Hundreds of Australian participate in a mass yoga event in front of the Sydney Opera House on World Yoga Day. There has been a huge turnout despite early thundershowers.
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“I urge citizens of the world to continue practicing Yoga regularly & make Yoga an integral part of your lives”. He also said that yoga helped people keep the mind in control and it helps in maintaining balance to keep healthy and to control minds.
An enthusiastic yoga practitioner, Mr Modi has encouraged yoga be added to India’s school curriculum and has made free lessons available to three million civil servants and their families during his time as prime minister.
Over 96,000 people had registered themselves to take part in the event. Of this, over 30,000 were picked: 10,000 each from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. People from all walks of life, including college students, security personnel, and the elderly showed tremendous interest in the event that was held.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev led several hundred people through a series of simple yoga exercises in front of the glass-fronted United Nations tower under a brilliant midday sun, with a cool breeze floating in from the East River. It was supposed to be the record-breaking Yoga event in the world.
“The words “International Day of Yoga” and ‘#Yoga4SDGs” were projected below the images, some of which were in the colours of the Indian tri-colour.
Modi’s ministers joined in at sessions across India, with several of them posting tweets and pictures.
The event was suggested to be held on June 21, the summer solstice because the date is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and has special significance in many parts of the world.
Modi announced two annual awards to be given from next year: for doing exceptional work for promotion of yoga at the global and national levels.
The International Yoga Day official website has come up with interactive quizzes, puzzles and help guide on yoga for the occasion while the government has also unveiled postage stamps featuring Surya Namaskar postures. In other words it is termed as India’s “Yoga diplomacy”.
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Indian peacekeepers were practicing to observe the Yoga Day in 13 peacekeeping operations where they are deployed, including in South Sudan, Congo and Lebanon, “tangibly demonstrating the role of Yoga in promoting peace and harmony”, the Indian envoy had said.
