Stop misleading people on yoga

The recent International Day of Yoga celebration in Kuwait, organized by the Indian Embassy, was a significant success, attracting over 2,200 participants from diverse backgrounds. The event focused on health, fitness, and community engagement, promoting yoga as a practice for well-being.

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Everyone is entitled to their opinion and free to express it.

However, the successful event has become a target for misinformation on social media. Critics have circulated old headlines and selective excerpts to falsely portray yoga as a primarily religious practice, suggesting it conflicts with Islamic principles. This narrative omits crucial context and later developments.

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The problem arises when incomplete information is presented without context, creating a misleading picture of reality.

One common claim misrepresents a past Indian Ministry of Sports classification of yoga as "not a sport." This decision was administrative, concerning competitive categorization, not theological. Furthermore, India officially recognized Yogasana as a competitive sport in 2020, integrating it into national games. The article points out that presenting outdated information misleads the public.

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The discussion was not about whether yoga was a religion. Rather, it concerned whether yoga should be categorized as a competitive sport involving tournaments, medals, rankings, and sporting federations.

Another criticism focuses on a social media post about Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). However, isolating a single post does not justify labeling all yoga activities as religious. The Kuwait event, promoted as "Yoga for Healthy Ageing," focused on physical fitness and breathing techniques, with no indication of religious rituals or worship. The event also took place at 5:00 a.m., contrary to false claims of a midday sun prayer gathering.

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Yoga is practiced today by millions of people around the world for physical fitness, flexibility, breathing techniques, and overall well-being.