International Day of Yoga is celebrated on June 21 in recognition of the Indian practice dating back thousands of years. Indian Prime Minister Modi voiced the idea for this event in his 2014 United Nations (UN) address. It received widespread support, with 177 nations co-sponsoring it in the UN General Assembly, and was passed unanimously. Subsequently, the first International Yoga Day was celebrated successfully on June 21, 2015 in cities including New York, Paris, Beijing, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and New Delhi.
The word yoga, derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj,’ has meanings as varied as its many poses, but the general consensus is that yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices focusing on bringing harmony between mind and body, man and nature. It is also considered an art and science of healthy living. Yoga emphasizes breathing, flexibility and strength through a variety of postures, bringing important benefits such as improved strength, protection of the spine, increased blood flow and energy levels, improved sleep and stress management, lowered blood pressure and heart rate, better cognitive functioning and even improved mental health. Yoga is also built on ethical philosophies like non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), and self-discipline (tapas), which guide practitioners toward a lifestyle of harmony, respect, and compassion.
There are many different types of yoga and poses. Some popular types are Vinyasa (poses are synchronized with breathing in a meditative rhythmic flow), Hatha (focuses on balancing opposing forces and includes a mix of poses, breathing, and meditation), Ashtanga (six series of specific poses taught in order: fast paced and challenging), Anusara(focuses on alignment and has set patterns and flows designed to energize yogis and purify the mind) and Bikram (yoga done in a hot, steamy room focusing on 26 poses).
Yoga originated in the Indus-Saraswati River Valley of India over 5,000 years ago during the Vedantic era (Vedas are the oldest Hindu scriptures). The practice back then was described as consisting of sitting, breathing and meditating. The next phase in the evolution of yoga was around 3,500 years ago where moral guidelines such as truthfulness, self-inquiry, austerity and spiritual aspects such as karma were added. A millennium later, the Bhagavad Gita, the first scripture dedicated to yoga, was developed to emphasize social and personal responsibilities, as well as spiritual practices. The most important development in the next era, dating back 2,000 years, is the full description of yoga philosophy and practices in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The sutras included asana (yoga poses) in addition to moral responsibilities and spiritual practices.
In the West, yoga took off in the late 1890s and is often credited to Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902). He first came to the United States in 1883 and was soon organizing world conferences on the subject, describing yoga as a “science of the mind.” He translated yogic texts from Sanskrit into English. In 1893, he demonstrated yoga at the Chicago World’s Fair. As a result, other Indian Yogis and Swamis were welcomed in the West. Yoga has since developed more forms and reached enormous popularity around the world.
In the East Bay Area, local teacher Dr. Ketabchi teaches the discipline of yoga to the community. Formerly a computer science professor at Santa Clara University and founder of a software company, he decided to teach yoga a few years after his company was acquired in 2011. “I decided to do something different,” he remembers. “At the time, I was practicing yoga and I liked it. I also believed I could give back to the community through providing the opportunity to learn and practice yoga. Hence, I decided to start a yoga business called Worlds Yoga, Inc.” Still, there were challenges. “Worlds Yoga had four studios in Fremont, Milpitas, Union City, and Saratoga before COVID. I maintained only two of them in Fremont and Union City after COVID.”
Ketabchi developed his own philosophy as a yoga practitioner. “In my opinion, the main focus of yoga at the present time is health—physically meaning body and breath, mentally meaning the mind as the activity of our nervous system, and morally meaning social and personal responsibility and lifestyle. As such, I teach and promote what I call ‘The Yoga of BBML,’ BBML stands for Body, Breath, Mind, and Lifestyle” added Ketabchi.
Ketabchi teaches across yoga levels and styles, in person and online. He’s received positive feedback, although rebuilding has been slow after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Although the number of attendees in my classes have steadily increased since we restarted our on-site classes after the COVID shut down, some have not yet reached their pre-COVID level.” He plans to keep trying new techniques, approaches, and ideas, and incorporating them into his teachings. In addition, Ketabchi conducts teacher training programs, as well as yoga retreats. “Many of our regular yoga teachers in Worlds Yoga are the graduates of my 200 hours of yoga teacher training programs,” he added proudly.
Worlds Yoga in Fremont will hold a free yoga class on Friday, June 21 at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be provided after practice.
Fremont World’s Yoga
37353 Fremont Blvd at Peralta
