzy and the interior fires up….
you know that place I’m talking about, I know you do.
As
a nation, as a community, as a group of collective consciousness, we can and
will raise the vibration of this world with our breath and movement. Believe in
the magic of yoga, it’s there, waiting to be tapped into!
2. Change your Facebook profile pic
I
love this neat idea and hope you will too!
Just
like people have changed their profile pics for the devastating attacks on
Paris & Brussels or the celebration of same-sex marriage rights, the yoga
community is offering up the same opportunity.
I
Want to Support
Pretty awesome, right?
The
idea behind the overlay is to spread the message of yoga, invite new people to
the practice, and strengthen the current community.
Let’s
hope the social media campaign catches on & spreads like wildfire. The more
yogis, the better off this world is…
2. Invite a friend to
yoga
Like
I said above, the more the yogis in this world the better…
And
the only way to increase/strengthen the community is to add to it. This is
where us current yogis come into the equation.
I
challenge you to invite a friend, co-worker, or anyone who’s not currently part
of the yoga community to your yoga studio, an outdoor yoga class, or any type
of yoga event. As we’ve all experienced, breaking into the yoga community is
intimidating at first. And while we know there’s nothing to be intimated
about, it’s a natural reaction to anything foreign (especially weird shapes and
bendy people).
Over
the four years I’ve been practicing, I’ve made it a point to consciously invite
people to practice alongside me…. and not surprisingly, these same people are
now committed yogis! So please, invite anyone and everyone, be there to soften
the first-time jitters, and to experience the magic that will take place….
….
that magic being – connecting back to oneself, feeling the body again or
for the first time ever, and creating shapes never imagined.
4. Give Back
This
yoga to-do is my biggest focus…. yet for some reason, I rarely find myself
doing it.
Giving
back is a conundrum, we know we’re supposed to do it, the act of it genuinely
makes us feel good, but when push comes to shove – we cherish our free time and
use it on ourselves.
This
summer is our time yogis, let’s give back to the community.
Below
are a few ideas to inspire us:
·
Lead
a free yoga class in a public setting or start a local donation-based class.
·
Donate
your precious dollars and/or time to these amazing organizations –
·
Donate
your time to your local community, whatever movement or organization interests
you, go do that!
5. Find an event near you
And
lastly, if there’s an event celebrating International Yoga Day, for the love of
yoga – go be part of it!
Grab
a friend, family member, yoga studio member, or go by yourself and participate!
As I’ve said numerous times now, the stronger our breath and movement is, the
more we can help change this world through our yoga practice (which is insane,
but so true).
If
you live in India, the mecca of all yoga events takes place. And if you live in
NYC, Times Square shuts down and hosts yoga classes all damn day
And
if there’s no event taking place in your local community, take the initiative
to start one!
Yogis
and non-yogis, I hope these ideas help spark a fire within you to support the
yoga movement,
especially
on International Yoga Day!
____________________________________
Article by @Allie Thanks to Allie
Thanks To Model: Jyoti
Patel
At @SCVCCHOA Hawkstone
Park San Jose, CA USA 21st JUNE 2019
