International Yoga Day: Over 3,000 expected to participate in mass yoga session in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru

Dinesh Gundu Rao | Photo Credit:

To mark International Yoga Day, celebrated on June 21, over 3,000 people, including yoga experts, are expected to participate in a synchronised mass yoga demonstration session in front of the Vidhana Soudha from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Saturday.

This session will be in line with the Union AYUSH Ministry’s ‘Yoga Sangama’ initiative, under which synchronised mass yoga sessions are planned at over one lakh locations across India on June 21.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, apart from several film actors, will participate in the Vidhana Soudha event.

Addressing presspersons after releasing Yoga Day posters on Tuesday, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said all participants would follow the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP). “This year’s theme ‘Yoga for one earth, one health’ highlights yoga’s role in promoting physical, mental, and environmental well-being, aligning with global calls for sustainability and unity,” he said.

The promotional programmes include ‘Yoga Dhanush’, ‘Yoga Unplugged’, ‘Green Yoga’, ‘Yogadhyana’, and ‘Yoga Sangama’. While ‘Yoga Dhanush’ and ‘Yoga Unplugged’ are being conducted across the State, the remaining programmes will be rolled out in due course at the district level, Mr. Gundu Rao said.

About 5,000 people are expected to participate in separate yoga demonstration sessions to be held in every district as part of the Yoga Day events. Seminars on yoga and its benefits on health will be held in the University of Mysore, NIMHANS, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, and Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in the last week of June. That apart, awareness jathas and human chains will also be organised as part of the Yoga Day events, the Minister said.

Proposal to declare Mysuru as ‘Yoga district’ 

The State has sent a proposal to the Centre urging that Mysuru district be declared as ‘Yoga district’. Under this, at least one member of each household in this district will learn and practice yoga. This year, a massive yoga session under the title ‘Yoga Mahakumba’ will be held on the Mysuru palace premises and about 15,000 people are expected to participate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led the Yoga Day celebrations at the Mysuru palace in 2022, and the venue is one of the iconic platforms to promote not only yoga but also Mysuru tourism.

Published - June 17, 2025 11:07 pm IST