20 Incredible Facts about the International Day of Yoga 2015

With the successful commencement of International Day of Yoga on June 21, the world saw a revival of the ancient art of physical and mental well-being. From new coins to stamps and many records, the day gave a much needed boost to the traditional philosophy as well as practice. Here are 20 exciting things that happened on IDY 2015.

1. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi led thousands in a spectacular mass participation attempt for two Yoga world record titles on June 21, 2015 in New Delhi.

Photo: PTI

“The event, which took place in front of India’s government buildings on the iconic Rajpath saw 35,985 people take part in the attempt which set a new record for the largest yoga lesson (single venue). The attempt beat a previous benchmark which had stood for almost ten years of 29,973, which was set in Gwalior, back in November 2005.

With a total of 84 different and unique nationalities taking part in Sunday’s attempt, a second record was also set for most nationalities in a yoga lesson”, said official sources from the Guinness World Records.

2. Approximately 900 million mobile users across India received an SMS from the Prime Minister in connection with the International Day of Yoga.

Photo: intoday.in

Probably a world record too!

3. Dubai expat Ivan Stanley set the first world record of performing Shirshasana for 61 minutes non-stop.

Photo: www.thenational.ae

4. Yoga at the highest altitude in the world – Siachen Glacier: Indian Army Jawans and Officers at 18,800 feet above sea level (probably a World Record).

Photo: PTI

5. INDIA POST released commemorative Stamps, First Day Covers and Minisheet on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga on 21 June, 2015.

Photo: rainbowstampclub.blogspot.in

6. The Reserve Bank of India released two commemorative coins of denominations ₹ 10/- and ₹ 100/- on the International Day of Yoga.

Photo: lh3.googleusercontent.com

7. Website of the International Day of Yoga, http://idayofyoga.org/, has a countdown clock indicating the number of days left for International Day of Yoga 2016.

8. Try the yoga puzzle on the official website of PM Modi: http://yogapuzzle.narendramodi.in/

9. Watch the full documentary of the International Day of Yoga event held at Rajpath on 21st June, 2015.

10. The Ministry of AYUSH was formed on 9^th November, 2014.

The Department of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H) was created in March 1995 and renamed as Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in November 2003, with a view to providing focused attention to development of Education and Research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy systems.

11. The resolution for the Yoga Day was co-sponsored by 175 of the 193 UN member nations in a short period of 75 days.

Photo source: Twitter

12. Forty-seven of the 56 members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries too joined as co-sponsors, in a telling example of the universality of yoga.

Photo: abclocal.go.com

While Pakistan did not co-sponsor, it did not object to the resolution either.

13. It is estimated that 250 million people around the world practice yoga, over 20 million of them in the US.

Photo source: twitter.com/IntlDayofYoga

14. About Rs. 30 Crores ($4.67m; £2.97m): Cost of Delhi event on 21 June, 2015.

Photo: darkroom-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com

15. 650 of India’s 676 districts participated.

16. Of the 193 UN member countries, celebrations were held in 192 countries – the exception is Yemen, because of the conflict there.

Photo source: twitter.com/IntlDayofYoga

17. “Spice Jet crew and the Isha Foundation instructors will perform yoga at a height of 35,000 feet on June 21, the International Day of Yoga. Approximately 50 Isha instructors and Spice Jet crew members will undertake a 10-minute session onboard select Boeing flights across the network,” reported ANI.

Photo: philamirror.info

18. Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved alone recorded revenues of Rs 1,200 crore in the fiscal year 2014, and claims to have crossed Rs 2,000 crore last year.

Photo: knowledgecocktail.com

19. Delhi is celebrating a week of Yoga Festival or ‘Yoga Parv’ from June 21st – 27th with exhibitions, music and dance events across the city.

Watch the live yoga session at Rajpath.

20. Worldwide, yoga is estimated to be an $80 billion industry.

Photo source: twitter.com/Indian_Embassy

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