New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said people should be physically and mentally healthy to put up a united fight against the novel coronavirus as humanity cannot allow the pandemic to get the better of it.
He also said that yoga can be an effective solution for the high level of stress that the pandemic has created in our lives.
Yoga is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health and its full potential must be harnessed,” he said addressing an event to mark the International Day of Yoga.
Expressing concern over instances of youngsters ending their lives “when unable to cope with the modern-day pressures and stress”, he said all such deaths were completely avoidable.
Yoga can help in dealing effectively with problems like depression, anxiety and stress, which have become all-pervasive due to modern lifestyle, he said according to a statement.
Pointing out that the pandemic was not the only health crisis that was threatening the well-being of the people, he expressed concern over the increase in lifestyle diseases.
Quoting the WHO, he said it was estimated that 63 per cent of all deaths in India in 2016 were because of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“Yoga remains an incredibly simple but powerful instrument to prevent and control lifestyle diseases,” Naidu observed.
Referring to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and mental health of the people, the Vice President said the world is going through challenging times and “we simply cannot allow the pandemic to get the better of us. We have to unite and put up a stronger fight and to ensure that we are healthy, both physically and mentally.”
He also urged educational institutions to include yoga as part of online learning programmes being held in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it is one of the best options to improve the body’s immunity.
He said yoga is a unique gift of India to the world which is successfully transforming millions of lives around the globe.
He said children must be introduced to Yoga at a young age.
Observing that the 5,000-year-old tradition is not a mere workout, he said, “It is a science that emphasises balance, poise, grace, equanimity, peace and harmony”.
Calling for large-scale scientific experimentation to further explore the immense possibilities of yoga as a wellness solution, Naidu said it is a mode of therapy or “yog chikitsa” that has become extremely popular.