My Prayer for Mankind

International Day of Yoga often celebrates the many ways yoga supports our physical and mental wellbeing. This year, however, I found myself returning to one of its simplest meanings: union.

I had the privilege of joining the Nithya Priyan School of Yoga community of yogis in kirtan, where voices came together in devotion through mantra and song. Looking around the room, I was reminded that Bhakti Yoga is my way of praying for the world. Through devotion, mantra, and song, I'm reminded that there is something greater than any one of us—a shared humanity that longs for peace, compassion, and connection.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development reminds us that the quality of our relationships is one of the strongest predictors of a healthy, fulfilling life. Perhaps yoga has been pointing us towards this all along. Beyond the postures and the breath lies an invitation to remember that we are deeply connected—not only to ourselves, but to one another.

After all, the word yoga means union.

If we truly approached our relationships, our workplaces, our communities, and even our differences through the lens of union rather than separation, I wonder how much of the conflict we experience today might begin to soften.

Seeing so many yogis gather to sing with one intention reminded me that perhaps peace doesn't always begin with grand gestures. Sometimes, it begins with people choosing to come together, to listen, to harmonise, and to remember that we belong to something greater than ourselves.

For me, that is the deeper practice.

Not simply becoming more flexible in body, but more open in heart.

Perhaps that is the yoga the world needs most.

"What is most personal is most universal.” — Carl R. Rogers