Tirupati: The temple city of Tirupati is abuzz with yoga fever as it gears up to celebrate International Yoga Day (IYD) 2025 on Saturday.

Over the past month, the district administration has led a series of initiatives including awareness drives, training sessions, and community engagements, sparking a visible transformation across all sections of society. Now, yoga has become a buzzword, embraced by people of all ages for its promise of holistic wellbeing.

The main event will take place at SV University’s Tarakarama Stadium in Tirupati, where nearly 10,000 participants are expected to gather for a mass yoga demonstration. Elaborate arrangements have been made to mark the occasion with grandeur. Several other universities, schools, and private institutions are also planning celebrations in their own spaces, upholding the spirit of this year’s IYD theme, ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health.’ “Yoga is a divine medicine for both physical and mental ailments. It brings discipline into life,” said Ramesh, a postgraduate student at SV University.

Speaking to The Hans India, Dr R Lakshmi Narayana, Assistant Professor at the Department of Yoga Vignana, National Sanskrit University, remarked that yoga has reached almost every doorstep in recent years. “The Prime Minister’s consistent advocacy over the last decade has created real impact. People in villages and cities alike are recognising its value,” he said. He believes at least 50–60 per cent of those who take part in IYD will continue the practice, leading to long-term societal wellbeing.

Senior yoga practitioner and Founder Secretary of the Chittoor District Yoga Association, S Sreenivasulu Naidu, noted that the past year has witnessed a rapid rise in yoga awareness. “Everyone from farmers in rural areas to tech employees in cities. is now aware of yoga’s benefits. Whether they continue the practice or not, the awareness is firmly in place,” he observed.

“Earlier, people looked for free classes. Now, they seek certified instructors and are willing to pay for quality training,” Naidu added.

In a proud moment for the region, five students from Tirupati and four from Chittoor have been selected to perform yoga alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Visakhapatnam on IYD. They will be positioned at a gallery close to the Prime Minister during the event — a symbolic honour for the city’s growing yoga community.