HOUSTON TEXAS, June 17, 2021 (Fort Bend Independent): Although India’s second spike of COVID-19 has been dominating news headlines, it is the country’s ancient mind-body practice of yoga that is top of mind for some. Health and wellness experts around the world are gearing up to observe the seventh annual International Yoga Day (IYD), recognized by a United Nations resolution co-sponsored by a record 177 nations. The celebration comes at a time when anxiety and psychological suffering are soaring. In the U.S., more than 42 percent of people surveyed by the U.S. Census Bureau in December reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, an increase from 11 percent the previous year. Physical isolation and fear of the COVID-19 infection are thought to have contributed to these numbers, and yoga and meditation have emerged as possible panaceas.

First proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a General Assembly address in 2014, IYD is now observed worldwide to recognize the many benefits of practicing yoga. The UN has appropriately chosen “Yoga for well-being” as this year’s event theme, focusing on the role the practice can play in fighting social isolation and depression. In Houston, the city’s Consulate General of India in partnership with a number of organizations is marking the occasion with outdoor events on Sunday, June 20 and on Monday, June 21, both free and open to the public. Sunday’s IYD event takes place at Buffalo Bayou Park while Monday’s, which will also be livestreamed, is outdoors at India House. Both events take place 6-8 p.m. and will include booths with food vendors and ayurvedic related organizations as well as a formal presentation with an address by the Consulate General of India, Houston. Top yoga teachers from Houston will both perform complicated poses and lead the public in a standard 55-minute yoga practice.

More at https://fbindependent.com/houston-to-observe-international-yoga-day-focused-on-wellbeing-amid-pande-p14858-91.htm above or visit yogadayoftexas.org