From On Ground To The Sky, The International Yoga Day 2019 Preparations
Once considered a niche practice, the popularity of Yoga has grown multifold since 2014. It has now become a common practice among the masses to stay fit and centred Mind, Body and Soul. International Yoga Day 2019 celebrations are off the charts. The excitement for it is palpable. Media has played a huge role in this. Television channels, Radio channels, and even newspapers are giving Yoga Day an unmatched coverage.
The inception of International Yoga Day led to the growth of Indian Yogic teachers who are today travelling across the globe to teach this 10,000-year-old Vedic science of keeping the body mentally and physically fit.
Yogini Sunaina Rekhi is in New York representing India at the UN for International Yoga Day.
In India, the land where yoga originated celebrations are happening across domains. Starting with the government doing events from Ranchi to the capital. Corporates are organizing yoga sessions for their employees, hotels and malls are fulfilling their share by organizing public Yoga sessions with famous Yoga Gurus. The masses themselves are planning to join Yoga day celebrations at society parks, compound areas, and in nearby Yoga studios. Lodhi park and Rajpath are promising to be huge hubs too.
Corporates
Corporations across the country are organizing innovative Yoga sessions on the International Yoga Day 2019. Focusing on the physical and mental fitness of the employees, they are in a line of making it a trend among the employees.
For example, Optum, a health services innovation company is planning at engaging their employees to experience Yoga holistically by going digital and organizing four unique Yoga sessions to take them through breathing & pranayama workshop. These sessions will be delivered through an online meeting and video conferencing software, by an external trainer, facilitating convenience and ensuring better participation.
Healthcare company, GOQi’s founder Vishal Gondal believes that people are willingly adopting a healthier lifestyle. “To enable more people across the world embrace yoga, we now have live Yoga classes on GOQii Play, our interactive live-coaching video platform. Since, the start of GOQii Play, we have developed over 350 hours of content on yoga and the platform witnesses an active engagement from over a million users on the platform.” he shared.
Some organizations like Aeris Communications and Denave have started leveraging this opportunity by having a dedicated yoga room along with a full-time yoga expert for their employees within their organization. They make sure that their employees attend regular yoga sessions and need not go anywhere else for the same.
Shopping Malls
In a bid to attract the masses towards the shopping destinations, malls across the country are organizing Yoga Day events in celebration. Stalwarts of Yoga have been invited to coach the asanas, meditation and body alignment to the masses.
Sonia Gryszata, a Yoga Guru and Dance Instructor will be providing Yoga sessions at the VR Bengaluru Mall. On International Yoga Day, Sonia says, “Yoga or conscious practice with our body makes us more aware of who we are now, how to achieve our dreams to build truly our life.”
The event is in collaboration with Rossé fem social, an exclusive women's leisure hub.
Seawoods Grand Central Mall, Mumbai is organizing Yoga Session along with Yoga Sadhana Mandir on the occasion of International Yoga Day. All prominent Yoga institutes from Navi Mumbai such as Ambika Yoga Kutir, Patanjali Yogapeeth, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana etc., will also take part in the event.
In the two-hour long power-packed Yoga session professional instructors will teach basic yogic asanas such as shalabasana, pawanmuktasana and makrasana among others followed by breathing exercises Kaapalabhaati and Pranayana. The session will also include advice on mental and physical health benefits of a regular yoga routine.
Hospitality
Hospitality businesses are not far behind in attracting tourists for the International Yoga Day. They also are organizing Yoga events at their lawns and lavish restaurants. Apart from calling out the Yoga teachers, they have also introduced nutritious Saatvik food at their restaurants.
Rosemary Joseph, an international Yoga teacher will be providing Yoga sessions to the masses in Chennai. While talking about the event, she informed, “Yoga is a great way to open up the body and mind to a more mindful state of being. This International Yoga Day, we aim to get yoga enthusiasts and our guests to experience relaxing yoga sessions on the beach”. The event will take place at InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram.
Stand-alone restaurants have curated interesting wellness cuisines as well to celebrate the occasion. Executive chef, Manpreet Singh Malik said, “This International Yoga day, we wanted to incorporate healthy Indian meal options to our menu, hence we have created a nutritious and Saatvik breakfast that is wholesome and will keep our patrons feeling light and energetic throughout the day.”
Conrad Bengaluru is planning to organize the celebrations of International Yoga Day 2019 with their in-house Yogi, Mahesh Lal at their premises. Healthy snacks are on their Wellness menu curated by Executive Chef Praveen Shetty. On the thought of introducing wellness menu, Shetty briefed, “The inspiration to curate a wellness menu came from within. I have been an active runner and a fitness enthusiast and when today everybody is talking about fitness and in the same line to promote healthy eating habits, we have curated a wellness menu at the hotel.”
Airlines
In an interesting collaboration, IndiGo along with EkPrana Foundation is introducing the ‘Seat Is The New Mat’ campaign on account of International Yoga Day. They believe that it will promote a wellness regime that the passengers can follow while being seated and without disturbing their co-fliers. Also, it will help the passengers in avoiding jet lag and stiffness.
As part of the campaign, they are showcasing 6 asanas that every passenger can perform while being seated. The 6 asanas are picked with a holistic approach to ensure wellness throughout the body and mind. The campaign is expected to last for at least 2 months.
Yoga Experts
In the strive to make their consumers physically and mentally fit, media organisations are also trying to make out something from the International Yoga Day. In a similar attempt, Fitness Experts like Deepika Mehta, Sunaina Rekhi, Amrit Daswani and Shilpa Shetty will have a 48-hour Yoga marathon on Tata Sky Fitness which will telecast exclusive content of yoga training sessions.
Across the country, masses are expected to turn out in huge numbers in nearby parks, studios, malls etc., a number of studios, fitness trainers, hotels, malls, and institutions are organizing yoga sessions without any cost and it will further encourage the people to become a part of International Yoga Day 2019 celebrations.
