The 7th International Yoga Conference, the first in Central Asia, under the slogan "Yoga for One Earth – One Health," organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in partnership with the Embassy of India in Tashkent and the Yoga Federation of Uzbekistan, was officially opened on September 17, 2025, in Tashkent.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Yoga Federation of Uzbekistan Jahongir Artikhodjaev, the Advisor to the Ministry of Sports Sharifjon Muminjanov, the Ambassador of India Smita Pant, Deputy Director General of the ICCR Abhay Kumar and representatives of the Indian Ministry of AYUSH.

Renowned yoga expert and spiritual teacher Sri M delivered a keynote address on "Yoga and Consciousness."

In her opening remarks, Ambassador Smita Pant underscored the growing popularity of yoga in Uzbekistan and expressed India's readiness to support teacher training and capacity building in this area. She also emphasized that the World Health Organization has recognized the physical and mental benefits of yoga.

The ICCR Deputy Director General Abhay Kumar noted in his address that this had been the first time the ICCR was organizing an international yoga conference in Central Asia, with the active participation of representatives from 10 Eurasian countries. He expressed confidence that this event would truly help popularize yoga among the youth of Uzbekistan and other participating countries.

In his keynote address, Sri M remarked, "Yoga is an ideal tool for exploring the multifaceted phenomenon called consciousness, or Chetana in Sanskrit."

The two-day conference brought together participants from 10 countries: India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Armenia, Mongolia, and Russia. The International Yoga Conference is the ICCR's flagship event, held annually. Previous conferences have been held in New York (2018), London (2019), New Delhi (2021), Seoul (2022), Mainberg, Germany (2023), and Durban (2024).

The conference will feature an interactive plenary session on "Integrating Yoga into Traditional and Modern Healthcare Systems: Local Healing Traditions and Modern Medical Practices in Central Asia," as well as panel discussions on the current status, challenges, and prospects for yoga development in Central Asia, the benefits of yoga in treating chronic diseases, the latest trends and innovations, and issues of training and professional development in yoga.

Following the panel discussions, recommendations will be formulated and presented to relevant stakeholders in the participating countries for further consideration and implementation.