Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini unveiled plans to promote yoga as a mass movement and foster healthy lifestyles among students and youth on the 12th International Yoga Day. Yoga education will be integrated into the curriculum for students from Class III to IX starting from the next academic session to enhance their physical, mental, and emotional well-being from a young age.
In a bid to ensure sustained promotion of yoga in schools, specialized training in yoga asanas will be provided to Physical Training Instructors, DPEd teachers, PGTs, and designated PRTs. This move aims to enable students in every school to practice yoga regularly under expert guidance.
Moreover, the Chief Minister announced that questions related to yoga will become a compulsory part of all exams conducted by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) and the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC). Amendments to the examination policy will be made to enforce this decision effectively.
To further strengthen yoga education, a state-level Institute of Naturopathy and Yoga will be established in Morni, Panchkula district, offering undergraduate courses in these fields. Additionally, yoga will be integrated into the five centers of excellence being set up in various universities across the state, emphasizing the importance of yoga in higher education.
In a move to institutionalize the promotion of yoga, all Sports Departments in higher education institutions will be renamed as Departments of Sports and Yoga. This change aims to give yoga the recognition it deserves within academic institutions. Furthermore, ‘yogasana’ will be recognized as a sports discipline under the state’s sports policy, with necessary policy amendments to facilitate its implementation.
