The seven day long yoga festival which began on March 1 culminates today at Ganga Resort, GMVN, Rishikesh. Each day was devoted to the practice of yoga practices from different yogacharyas and meditation by spiritual masters. The festival was inaugurated in the presence of Swami Chidananda Saraswati, head Parmarth NIketan and state forest minister Subodh Uniyal. During the closing of the festival state tourism minister Satpal Maharaj will be present.amongst other dignitaries, say the officials from Garhwal Mandal VIkas Nigam.
Dr Chinmaya Pandya, deputy vice chancellor from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya said, “Yoga is deep rooted in the Indian psyche and the festival is a good platform to bring all yoga enthusiasts together at one platform.”
Evenings were soaked with cultural performances by known artists. Motivational speaker Jaya Kishori came on the fourth day and shared her own experiences from childhood on how she was drawn to spirituality. The fifth day of the 2025 International Yoga Festival saw students from various schools exploring different forms of yoga and meditation. Yogic jogging by yogacharya Dr Radhika Nagrath and yogic poses to enhance concentration and muscle flexibility received much appreciation. Over 90 students from NIrmal Ashram Gyandeep Academy attended the session. Shruti Pant gave tips on stress busting through yoga nidra. Asanas like tree pose, Paschimottanasana, bhujangasana, Garbh asan and pranayama practices help increase the level of concentration in teenagers, said the yogacharya. She exhorted the students to adopt yoga in their daily lives to stay happy.
Osho Meditation involves dancing, and shouting to release accumulated stress and tension, followed by silent meditation to experience inner peace. It’s a powerful way to connect deeply with oneself and transcend mental patterns, said the Osho master from Omakarananda ashram. Usha Mata made the students practice Iyengar Yoga on all 7 days. Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga:, Vinyasa yoga and masters from other lineages  raise this energy through the chakras to achieve higher consciousness and spiritual awakening.
Vishnu Agarwal from Sai Veda Wellness, who had put up a stall near the main hangar said, “The diverse yoga practices gave the participants a well-rounded experience, touching on physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yoga. For panchkarma and other cleansing techniques we invited them to our centre in Haripur Kalan in Haridwar.”