Welcome to World Unity Week! We’re collaborating with other change-making organizations around the world to promote healing, community, and discussion. Each day, we will be featuring one of the many great events happening this week, and we encourage you to head over to the World Unity Week website to learn more.
To kick things off today, we’re sharing a yoga session in honor of World Yoga Day. This evening at 10 pm EDT, Puyja Swami Chidanand Saraswati and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati lead us through a sequence celebrating yoga from dawn in Rishikesh through to sunset in the pacific ocean in California.
A study published in the International Journal of Yoga finds that yoga promotes healing because it “lowers breathing and heart rate, decreases blood pressure, lowers cortisol levels, and increases blood flow to the intestines and vital organs.” It has also been linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, reduced depression risk, and a higher sense of gratitude.
In terms of improving mental and physical health, there are few exercises that deliver as many simultaneous benefits for the mind and body as yoga. Check out the event here.