Yoga is believed to be a 6000 year old practiced, whose origins can be traced back to Lord Shiva, the Adi Guru for all yogis in this world, as per the Hindu religion. Yoga is not any tantric art form, but a pure scientific approach towards life, which aims to heal the body, mind and soul by establishing a union between the human body and Mother Nature.

Early Efforts Prior to 2011
For many years before the formal declaration for the International Day for Yoga came, gurus and yogis from different part of the world has been pestering for one such day which would be dedicated entirely to this ancient school of teaching. The first step in this direction was taken by Avadhut H. H. Jagat Guru Dileepji Maharaj when he started a World Yoga Day movement in New York in the year 1999. In 2007 a Yoga festival was organized on his initiative in the Indian Consulate General’s office in New York. The initiatives of Avadhut H. H. Jagat Guru Dileepji Maharaj, received a huge boost when on June 21, 2009 Guru Dileepji signed the agreement with Portuguese Confederation of Yoga to support the global movement of International Day of Yoga.

On 2009, the World Community was inaugurated by Guru Dileepji. The organization is a non-profit organization whose sole ambition is spread awareness about yoga and promote the teachings of ancient yogis globally.

Events leading to the Declaration of World Yoga Day
The real events leading to the declaration of World Yoga Day on 21st June started with a conference, titled ‘Yoga: A Science for World Peace’. This conference was a joint initiative by the Art of Living Foundation and S-VYASA University, Bengaluru jointly with Yoga Portuguese Confederation of Lisbon, Portugal. The conference was held on December 4th and 5th, 2011. The idea of a World Yoga Day was endorsed by yoga gurus for the first time in this conference.

On 27th September in his address to the UN general Assembly, Indian PM Narendra Modi urged the United Nations General Assembly for adopting 21st of June as an International Yoga Day. According to him Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition to world, which should be practiced to bring harmony between man and nature.

On December 11, 2014, India's permanent representative to the UN, Asoke Mukherji introduced the draft resolution in UNGA. The resolution was adopted by 177 member countries and 175 countries co-sponsored the resolution. On December 11th the UN general Secretary officially declared 21st June as the International day for Yoga. Worldwide events including yoga classes, yoga practice sessions, lectures and seminars were conducted in different parts of the world to celebrate the first World Yoga Day on 21st June 2015.