Make yoga integral part of daily life: UPSC chairman to aspirants

New Delhi: UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar on Saturday asked everyone, including government job aspirants, to make yoga an integral part of their daily lives.

More than 300 volunteers, officials, and staff joined the 11th International Yoga Day celebrations organised on the lawns of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) headquarters here.

Kumar described yoga as “an integral part of a healthy body and mind”, encouraging everyone, including the UPSC aspirants, to make it part of their daily lives.

He praised the participants, calling them “winners” for embracing yoga -- India's invaluable gift to the world, deeply rooted in the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family), according to a statement issued by the UPSC.

Kumar emphasised that yoga is not just a physical activity, but a holistic tool to counter lifestyle and metabolic disorders such as high blood pressure, arthritis, and stress-related ailments, especially important as "we age".

With regular and consistent practice, he said, yoga can be a powerful preventive and healing practice for modern-day challenges.

Highlighting the global recognition of yoga, Kumar recalled the transformative efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, when he proposed June 21 to be celebrated as International Yoga Day at the United Nations General Assembly -- a proposal that received overwhelming support and marked a paradigm shift in how yoga was perceived globally.

He said that while yoga, which originated in India, was being forgotten in its homeland, it was being warmly embraced and practised across the world.

“It is time we reclaim and celebrate our own heritage with pride,” Kumar said.

He urged that International Yoga Day should not be the end but the beginning of a journey towards health, self-discipline, and inner positivity.

"The goal is not a one-day celebration, but daily transformation," the UPSC chief said.

UPSC members Sanjay Verma, Anuradha Prasad, Bidyut Behari Swain, and secretary Shashi Ranjan Kumar performed yoga to mark the occasion.

The event concluded with a lecture by Indu Sharma, assistant professor at Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, on the theme “Yoga for One Earth, One Health”, echoing the spirit of harmony between humanity and nature, the statement said.