THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

International Day of Yoga was proclaimed last year in India by the Grand Yoga Masters during a conference in Bengaluru, India. The date of June 21, during the Summer Solstice when the sun stands still, was selected as World Yoga Day. Practice of Yoga throughout the world on that day will bring the stillness of the body and mind (Chitta Vrtti Nirodhah) like the still sun and shift our consciousness from Yoga as exercise to Yoga as a healing art through self-realization. We the Yoga Therapy community of the USA believe that the practice of Yoga on this day will bring health and healing to the world and ward off all ailments. The Yoga Portuguese Confederation is arranging an International Yoga Conference to honor the day. We encourage all the Yoga community of the world to stand behind the Yoga Portuguese Confederation for the success of their conference.

Dilip Sarkar, MD, FACS, CAP
Associate Professor of Surgery (Retired), Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
Fellow, American Association of Integrative Medicine (AAIM) President of the local Board of Directors, American Heart Association Chairman of AHA’s Mission Committee and My Life Check President, International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)