Chittoor temple yoga event promotes daily wellness before International Yoga Day

The foot of the Puligundeswara Swamy Hillock Temple turned into a public wellness space as the Temple Yoga programme drew yoga practitioners, students, senior citizens, government officials and local residents near Penumuru, about 25 km from Chittoor. What is usually a devotional and tourism site became the setting for a series of asanas and breathing exercises led by trained instructors ahead of International Yoga Day.

District Collector Sumit Kumar used the gathering to argue that yoga should be part of daily life, not just a seasonal observance. He said the practice offers a practical response to stress, anxiety and lifestyle-related illnesses, and urged people of all age groups to combine yoga with walking and healthy food habits so the routine works as a larger wellness habit rather than a stand-alone fix.

The Tourism and Education Departments jointly organized the session, underscoring how Chittoor is placing yoga inside familiar public spaces instead of limiting it to studios or formal celebrations. The district administration has also tied the event to a broader plan to popularize yoga through awareness programmes and training sessions across urban and rural areas, with the goal of reaching students, older adults and public employees alike.

That approach sits inside Andhra Pradesh’s Yogandhra campaign, a 14-day state programme launched ahead of International Yoga Day and set to culminate on June 21 in Amaravati. In Chittoor, the campaign has already included a yoga-awareness rally, and officials have planned district-level and thematic events at tourist destinations including Kanipakam and Puligundu.

Puligundu’s role in this push is not new. The twin-peaked hill near Penumuru has become a recurring yoga venue for the district, with a 2025 Yogandhra event drawing about 3,000 participants and a larger 2024 International Yoga Day gathering in Chittoor bringing in about 5,000. The steady growth shows why officials keep returning to the site: it blends heritage, tourism and community participation in one place.

By placing yoga at the temple hillock, Chittoor turned a familiar sacred landmark into a shared civic space, where wellness felt accessible, local and rooted in place. That is the model the district is now trying to carry from temple grounds to villages, mandals and the wider district.