&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "International Yoga Day: Ministry of Ayush championing India’s global health image, fueling worldwide wellness shift")
Established on November 9, 2014, Ministry of Ayush is a department of the Government of India that works towards developing and promoting traditional and alternative healthcare systems. It also focuses on integrating modern medicine to offer cost-effective, preventative, and holistic well-being.
The ministry has helped Yoga- a traditional practice - achieve global recognition and turn it into a global mass movement. To achieve this goal, the ministry worked on public outreach, standardized professional certification, scientific research, and accessible digital initiatives.
It spearheads the global observance of International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21, first proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and adopted by the United Nations in 2014, by organising several mass yoga activities and helping create world records (such as the largest YouTube live stream for 'Yoga for Healthy Ageing').
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The ministry is not only focused on promoting annual observance but promotes daily, year-round yoga practice by taking help of digital platforms and home-based modules.
A Yoga Certification Board (YCB) has also been formed by the ministry to provide globally recognised accreditations to yoga professionals and institutions, ensuring high, credible standards in teaching and practice worldwide.
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It has also formed Ayush Information Cells and Chairs at foreign universities so that it can hold workshops, live demonstrations, and disseminate multilingual health and wellness resources.
Global outreach
In order to help Yoga find even larger recognition across the world the ministry coordinates with embassies and High Commissions globally.
The Ministry coordinates worldwide celebrations in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and over 210 Indian Missions across 2,500 locations.
To make yoga more appealing to foreign people looking to improve their health Ayush developed Common Yoga Protocol (CYP), a 45 minute standardized routine so that people across different countries and cultures can easily practice together.
Ancient roots of yoga
The origin of yoga dates back to more than 5,000 years to the Indus Valley Civilisation or the Harappan Civilisation. Spanning across the present-day northwest India, Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan, it was the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent that flourished roughly between 3300 and 1300 BCE.
Several archaeological findings from the region have hinted towards existence of early yoga in the region. One such remarkable discovery was the famous steatite artefact of the Pashupati Seal found at Mohenjo-daro, which depicts a figure seated in meditative posture.
