International Yoga Day 2025: PM Modi Joins Lakhs in Visakhapatnam for ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Visakhapatnam, June 21, 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a massive gathering of over three lakh people in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to mark the 11th International Yoga Day on Saturday. The event, held along a 26-km stretch from RK Beach to Bhogapuram, saw participants unite under the theme “Yoga for One Earth, One Health,” highlighting yoga’s role in fostering personal and planetary well-being.
Addressing the crowd, PM Modi extended heartfelt greetings to people across India and the world, emphasizing yoga’s power to connect humanity. “Yoga has brought the world together. The support of 75 countries for India’s proposal to establish International Yoga Day is no small feat,” he said, reflecting on the global embrace of this ancient Indian practice. He described yoga as a “pause button” for humanity, promoting harmony and health in a fast-paced world.
The grand event, attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, aimed to set a Guinness World Record with its scale. Around 5 lakh people participated across 326 designated sections, supported by over 3,000 buses for logistics. The Andhra Pradesh government, in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH and local authorities, ensured meticulous planning, with yoga sessions held simultaneously at over 1.5 lakh locations statewide, including on Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships off Visakhapatnam’s coast.
The “Visakhapatnam Yoga Declaration,” a joint pledge by the Centre and State to integrate yoga into daily life, was released during the event. A notable highlight was the participation of 25,000 tribal students who performed 108 Surya Namaskars for 108 minutes at Andhra University, showcasing yoga’s inclusivity.
Since proposing International Yoga Day at the United Nations in 2014, PM Modi has led celebrations in iconic locations like New Delhi, Chandigarh, and New York. This year’s event in Visakhapatnam underscored India’s soft power, with over 2 crore people expected to participate in yoga sessions across 1.3 lakh locations nationwide.
The celebrations extended beyond Andhra Pradesh, with Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan joining a yoga session at ICAR and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath participating in Gorakhpur. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini performed yoga under the guidance of Swami Ramdev, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh joined soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir.
As the sun rose over the Bay of Bengal, Visakhapatnam’s shoreline transformed into a vibrant stage for unity and wellness, sending a powerful message of yoga’s universal appeal.
Keywords: International Yoga Day 2025, PM Narendra Modi, Visakhapatnam, Yoga for One Earth One Health, yoga celebrations, Andhra Pradesh, global wellness, yoga unity, Chandrababu Naidu, mass yoga event