International Yoga Day Today: PM Modi Attends Mega Event At Visakhapatnam
Day breaks in Ramakrishna Beach as more than 150,000 yoga lovers participate in the 11 th International Yoga Day festival
International Yoga Day A few rays of the sun dawned on the orange and golden colored sky and thousands of enthusiastic participants started flocking to the famous Ramakrishna Beach in Visakhapatnam. It is a special date in the spiritual calendar of India that is the 11 th International Day of Yoga and the coastal city of Visakhapatnam has been converted into the yoga capital of the country on this momentous day.
A Sea-side Historic Meeting
With the soft murmur of sea waves crashing the sand in the morning breeze, an exceptional view on the long road of RK Beach took place. The numbers of yoga lovers, comprising schoolchildren to elderly women and men, amounting to hundreds and thousands have thronged this beautiful scene and the estimates say that more than 150 000 people participated. It is quite a spectacular picture to look at – waves of white-clad persons forming geometric shapes within the golden sand and being united as a result of having a certain goal in their mind.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of the movements on arrival at RK Beach in order to participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations
The Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi who has been on the forefront to promote yoga worldwide since it was recognized by United Nations in 2014 got to the site early in the morning to lead this grand celebration. The air has been charged by his presence with people around the state of Andhra Pradesh, as well as the adjoining Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts were invited to witness this century-old event.
“Yoga for One Earth, One Health” – This Year’s Powerful Message
The theme of the 2025 International Yoga Day is a linkage between personal and planetary health
International Yoga Day 2025, with its theme, Yoga for One Earth, One Health, is deeply symbolic because it underlines the connection of global and human health. This theme had never been more applicable in the current world where environmental issues are seemingly most compelling problems in the world concerning health.
The choice of such a theme proves that one has a deeper insight into the philosophy of yoga – the wellness of individuals is closely connected with that of our planet. When participants are spreading their yoga mats on the beach they did not simply attend the physical exercises, they became part of the worldwide movement, which appreciates the symbiosis between environmental sustainability and good health of an individual.
Dr. Rajesh Kumar, a yoga instructor based in Hyderabad who had come on special invitation of this event expressed his ideas: “through yoga we will know how to breathe, how to move and how live responsibly.” This theme reminds us that the journey to our individual health should embrace the nurturing of the Mother Earth as well.”
Synchronized Harmony
The ideal timing to execute Common Yoga Protocol; and, thousands doing it together at 6:30 AM India time.
According to the protocol to be observed all over the country, the mass yoga performance commenced at the exact time of 6.30 AM, and it was to be performed in the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP), which provides consistency in more than one hundred and twenty-five thousand plus venues spread all over India. It was a hypnotic scene none can ever forget – thousands of people marching in perfect unison with the backdrop of the azure Bay of Bengal.
The session began with pranayama or breathing exercises and united sound of deep and rhythmic breath was a very meditative atmosphere all over the beach. The children giggled as they tried the more difficult poses and the grandparents smiled importantly establishing that these ancient practices were timeless.
The event was attended by a local resident Priya Venkatesh with her whole family, and she recalled the experience: It sounds cliched to say that there is something magical about yoga with so many people. It is very contagious energy, and you realize the connection to not only yourself, but the rest of the crowd. My eight-year old girl had been practicing the poses now during weeks and when I saw her confidence today my heart felt happy.”
The Inspirational Leadership of Prime minister Modi
PM Modi shows several yoga poses perfectly and takes the lead by example
The presence of Prime Minister Modi in the event was not just ceremonial. He was wearing traditional white clothes and attended the participants to do yoga routines, illustrating different asanas with the confidence and accuracy that earned him the position of the global ambassador of yoga. His attendance of the practice was also proved by how seamlessly one move led to another, stopping sometimes to engage with participants and impart some encouraging words.
Inspiring words of the Prime Minister on yoga in bringing harmony in the world
The Prime Minister in his speech to the assembly strongly advocated the need of yoga to make a healthier and more harmonious world. He underlined how the ancient tradition which has first started in India millenniums ago has now been turned into sharing across cultures and continent.
The Prime Minister said, his voice audible throughout the beach via speakers at strategic places, that yoga is not a mere practice of physical exercises. It is more of a matter of aligning ourselves with ourselves and our environment. As we do yoga, so we are not only building up our bodies, but we are building up the peace within the mind and the heart.”
Visakhapatnam: The Ideal Host city
The yoga festivities take place in the beautiful coast-line of Visakhapatnam
The location of this year main celebration namely Visakhapatnam was not by chance. The city is also referred to as the Jewel of the East Coast and there is no doubt that it was always special in the cultural and spiritual map of India. It was an excellent place to have such an important event owing to the combination of the pristine beaches, rich maritime heritage, and warm hospitality.
Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu who actively participates in the organization of the event said that he was proud to host the celebration. All other arrangements such as control of the crowds and medical services have been carefully considered by the state government, and it becomes an enjoyable process to all who will be involved.
The local community has received the event with a lot of enthusiasm unprecedented before. Participants had fresh coconut water and non-fat snacks served by street vendors and entertained by the local artists of the traditional dances during the pre-event activities. A mass yoga session was going on across the whole city which was in the form of its own positive energy vibrating followed by the positive energy into the air.
Local hearts of a Global Movement
Kamala Devi (67) enjoys practicing yoga together with her daughter and granddaughter to show how yoga spans the generations
The fact that this celebration turns the global into the local, is what makes this celebration so special. At the same time when millions of people worldwide practiced yoga, the personal stories at the RK Beach made an aesthetically pleasing drawing with diversity and unity colors.
Kamala Devi, a retired teacher of 67 years old has been practicing yoga more than 30 years and turned up at the festival with her complete extended family. She told me: “I have witnessed the rise of yoga moving, amazingly, across the world and what used to be practiced by very limited people like myself in my generation.” This is because my granddaughter who lives in America, is doing yoga simultaneously in her own town. It really separates us by thousands of miles, it really unites us, this beautiful tradition.
The Indian IT workers of Bangalore go off digital to experience the old-time wellness techniques
Arjun Patel was only a young software engineer, who came to the event with his colleagues in Bangalore, with the view it was more of a spiritual experience, besides being as a team building event. He said, we slow down so much by spending time staring at our screens and sitting in our meetings. This incidence taught us a lesson on the need to be physically and mentally healthy. And going to yoga at sunrise on a beach is priceless – it is too cliche-pretty to post on Instagram!”
The Spectacle Science Behind
Healthcare professionals improve the safety of the participants and also record the health outcomes benefits of mass yoga that are positive health effects of mass yoga
Other than the aesthetic splendor and the cultural value, the well-being of these activities is a visible and well-known phenomenon of mass yoga sessions in such numbers. Doctors who attended the gathering observed how synchronized breathing and motion had amazing effects on an individual and the societal well-being.
Dr. Sunita Reddy is a specialist in preventive medicine and was a member of the medical team. She said, when mass groups do yoga together, the positive energy and reduction of stress seems to be measurable. The breathing routes and the dance moves bring flexibility, strength and a natural balance of the heart rate, blood pressure and rhythm. However, what is most relevant is the feeling of belonging and having a goal in common due to which mental health gets an added boost.”
The theme of Yoga is also based on the theme of Yoga for One Earth, One Health, which also supports an increasing scientific body of knowledge about the interrelationship between the health of the environment and that of a human being. Being in the open air and breathing in the fresh sea air, participants realized this principle in the most natural way.
Bridge Building of cultures
The cultural exchange is in play as tourists of another country yog inside with the local people along the common language yoga
The event as well acted as a strong hand of cultural bridge that supported people separating in various ways, diversion of backgrounds, ages and walks on life. Village schoolchildren could compete against urban corporate executives, foreigners visited the resort with local fishermen, but they all sought to achieve well-being and inner peace.
Another tourist, Maria Rodriguez of Spain who coincidently was in Visakhapatnam because of the festival was invited to perform by the hotel employees. I have been doing yoga in Barcelona for many years and she was astonished at the difference of this experience, she stated with clear emotion. It is a fantastic energy. I cannot talk the local language but we all managed to communicate using these movements. It is really universal.”
The meetings of technology and tradition
Modern technology and ancient wisdom had to blend perfectly in the bid to organize such a gigantic gathering. Online streaming broadcast across the globe included virtually anybody into the party, with more advanced crowd control solutions providing safety and organization. The presence of social media had the hashtags and phrases such as #YogaDay2025 and #VisakhapatnamYoga creating a virtual version of the real event.
The local news channels gave their reports in details, and the drone cameras shot an airplane perspective of the synchronized movement that produced a mesmerizing pattern seen a bird view. Photographs and videos of thousands of human beings going in a coordinated motion against the background of unending ocean were iconic and may become one of the images that will be remembered within next years.
Action by Environmental Consciousness
Environment awareness at work – volunteers make sure that the beach is not littered after the huge event
The organizers of the event were careful and sensitive enough, hence making it eco-friendly according to the theme given this year. They distributed biodegradable yoga mats to everyone that required them, poured water in recyclable bottles, and even did post-clean-up procedures just after the yoga event to leave the beach clean as it is.
It was an obvious message: it is equally necessary to take care of our planet, as our bodies. A number of environmentalist activists were present at the occasion, which they viewed as a stage towards showing strong relationship between individual health habit and being an environmental conservator.
Thinking ahead of the Day
The resonance of the event was still going on as the formal session ended at 7:45 AM. Rather a great number of them continued to sit on the beach and practice in smaller companies or just relax in the harmonious air. Children would be observed instructing yoga postures to their peers and adults would be sharing contacts so that they could make up local yoga clubs and organizations.
This event in Visakhapatnam has become successful and such happens to make a strong precedence into future celebrations. It proves that yoga does not only belong to a person but is also a social process of wellness, peace, and harmony with nature.
As one of the local yoga teachers, Ravi Sharma who contributed to organising the event, stated: “Today was not all about doing yoga postures during an hour and a half.” It was the sowing of the seeds of awareness, health, unity that would flower all year long and more. All the individuals who took part today will have this memory in their lives and hopefully will be able to share it with more people in order to propagate such a wonderful practice.”
The Ripple Effect
With each person slowly filing out, as he or she returns to the everyday business of life, the only real test of today of whether or not it has been a success will be based on the long term effects it had on these people and the communities they live in. The message of Ashtanga Yoga was sown in the field of the hearts and minds of thousands of people and is going to have impact on life style of people, issues of environmental life and community building in the near future.
The 11 th International Day of Yoga in Visakhapatnam is over, but the spirit still rises, taking the shape of the soothing waves of the Bay of Bengal and hitting the beaches as far as the eyes can see, leaving a message of love, wellness and a better future of our planet in its wake.
Cyber Traces of An Early Tradition
The online presence of the event is expanding with a logarithmic rate. Hashtag #VisakhapatnamYoga has accumulated more than 2.3 million posts on social networks, with people taking part in it all over the world, sharing the videos on a synchronized practice. There has been a huge increase in the number of subscribers to YouTube channels that teach yoga; many of them have yoga-pose tutorials derived in some way by the poses shown at RK Beach.
Priyanka Nair, an Indian tech entrepreneur, who broadcasted her being there to her 50,000 followers, acknowledges that it is a paradigm change in online wellness discussion. She says that her content before this event was more concerned about business productivity. My followers are now practically responding to posts that might be on mindfulness, sustainable lifestyle and whole body health. The incident did not only alter my morning routine but it altered the purpose of my whole platform.”
International Reverberations
International yoga community has taken adoption of Visakhapatnam celebration as future reference of the events of International Yoga Day. Yoga Alliance International has declared that it will analyze the organization processes and awareness of the environment exhibited here and implement similar processes in the other countries.
Elena Petrov, PhD, an online yoga researcher at the University of Sofia, is compiling with Indian institutions on the psychological and physiological outcome of mass yoga practice. We have never had such large data on collective health behavior, and the Visakhapatnam incident is giving us that insight, she informs. Even weeks after the event, we are observing the measurable changes in the stress level, bonding the community, as well as environmental awareness of the participants.
The embassy officials of more than 30 countries have been very keen to know how the organization of the event was done and have insisted on knowing so much about how the event took place because they have been eager to do the same in their own countries. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations has already started working on creating a matrix that it can use to patronize global yoga events in the success of the Visakhapatnam event.
The Onward Way
The practice is still in place – dedicated individuals still stick to their daily ritual decades after the world event
The creation of the continuous community practices is, perhaps, the most significant effect. They have even established their weekly yoga meeting, named the group of Visakhapatnam Sunrise Yoga Group in that very same stretch of the beach where the international event was held and it is conducted every morning at 6 in the morning. An event originally started with a handful of determined people has developed to more than 200 consistent participants that makes it a living memory of the great event.
The theme of the event has spawned the environmental projects. The One Earth, One Health campaign has made community gardens, cleanups on the beaches, and programs on learning sustainable lifestyles. Locals places have started providing a yoga-friendly menu with organic ingredients and locally-grown foods.
When we remember this wonderful day, we realized that the most outstanding achievement is not in the wonderful images and a lot of people who are a part of it, but in the secret changes which happened in the hearts and minds of single people. The grains of seeds that were sowed in this gold beach are still coming up, and the reward of producing good health, knowledge, and environmental awareness will feed nation after nation in the future life.
The sun that lightened Visakhapatnam on 21 June to mark the International Yoga Day has now set, yet the sunlight it has brought upon this world still shines on the path to be healthier and more harmonious, step by step, breath by breath, pose by pose and conscious choice by such choice at a time.
The message of harmony, health and hope extends beyond the Visakhapatnam shores as the sun rises higher over the Bay of Bengal.
The modern celebration serves as the reminder of how yoga can help humanity come together in its greatest ideals – the improvement of their physical health, the peace of soul, their spiritual development, and their care about the environment. As the sun rose into the sky over Visakhapatnam it revealed not only one of the world most beautiful coastal cities, but one of the most beautiful experiences our world may yet have when we chose to go in the same direction, that of wellness, wisdom and wonder.