Yoga Olympiad for government schools, organized by NCERT will start on 18th June and culminate on 21st June 2016, International Yoga Day , with an award ceremony to be attended by HRD minister Smriti Irani. The Olympiad will be conducted with different syllabi for upper primary and secondary students from block, district, state to national level. Participants will be tested on five practices: asanas, pranayam, Â kriya (cleansing process), bandha and surya namaskar. However, considering the opposition to surya namaskar by certain sections, NCERT has made it optional. The Olympiad theme will be `Yoga for Health and Harmony’.
The children will be assessed based on the practical performance of various yogic activities. Only practical aspects of yogic practices in terms of performance will be judged. At each stage, there will be a team of three judges having expertise in asanas, pranayam, kriya and bandh. The jury members will be drawn from educators, practitioners scholars from different institutions, schools and yoga institutes across the country.
The reason behind this venture as explained by an NCERT official is aimed for overall development of children in the three departmentâSocial, Physical and Mental. Yogic practices and their importances in everyday life will further lead to development of healthier habits among children and humane value development.
Source: goo.gl/mkgsjS
