Every year humanity comes together to celebrate a tradition thousands of years old, dedicated to balance, mindfulness, flexibility, and finding inner peace.
And every year at least a few people hear “International Day of Yoga” and wonder why nobody invited them to a giant gathering of little green Jedi. Sadly, there were no reports of mass lightsaber duels, levitating X-wings, or synchronized Force choking. There was, however, a lot of stretching.
This year’s International Day of Yoga coincided with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Which seems fitting. If you’re going to spend a day folding yourself into shapes that resemble malfunctioning lawn furniture, you might as well have extra daylight to finish.
The celebrations were truly global. In Kolkata, India, a large-scale yoga session was conducted aboard a boat as participants attempted to secure a Guinness World Record for synchronized yoga. Because apparently doing yoga on solid ground had become too easy. Somewhere a yoga instructor looked at a perfectly stable surface and thought, “What if we introduced the possibility of everyone falling into a river?”
India once again led participation efforts on a staggering scale. Reports indicate nearly 14.2 million students joined collective yoga sessions. Fourteen point two million. For perspective, that’s enough people to make every parent in America simultaneously ask, “Wait, my kid voluntarily exercised?”
Officials described yoga as promoting health, discipline, concentration, and positive living. This is difficult to argue with. Few activities can simultaneously improve flexibility and teach you how to breathe through the frustration of discovering muscles you didn’t know existed.
The event has grown far beyond a ceremonial observance. Organizers describe it as a people’s movement promoting healthy living and positive thinking. Which is remarkable when you consider that many people’s first experience with yoga involves discovering they possess the flexibility of a cast-iron bathtub.
Meanwhile, nearly 10,000 people representing numerous nationalities gathered in New York City’s Times Square for a massive yoga session hosted by the Consulate General of India and the Times Square Alliance.
Times Square is famous for giant electronic billboards, costumed cartoon characters, tourists walking into traffic while staring at their phones, and now apparently thousands of people attempting inner peace in the middle of all that. If you can achieve enlightenment while surrounded by flashing advertisements for energy drinks and Broadway shows, you’ve probably mastered yoga.
The truly impressive thing about International Day of Yoga is its reach. A practice that originated thousands of years ago has spread across cultures, languages, and continents. Millions of people now participate in some form, whether they’re serious practitioners, occasional enthusiasts, or individuals who attend exactly one class per year and spend the next three days making noises every time they sit down.
And then there is goat yoga.
For reasons that historians will likely spend centuries trying to understand, someone once looked at yoga and thought, “This is good. But what if there were goats?” The idea somehow escaped the brainstorming phase and became a global phenomenon.
Unfortunately, despite extensive reporting on International Day of Yoga activities around the world, there appears to be no official count of how many goats participated.
For all we know, millions of goats were involved.
Perhaps somewhere, right now, a goat is standing triumphantly on a yoga enthusiast’s back while contemplating its own spiritual journey. And honestly, that may be the most enlightened creature on Earth.
Namaste.