MUMBAI: Celebrating the first International Day of Yoga, Discovery Channel will premiere The Story of Yoga, an inspirational voyage into a discipline that embraces a holistic approach to a healthy mind, body and spirit in five Indian languages.

The Story of Yoga will air on 21 June at 9 pm on Discovery Channel in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telegu and Bangla. The show will also simulcast on Discovery HD World.

The hour-long special will take viewers through a fascinating journey to rediscover the age-old practice and explore the evolution, mysticism, spiritualism and cultural ethos of yoga. It will also capture its journey to the West and its emergence into the modern society and popular culture.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address at UN General Assembly, called to mark an International Day of Yoga, which has now been declared to be held every year on 21 June.

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific executive vice president and general manager South Asia Rahul Johri said, “The Story of Yoga is one of the most comprehensive narratives that provide an in-depth view on the evolution of yoga from an ancient practice to a lifestyle choice that's making tremendous impact on people's lives around the world. We are delighted to be part of this great initiative led by India's Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to turn 21 June into a people's movement and are extremely pleasedto showcase a truly fascinating story of yoga to our viewers around the globe.”

The Story of Yoga offers viewers an elaborate view into prominent yoga schools, the lives of new age gurus and trends. It traces unique forms of yoga, explores the traditional approach to yoga, understands Aurobindo's philosophy among other things across yoga schools such as Iyengar School at Pune, Bihar School of Yoga at Munger, Internal Yoga at Pondicherry, Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh and many more. The Story of Yoga visits yogpeeths and modern retreats to offer a never-seen-before look into yoga's techniques, applications and philosophy.

Through the show, viewers meet the Art of Living founder Ravi Shankar, modern yoga exponent Bharat Thakur, Bollywood stars and yoga practitioners like Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty along with yoga guru Baba Ramdev to understand the spiritual and healing powers of yoga.

Navigating through the world, from India to California and Brazil to get a world perspective from new age spiritualist Deepak Chopra and celebrity yogini Deepika Mehta, the programme demystifies yoga's worldwide appeal.