Bill Text: NY K00613 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 21, 2023, as Yoga Day in the State of New York

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-6)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-05 - adopted [K00613 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K00613-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 613

BY: M. of A. Sayegh

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        June 21, 2023, as Yoga Day in the State of New York

  WHEREAS, It is the practice of this Legislative Body to  acknowledge
and recognize the aspects of life that affect the citizens of this great
Empire State; and

  WHEREAS,  The  United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as
the International Day of Yoga on December 11, 2014; and

  WHEREAS, Yoga's roots stretch back to ancient  India;  this  age-old
traditional  practice, embodying the unity of mind, body and well-being,
has survived the test of time, and in the year 2023,is more popular than
ever; and

  WHEREAS, Yoga was introduced to the United States in the 1890s, when
Indian monk Swami Vivekananda wrote the book Raja Yoga in New York City;
in 1947, the first yoga  studio  in  the  United  States  in  Hollywood,
California, by Indra Devi; today, tens-of-millions of Americans practice
yoga, including millions of New Yorkers; and

  WHEREAS,  According  to  the  National  Center for Complementary and
Integrative  Health  (NCCIH),  part  of  the  United   States   National
Institutes  of  Health  (NIH), research suggests that yoga helps improve
general wellness by relieving stress,  supporting  good  health  habits,
improving  mental  and emotional health, sleep, flexibility and balance,
as well as relieve lower-back and neck  pain,  and  possibly  pain  from
tension-related headaches and knee osteoarthritis; and

  WHEREAS,  Additionally,  yoga has the added benefits of helping both
youth and adults significantly improve their quality of life  by  aiding
them  to  lose  weight,  quit  smoking,  manage  anxiety,  manage opioid
addiction, relieve menopause symptoms,  and  help  people  with  chronic
diseases manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life; and

  WHEREAS,  According  to  the  Ministry  of Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW) of the Government of India, "Yoga is the most perfect health and
wellness module as it is comprehensive and  holistic  in  nature.  Yogic
principles help to strengthen and develop positive health enabling us to
withstand stress better. This Yogic 'health insurance' has been achieved
by  normalizing  the perception of stress, optimizing the reaction to it
and by releasing the pent-up stress effectively through the practice  of
various Yogic practices. Yoga is a holistic and integral science of life
dealing  with  physical,  mental,  emotional  and spiritual health of an
individual and society"; and

  WHEREAS, Yogasana (Yoga Postures) has been a competitive sport for a
long time; India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and Ministry of
AYUSH  (Ayurveda,  Yoga  &  Naturopathy,  Unani,  Siddha,   Homoeopathy)
recently  announced  the formal recognition of Yogasana as a competitive
sport; Yogasana is an integral and important component of Yoga, which is
psycho-physical in nature and popular across the globe for its  efficacy
in fitness and general wellness; and


  WHEREAS, Yogasana becoming a sport will also ensure new technologies
and  new  strategies  being  inducted  into  the disciplines, to benefit
athletes and officials alike towards building  fruitful  and  fulfilling
careers in this field; and

  WHEREAS,  Yoga  has  become a major source of social interaction and
social life, helping millions of people meet and get to know each  other
through  common interest and encouragement toward a healthy lifestyle in
events such as  the  World  Yoga  Festival  hosted  by  the  World  Yoga
Community, Inc.; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim June 21, 2023, as Yoga Day
in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.