Assembly Resolution No. 587

BY: M. of A. Malliotakis

        MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
        June 21, 2019, as Yoga Day in the State of New York,
        in  conjunction with the observance of International
        Day of Yoga

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of  this  Legislative  Body  to  recognize
official  days  that  are set aside to increase awareness of issues that
affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  it  is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 21, 2019, as  Yoga
Day  in  the  State  of  New York, in conjunction with the observance of
International Day of Yoga; and

  WHEREAS, In a proud moment for India, the United Nations has adopted
June 21, 2019, as International Yoga Day after Prime  Minister  Narendra
Modi has urged the world community to celebrate Indian yoga; and

  WHEREAS,  In  India,  respect  for  nature  is  an  integral part of
spiritualism, and Indians treat nature's bounties as sacred; yoga is  an
invaluable gift of its ancient tradition; and

  WHEREAS,  Yoga is an Indian physical, mental, and spiritual practice
or discipline; there is a broad variety of schools, practices and  goals
in  Hinduism,  Buddhism  including  Vajrayana  and Tibetan Buddhism, and
Jainism; the best-known are Hatha yoga and Raja yoga; and

  WHEREAS, Yoga embodies unity of mind and body, thought  and  action,
restraint  and  fulfillment,  harmony  between  man  and  nature,  and a
holistic approach to health and well-being; performing  yoga  allows  an
individual  to discover the sense of oneness with oneself, the world and
nature; and

  WHEREAS, Yoga is believed to have five principal meanings: yoga as a
disciplined  method  for  attaining  a  goal,  yoga  as  techniques   of
controlling  the body and the mind, yoga as a name of one of the schools
or systems of philosophy, yoga in connection with other words,  such  as
"hatha-", "mantra-", and laya-," referring to traditions specializing in
particular  techniques  of  yoga, and yoga as the goal of yoga practice;
and

  WHEREAS, The origins of yoga have been speculated to  date  back  to
pre-Vedic  Indian traditions, but most likely developed around the sixth
and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ascetic circles; yoga  gurus
from  India later introduced yoga to the west in the late 19th and early
20th centuries; and

  WHEREAS, In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system  of  physical
exercise  across  the Western world; yoga in Indian traditions, however,
is more than physical exercise, it has a meditative and spiritual  core;
and

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  purpose  of  Yoga Day to bring greater public
awareness  of  the  benefits  of  yoga,  encouraging  the  growth  of  a
sustainable pattern of consumption and lead to a balance between man and
nature; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 21, 2019, as  Yoga
Day  in  the  State  of  New York, in conjunction with the observance of
World Day of Yoga; and be it further

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