Amid Covid-19 Pandemic, International Yoga Day To Be Celebrated Virtually This Year

The Ministry of AYUSH along with Indian Council of Cultural Relations on Friday (5 June) announced a unique international video blog competition, called ''My Life My Yoga'' as the International Yoga Day this year will be organised virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The participants will have to make a 3-minute video of performing yoga ''asanas'' and put them on the social media platforms with the hashtag My Life My Yoga and also hashtag their country name tagging the AYUSH ministry.

The contest has already started from 1 June and the videos can be submitted till 15 June. The winners will be announced before 21 June. The selected videos from all over the world will be posted on various social media platforms by the government. "They can post the video in any language", Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said, speaking at a press conference.

"The International Yoga Day has been celebrated across the globe for the last five years. This year also the Ministry of AYUSH is organising the 6th International Yoga Day in a big way. However due to the pandemic the mass gathering will not be organised this year," said Kotecha.

This year's theme will be ''Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family'', officials said, which will enable people to observe the day at home with family members at 7 am on 21 June. "Earlier we had planned Yoga Day in a big way with the Prime Minister attending it in Leh but due to the pandemic situation all plans are suspended. It is also not clear if the PM will go to Leh or not," he said.

''My Life - My Yoga'' video blogging competition was launched by the Prime Minister on 31 May. The contest will be run in two parts. The first one consisting of the international video blogging contest, wherein the winners will be picked within a country. This will be followed by global prize winners who will be selected from winners from different countries.

"Entries can be submitted by participants under three categories covering youth (male and female aged under 18), adults (male and female above 18 years) and yoga professionals, and further, separately for male and female contestants in both India and abroad," Kotecha said.

This makes it a total of six categories in all. For the India contestants, prizes worth Rs 1 lakh, 50,000 and 25,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranking within each of the categories will be given, while for the international winners cash prizes worth $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 along with trophy and certificate will be given to those ranking first, second and third.

Vinay Sahasrabuddh, President of ICCR ( Indian Council for Cultural Relations) said that the video blogging competition will give a huge amount of testimonials which will help in spreading the word about Yoga and its overall benefits not just health-wise but also towards the approach to human life as well.

"Yoga is not just a physical activity, it has also to do with physical and emotional health and people will share the benefits they have experienced," he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)