Students Spread Yoga Awareness Through Marathon in Panipat
Panipat: In a prelude to the 11th International Yoga Day, thousands of school students in Haryana's Panipat participated in a marathon on Friday to raise awareness about the benefits of yoga. The event took place at Shivaji Stadium and was flagged off by nodal officer Sneh Lata.
The marathon was organised as a final rehearsal for the main Yoga Day celebrations scheduled for Saturday. According to officials, the event aimed to promote the importance of yoga among the youth and the wider community.
Sneh Lata, who oversaw the event, said, “Tomorrow marks the 11th International Yoga Day, and Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana will be the chief guest. Today’s marathon, led by enthusiastic students, is not just a physical activity - it is a message. These children are promoting yoga and creating awareness in society about its benefits.”
District Education Officer Rakesh Boora also highlighted the scale of participation planned for the main event. “Around 4,000 students from 22 schools in Panipat will participate in tomorrow’s celebrations. Yoga is highly beneficial for health, and our students are helping to spread this message to the wider community,” he said.
International Yoga Day is observed globally on June 21 every year. Recognised by the United Nations in 2014 following a proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the day is meant to highlight yoga as a practice for physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
The 2025 International Yoga Day carries the theme “Yoga for One Earth, One Health,” underlining the relationship between personal health and environmental sustainability. Across India, this year’s observance will include 10 signature events.
The flagship initiative, ‘Yoga Sangam,’ will feature mass yoga demonstrations at 1,00,000 locations nationwide. Other major events include Yoga Bandhan, Yoga Park, Yoga Samavesh, Harit Yoga, and Yoga Mahakumbh.
The first International Yoga Day in 2015 set two Guinness World Records in New Delhi - one for the largest yoga session, with 35,985 participants, and another for the most nationalities in a single session, with 84 countries represented.
Jyoti Kumari joined Medical Dialogues in 2025 as a Journalism Intern. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from the Delhi School of Journalism, University of Delhi. She is passionate about news reporting, content creation, social media, and emerging media trends.