Embassy of India, Kuwait celebrated the 8^th International Day of Yoga (IDY) at the iconic Red sandstone building of the Embassy today (21 June).

Delivering the inaugural remarks, Ambassador of India to Kuwait, His Excellency Shri Sibi George highlighting the importance of Yoga said that the Yoga is a product of Indian civilization and is an invaluable gift of ancient India to the world. He further said that Yoga is not a religion; it is a way of life that aims towards a healthy mind in a healthy body. Yoga does not discriminate; all people can practice it, regardless of their strength, age or ability. Yoga has the innate power to connect people and societies. Ambassador also said that Yoga transcends boundaries and brings everyone together and in its true essence is a unifying force.

Ambassador said that the main IDY 2022 event was held at Mysore in Karnataka today morning led by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.  He quoted Prime Minister’s remarks “Yoga brings peace for us. The peace from Yoga is not merely for individuals. Yoga brings peace to our society. Yoga brings peace to our nations and the world. And Yoga brings peace to our universe”. The celebrations in Kuwait were part of ‘The Guardian Ring’ programme of the Government of India which was a relay Yoga streaming event which captured and weaved together digital feeds of IDY programmes organized by Indian Missions/Embassies abroad. It showcased the IDY celebrations in 75 countries from East to West, with the movement of Sun, covering 16 time zones.  

Embassy had been organizing various events, online and offline, in the run up to the IDY since last two months which included regular Yoga classes and sessions.

During today’s Celebrations, a Yoga Session was held including Natya and Hatha Yoga followed by a session of Common Yoga Protocol, which was telecasted live all over the world and live performance of Kalaripayattu-the ancient martial art form of India.

During the event, Ambassador launched the special edition of Ayush Bulletin. 

On the occasion, Ambassador also inaugurated a Herbal Plants Exhibition, displaying the medicines from Indian Home Gardens and an Ayurveda Exhibition showcasing the daily Indian spices and herbs. 

A Tea Tasting Event, bringing to Kuwait the aroma of Indian Tea-World’s Gold Standard, was also organized.  

The event witnessed enthusiastic response with physical participation of more than 500 people from different walks of life including foreign diplomats, persons from media fraternity, Indian Diaspora and Friends of India in Kuwait. For more details about the event, please visit the website and social media handles of the Embassy.

Remarks by Ambassador Sibi George at the International Day of Yoga celebrations, June 21, 2022

Your Excellencies Ambassadors who have joined us today,
Members of the Indian community who are present physically here and als those who are joining us virtually,
Distinguished guests,
Office Bearers of various Indian associations in Kuwait,
Media Representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning to all.

Congratulations to all on the occasion of the 8th International Day of Yoga. Also, Greetings of Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, 75th anniversary of India’s independence to all. I welcome each one of you to the 8th International Day of Yoga celebrations today.

I would like to begin by thanking His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, and His Highness Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, for hosting the large Indian community in Kuwait. I also pay my respect and gratitude to those individuals and organizations who have been working and contributing towards further strengthening the long-standing dynamic partnership between India- Kuwait.
Dear Friends,
I am so happy to be here today addressing this gathering of distinguished guests, Excellencies Ambassadors, Diplomats, Yoga Gurus, Yoga Lovers, Friends of India and all participants at this IDY celebrations 2022. I welcome each one of you. I express my sincere gratitude to the yoga practitioners and enthusiasts, volunteers and association leaders and my colleagues in the Embassy and our many partners who worked hard to organize this memorable event today. It has not been easy. It has not been easy at all. The team worked day and night for several weeks to make this happen today. For over two months almost every day we were organizing various events, online and offline, in the run up to this day. We held regular yoga classes and sessions to prepare ourselves for this morning. Thank you to one and all.
Dear Friends,
Today, Embassy is organizing IDY 2022 to promote our common cultural heritage. Yoga is a refined product of Indian civilization and is an invaluable gift of ancient India to the world. Yoga is already immensely popular all over the world including in our friendly State of Kuwait. Most of you present here today are regular practitioners of yoga. So, I would not like to speak much about Yoga but would like to emphasize that Yoga is not a religion; it is a way of life that aims towards a healthy mind in a healthy body. It does not discriminate; all people can practice, regardless of their strength, age or ability. It is the innate power of Yoga to connect people and societies. It transcends boundaries and brings everyone together. Yoga in its true essence is a unifying force.
No wonder then that the United Nations Organization unanimously adopted 21 June as the International Day of Yoga. On 7 November, 2014 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution to celebrate 21st June, the day of the summer solstice, as International Day of Yoga every year, it was proposed by India and was co-sponsored by an overwhelming 177 countries of the world. The State of Kuwait was one of the co-sponsors. It has been eight years since that day and the spread of Yoga continues unabated all across the globe including in our friendly State of Kuwait.

Dear Friends,

This Year IDY celebrations is special as we are celebrating it in physical mode after a gap of two years, due to the devastating Covid 19 pandemic. The Theme of IDY 2022 is “Yoga for Humanity”. The main event of the IDY 2022 was held at Mysore in Karnataka today morning led by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi ji. In his address today morning Hon’ble Prime Minister said, and I quote: “Yoga brings peace for us. The peace from Yoga is not merely for individuals. Yoga brings peace to our society. Yoga brings peace to our nations and the world. And Yoga brings peace to our universe. This whole universe starts from our own body and soul. The universe starts from us. And, Yoga makes us conscious of everything within us and builds a sense of awareness. Millions of people with inner peace will create an environment of global peace. That is how Yoga can connect the people and countries, and how Yoga can become a problem solver for all of us.” Unquote.
Dear Friends,
Our celebrations here today in Kuwait is part of the “The Guardian Ring" event which is a relay Yoga streaming event capturing and weaving together digital feed of IDY programmes organised by Indian Embassies abroad. It showcases the IDY celebration in 75 countries from east to west, with the movement of the sun, covering 16 time zones.
Along with IDY celebrations here today, here in Kuwait, we are also organizing an Herbal Plants Exhibition and an Ayurveda Exhibition which we will inaugurate immediately after this event. I invite you all to join me at these exhibitions and also for an Indian Tea Tasting event that follows. We have also made arrangements some basic Ayurveda treatment at the premises. We will also be releasing the Special Edition of AYUSH Bulletin with particular emphasis on Yoga. It is a bilingual publication, English and Arabic, which is entirely an in-house effort of the AYUSH Information Cell of the Embassy.
Dear Friends,
I invite you to continue to practice Yoga with us in the Embassy. We will have Yoga sessions every Friday and Saturday throughout the year. I wish the IDY 2022 a great success and wish you all a healthy and happy life. I once again thank you all for joining me today at this IDY 2022 celebrations.
Thank You and Good Morning.