KATHMANDU, JUNE 21

Nepal is celebrating International Yoga Day today with various programs organized across the country.

Observed annually on June 21 following a 2014 UN declaration, the proposal for International Yoga Day was initiated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and supported by 177 countries within 90 days. Then Nepali Prime Minister Sushil Koirala was the first to second the motion, followed by backing from the European Union and other UN member states.

Though globally recognised since 2015, Yoga Day had been informally observed in Nepal since 1979 on Magh 1 (mid-January). The Council of Ministers later declared Magh 1 as the official National Yoga Day through the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.

Yoga, rooted in the Vedic traditions of the Himalayas, had seen a decline in Nepal, but recent celebrations have helped revive its practice and public interest.