International Yoga Day 2021: PM Modi to address the nation shortly

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the lead event of the 7th International Yoga Day on June 21 (Monday). The Ayush Ministry, which is the nodal ministry for International Day of Yoga (IDY), in a statement has said that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lead event of the day will be a televised programme with PM Modi's address being the highlight.

Scheduled to start at 6.30 am on all Doordarshan channels on Monday, the event will also include an address by Minister of State for Ayush Kiren Rijiju and a live yoga demonstration by the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, the Ministry said in a statement.

Theme of International Yoga Day 2021

The main theme of IDY 2021 is "Yoga for Wellness", which is aligned to the current pre-occupations. Numerous digital initiatives taken by the Ministry together with nearly 1000 other stake-holding institutions made the practice of Yoga accessible to the public, despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

International Yoga Day 2021 schedule

The IDY observation on June 21 will consist of individuals participating in large numbers in the harmonious demonstration/ performance of Yoga at 7 am. The Common Yoga Protocol (CYP), a specified sequence of Yoga drills of about 45 minutes' duration, will be the vehicle that facilitates such harmony.

The Yoga demonstration will follow the Prime Minister's address, and will be from 7:00 to 7:45 AM (IST). This live Yoga demonstration will be further followed by messages from 15 spiritual leaders and Yoga Gurus namely: Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Dr HR Nagendra, Kamlesh Patel, Dr Veerendra Hegde, Dr Hamsaji Jayadeva, OP Tiwari, Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Dr Chinmay Pandey, Muni Shri Sagar Maharaj, Swami Bharat Bhushan, Dr Vishwas Mandalik, Sister BK Shivani, S Sridharan and Antoinette Rozi.

The observation of IDY is a global activity and the preparatory activities normally start 3-4 months prior to June 21.