Isha Foundation offers free Yoga sessions to over 10,000 defence personnel

Bengaluru, June 21 (IANS) Celebrating the International Yoga Day, Isha Foundation conducted free Yoga sessions for over 10,000 defence personnel across the country. 

In total, more than 2,500 free sessions were held nationwide, witnessing enthusiastic participation from defence personnel, corporate professionals, students, and civilians alike, Isha Foundation said in an official statement on Saturday.

This large-scale initiative was made possible through the training of over 11,000 Yoga Veeras, who led sessions in both online and offline formats across a wide range of locations, including defence facilities, schools, colleges, office premises, gyms, and prisons. Additionally, more than 2,000 youth ambassadors actively promoted the importance of mental well-being while introducing Miracle of Mind, a simple yet powerful 7-minute guided meditation designed by Sadhguru to help users take charge of their mental health, the Isha Foundation stated.

Marking the occasion, Sadhguru shared on X, “Yoga is a system that gives you the freedom to create a life of Conscious choice, a life that is not enslaved to compulsive thought and action. It is only when you are able to transcend compulsiveness by becoming conscious that your physical and mental wellbeing can be entirely determined by you.”

Notable sessions included a large-scale event at Sadhguru Sannidhi, Bengaluru, where over 5,000 defence personnel from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Security Force (BSF), and National Cadet Corps (NCC) participated. They were joined by more than 1,000 civilians, including students from nearby schools and colleges, the statement said.

Yoga sessions organised by Isha Foundation also saw widespread participation across other locations. In Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, 1,500 defence personnel took part, while 900 Air Force personnel joined the session at the Jodhpur Airbase. Similarly, around 500 Army personnel participated in a session conducted in Pune, and 400 participated at Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur, it stated.

At the iconic Adiyogi in Coimbatore, over 200 personnel from the Indian Air Force (Redfields and Sulur Wing 43), the Army’s 35th Regiment (Madukkarai), and the Rapid Action Force (Vellalore) came together for a powerful group Yoga session conducted by an Isha-trained instructor, according to Isha Foundation.

Sessions were further conducted at prestigious institutions like IIT Chennai and leading corporate offices, including HDFC Bank, IBM, Godrej, HDFC Life Insurance, L and T, and Yes Bank, making simple yet profound yogic practices accessible to professionals across sectors.