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‘Yoga for Healthy Ageing’: Theme for International Day of Yoga 2026

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The theme for the 12th International Day of Yoga (IDY), to be observed on June 21, 2026, has been announced as “Yoga for Healthy Ageing”, underscoring the growing global recognition of yoga as a holistic tool for enhancing physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Rooted in India’s ancient traditions and embraced worldwide, yoga has increasingly been viewed as an effective means of promoting healthy and active living. The theme highlights yoga’s role in fostering vitality, resilience and independence, while reinforcing its importance in preventive healthcare and overall wellness.

Speaking on the theme, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, said, “The theme for this year’s IDY, ‘Yoga for Healthy Aging’, holds immense relevance today. As life expectancy continues to rise, it is vital that we learn the art of aging gracefully and healthily—a concept beautifully exemplified in India’s ancient civilization, where our sages and yogis sustained longevity and vibrant health through the power of yoga and spiritual discipline.”

Focus on Healthspan, Not Just Lifespan

The theme places emphasis on improving not only lifespan but also “healthspan”—the number of years a person lives in good health. Through physical postures, breathing exercises, meditation and mindfulness practices, yoga offers a comprehensive approach to maintaining mobility, emotional resilience and mental well-being throughout the ageing process.

The concept aligns with growing global efforts to promote healthy ageing amid rising life expectancy and changing demographic trends.

Scientific Interest Continues to Grow

The benefits of yoga in supporting healthy ageing are increasingly being backed by scientific research.

According to data available on PubMed Central, the number of scholarly publications focusing on “Yoga for Healthy Aging” has risen sharply over the past decade. Research papers on the subject increased from 183 in 2014 to 1,207 in 2025. The volume of publications crossed 500 in 2020 and has continued to expand steadily since then.

The growing body of evidence supports the long-standing view within India’s traditional knowledge systems that healthy ageing depends on maintaining a balance between physical, mental and social well-being.

Rising Opportunities in the Silver Economy

The focus on healthy ageing coincides with the rapid expansion of the global “silver economy,” which comprises products and services designed for senior citizens.

In India, the senior-focused economy—including healthcare, wellness services, rehabilitation, assisted living, digital health and elder care—is estimated at nearly ₹73,000 crore and is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

With people in the 45-64 age group increasingly emerging as a major consumer segment worldwide, demand for preventive healthcare and wellness-oriented lifestyles is on the rise. Yoga is increasingly being viewed as an affordable and accessible solution that supports active and healthy ageing.

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Ayush Ministry’s Yoga Initiatives

The Ministry of Ayush has launched several programmes to promote yoga as a year-round wellness practice and strengthen its role in preventive healthcare.

Among them is the Ministry’s evidence-based “10 Yoga Protocols for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Target Groups,” which includes a dedicated protocol tailored for senior citizens. The programme aims to improve flexibility, balance, mobility, respiratory health and emotional well-being through age-appropriate yoga practices.

The Ministry is also advancing its “Yoga 365” initiative, which seeks to encourage daily yoga practice beyond the annual International Day of Yoga celebrations. The programme leverages technology-driven platforms and home-based practice modules to make yoga more accessible.

Another initiative, “Yoga Samavesh,” focuses on extending the benefits of yoga to vulnerable and underserved communities. Through chair yoga, low-impact exercises and community wellness sessions, the programme aims to help senior citizens maintain independence, social engagement and overall well-being.

Innovation Supporting Elder Care

The IDY 2026 theme complements broader government efforts to address the needs of India’s ageing population.

Programmes such as the Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) are promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and start-up participation in the development of elderly care solutions.

The increasing awareness of yoga’s health benefits is also creating new opportunities for wellness professionals, caregivers, digital health providers and community organisations involved in senior care. Experts expect growing demand for trained personnel capable of supporting holistic and non-clinical aspects of ageing.

A Timely Message for an Ageing World

As countries around the world adapt to changing demographic realities, the theme “Yoga for Healthy Ageing” carries a timely and relevant message.

By encouraging preventive healthcare, active lifestyles and holistic wellness, yoga offers a practical pathway to improving quality of life across age groups. As the world prepares to mark International Day of Yoga 2026, the theme reaffirms India’s commitment to sharing a time-tested practice that promotes healthy, active and graceful ageing.

 

Also Read:

Yoga and meditation improve brain function and energy levels

India Showcases Merits of International Day of Yoga to World

Learning and staying in shape key to longer lifespan, study finds

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People who are overweight cut their life expectancy by two months for every extra kilogramme of weight they carry, research suggests.

A major study of the genes that underpin longevity has also found that education leads to a longer life, with almost a year added for each year spent studying beyond school.

Other key findings are that people who give up smoking, study for longer and are open to new experiences might expect to live longer.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh analysed genetic information from more than 600,000 people alongside records of their parents’ lifespan.

Because people share half of their genetic information with each of their parents, the team were able to calculate the impact of various genes on life expectancy.

Lifestyle choices are influenced to a certain extent by our DNA – genes, for example, have been linked to increased alcohol consumption and addiction. The researchers were therefore able to work out which have the greatest influence on lifespan.

Their method was designed to rule out the chances that any observed associations could be caused by a separate, linked factor. This enabled them to pinpoint exactly which lifestyle factors cause people to live longer, or shorter, lives.

They found that cigarette smoking and traits associated with lung cancer had the greatest impact on shortening lifespan.

For example, smoking a packet of cigarettes per day over a lifetime knocks an average of seven years off life expectancy, they calculated. But smokers who give up can eventually expect to live as long as somebody who has never smoked.

Body fat and other factors linked to diabetes also have a negative influence on life expectancy.

The study also identified two new DNA differences that affect lifespan. The first – in a gene that affects blood cholesterol levels – reduces lifespan by around eight months. The second – in a gene linked to the immune system – adds around half a year to life expectancy.

The research, published in Nature Communications, was funded by the Medical Research Council.

Data was drawn from 25 separate population studies from Europe, Australia and North America, including the UK Biobank – a major study into the role of genetics and lifestyle in health and disease.

Professor Jim Wilson, of the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, said: “The power of big data and genetics allow us to compare the effect of different behaviours and diseases in terms of months and years of life lost or gained, and to distinguish between mere association and causal effect.”

Dr Peter Joshi, Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, said: “Our study has estimated the causal effect of lifestyle choices. We found that, on average, smoking a pack a day reduces lifespan by seven years, whilst losing one kilogram of weight will increase your lifespan by two months.”

Life Expectancy: Indian women live longer than men

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Life expectancy has escalated to a great extent since 1990 as people even in poor nations are living longer than ever, though many of them struggling with sickness and age-old ailments, finds a new study.

In India, between 1990 and 2013, life expectancy for men and women has elevated by 6.9 years and 10.3 years, respectively.

Photo Credit: Pedro Ribeiro Simões

This new study was conducted in 188 countries by an international research team working on a project called “Global Burden of Disease” and headed by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

Owing to the deterioration of mortality and illness rates due to HIV/AIDS and malaria in the last ten years, health has enhanced to a great deal across the globe. Apart from this, meeting contagious, maternal, newborn and nutritive conditions, effectively has also added to the enhancement.

Nevertheless, healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth hasn’t seen much improvement, thus; making those who live longer live sicker.

Theo Vos, the professor of IHME as well as who lead the study said albeit health has seen a global advancement it’s time that “more effective ways” to treat and combat disorders and diseases are discovered.

The study discovered that global life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for both genders escalated by 6.2 years and 5.4 years, respectively. However, in comparison to the life expectancy that increased from 65.3 in 1990 to 71.5 in 2013, healthy life expectancy didn’t see a drastic leap with 56.9 in 1990 to 62.3 in 2013.

Majority of the evaluated nations showed “significant and positive” healthy life expectancy changes. However, Belize, Botswana and Syria didn’t show drastic changes in HALE in 2013 as compared to 1990 with the first two nations, showing regression of 2 and 1.3 years, respectively.

In other cases, countries like Paraguay, Belarus and South Africa saw a deterioration in healthy life expectancy. For instance, places like Swaziland and Lesotho in Africa and South Africa, respectively, saw healthy life expectancy drop in individuals born in 2013 as compared to them who were born 20 years before.

People of Cambodia and Nicaragua showed gripping escalation between 1990 and 2013 with 13.9 and 14.7 years, respectively.

Nonetheless, Ethiopia was pin-pointed as one of the nations that have been giving massive efforts to make sure that their country people live both healthier and longer. For instance, in 1990, the healthy life expectancy of an Ethiopian was 40.8 years, but by 2013 with 13.5 years leap, it saw over a two-fold increase to 54.3 years.

Christopher Murray, who is the IHME director said albeit “income and education” play important roles in ensuring proper health, it doesn’t “tell the full story,” adding that weighing both healthy life expectancy and health loss on each sides at country level will facilitate “guide policies” in ensuring longer and healthier lives in every nook and cranny of the world.

Italy, Spain, Norway, Switzerland and Israel showed the lowest rates of health loss. With 42 years, in 2013, Lesotho recorded the lowest healthy life expectancy whereas with 73.4 years, Japan recorded the highest healthy life expectancy.

The findings have been published in the August 27 issue of the journal “The Lancet”.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Europe showed stagnation in showing better life expectancy during the 1990s, but after 1990 when life expectancy increased by 6 years around the world, Europe also saw some increase.

On the other hand, African nations have been showing a drop in life expectancy due to being plagued by HIV/AIDS, but now with the accessibility of antiretroviral therapy, the rates have seen an escalation. For instance, in 2000, standard life expectancy at birth was 50 years, but it saw an 8 year leap in 2013.

WHO further informed that high-income nations showed greater life expectancy at 60 years of age with expectation of the individual, living another 23 years in comparison to low-income and lower-middle income nations, which showed 17 more years of life expectancy.