 "Yoga improves balance, mobility for old people")
A survey by ICICI Lombard General Insurance said organisations are incentivising living a healthy lifestyle. A poll conducted by the insurer ahead of the World Yoga Day on June 21 said that 56% respondents belong to organisations that incentivise healthy lifestyle.
However, over 50% respondents say that organisations could do more to encourage employees to practice yoga. Further, 90% state they are likely to take yoga more seriously if organisations conduct in-house sessions.
The International Day of Yoga or simply Yoga Day is celebrated annually on June 21 and was declared to be internationally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014. India had made a strong pitch for promoting yoga at the United Nations, following which a number of countries had co-sponsored a UN resolution for formally observing June 21 as International Yoga Day. Following this, the first International Day of Yoga was observed world over on June 21, 2015.
The survey also showed that 52% stated they are likely to turn towards yoga to combat work-related stress as against outdoor sports (24%) or visiting the gymnasium (10%).
Worryingly, however, over half the respondents (51%) stated that their respective organisations neither conduct regular yoga sessions nor do they encourage measures for their employees to take it up. The statistic becomes an important one to ponder upon when one considers that a whopping 90% of them say that they are far more likely to practice yoga regularly should they get the required encouragement from their organisations.
Sanjay Datta, Chief-Underwriting, Claims & Reinsurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, said it is heartening to note a perceptible shift of people who are now increasingly looking at yoga as a means towards attaining wellness in all forms.
"The government’s efforts in getting yoga on the international platform must be lauded and at ICICI Lombard too we have been committed to having our employees embrace the art, besides having wellness as a key component of our insurance solutions. The International Day of Yoga provides us with an opportunity to look back at our efforts as we aim to create even more awareness about the long-lasting benefits of practicing yoga," he added.
The findings threw light on the changing perceptions about yoga in the society with an encouraging number (68%) believing that the art is as beneficial for the millennial generation as anyone, with only 32% believing that yoga is still best associated with the ‘older’ generation. ICICI Lombard conducted the nationwide survey in the age group 22-45 to which it received over 1,300 responses, spread across 30 cities.
