UN pronounces 21 June as International Day of Yoga

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 21 June as the International Day of Yoga following an overwhelming support on the resolution from over 170 member states.

Proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and introduced by India's Ambassador to UN Asoke Mukerji, the resolution on International Day of Yoga considered yoga's role in promoting sustainable development as it embodies the unity of mind and action.

Narendra Modi said UN's proclamation was "gladdening."

"I profusely thank all 177 nations across the world who co-sponsored the resolution to declare 21st June as 'International Day of Yoga'," he wrote on Twitter.

"The fact that 177 nations across all continents came together & co-sponsored the resolution shows the integrative power of Yoga."

The 64-year-old prime minister said he himself had been a yoga practitioner for long and that it has made a positive difference in his life.

"Yoga is the anchor of my life," he said, urging all, especially the youth, to take up yoga and practice it "diligently and regularly."

Yoga teachers in India see International Day of Yoga as a solution to modern problems and as a way to foster the ancient practice, which has followers from across the world, as a global phenomenon.

"Yoga is a science, which means it is universal. Declaration of 21 June as International Day of Yoga will help yoga to become universal phenomenon," Raj Kamal, who runs his own yoga school in Bengaluru, told IBTimes UK.

"It will help to spread awareness about yoga as a solution to modern problems. Modern problems are lifestyle related and yoga is definite solution," Kamal, a degree holder in Applied Yogic Science, added.

Seeing yoga as a way to holistic health, representatives of other member states also welcomed the general assembly's move.

Durga Prasad Bhattarai of Nepal said yoga was beneficial spiritually.

Angelp Antonio Toriello of Sao Tome and Principe said the International Day of Yoga would not only promote health and evolution, but also clarity of vision and action.

"That, in turn, could help prevent contradictions, which often generated confusion while making rules and promoting laws."

The declaration of the International Day of Yoga coincides with the general assembly's adoption of another resolution on UN's role in guiding global health and foreign policy.