The second International Yoga Day was by all means an international event as people all around the world marked the celebrations in their own style. With a total 135 countries participating in the celebrations, over 40 Muslim nations lent their support to the event in India. The main Yoga celebration in India was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as was last year, with the NDA government taking careful steps to not repeat the faux pas committed previously.
Dressed in a white tracksuit, Modi addressed the 40,000 odd people present in Chandigarh. Calling Yoga a "people's mass movement", he joined millions of others across countries, to take the mat. "Through the United Nations, International Yoga Day is being celebrated throughout the world. The whole world supported it whether it was developed or developing nations. Every section of the society supported it. There are several days celebrated by UN, including World Cancer Day, World Health Day, World Mental Health Day, and several others. In the field of sports, there are several days which are celebrated. But this (IYD) is the only, which has direct relation with health and also with physical, mental and social health. I think, this speaks about the power of this heritage, identity of this heritage which was given by our ancestors."
Present at the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh, Modi announced two awards, international-level and national-level, for good work on Yoga. The theme of this year's event was 'Connect the Youth', and over 100 differently-abled children were seen taking part.
Keeping religion at bay, this year's event was purely focused on spreading awareness about Yoga. Speaking about the logo, a government official said, "The logo of International Day of Yoga is the folding of both hands. It symbolises 'Yoga' that is the union, which reflects the union of individual consciousness with that of universal consciousness, a perfect harmony between mind and body, man and nature - a holistic approach to health and well-being. Clearly, it has nothing to do with religion."
President Pranab Mukherjee kicked off a demonstration at Rashtrapati Bhavan in which around 1,000 people were present. The participants included officers and staff of the President's Secretariat, their family members, members of Delhi Police, ITBP and President's Bodyguard as well as other residents of President's Estate. On the PM's orders, 57 Union Ministers led yoga celebration programmes across the country. A theme song for the day, named 'Yog Geet' was released in addition to the Yoga Protocol of 45 minutes.
The world marked the day in their unique style, contributing to an age old Indian practice.
New York
Theme of the annual Yoga Day celebrations in Times Square was 'Mind over Madness Yoga'. The event was lead by Rashmi Galliano of the Integral Yoga Institute who said the significance of the day was showing how the practice was bringing "peace and ease into the lives of the New Yorkers in a city known for its fact-paced environment."
President of the Times Square Alliance, Tim Tompkins began the celebrations at 5 am and over 30 yoga studios took part in the event. Around 6,000 people joined in the sessions held in a three block radius. India's Consul General Riva Ganguly Das spoke prior to the spreading of the mats, and talked of the universality of yoga and its recognition by the United Nations which declared the International Yoga Day two years ago. The event was co-sponsored by the Indian consulate, which is also organising events the next day, at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and Newark Liberty Airport as well as the consulate.
Paris
More than 2,000 yoga enthusiasts celebrated yoga at the Parc de La Villette, Paris' largest urban cultural park. Indo-French cultural associations, friendship groups, Indian diaspora and yoga schools like Art of Living, Swami Shivananda Yoga Centre, Tapovan, Yoga and Co, Sahaja Yoga, Isha Foundation and others came together to make the day a success.
Addressing the gathering, Indian Ambassador Mohan Kumar emphasised the importance of yoga in modern lifestyle. He exhorted the youth to regularly practice yoga for personality development and stress management. The Indian Embassy in Paris has also planned to organise another event, in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower. Over 100 people also performed yoga on board a boat in the Seine river sailing from the Eiffel Tower to Cathedral Notre Dame.
Besides Paris, several other cities of France also marked yoga day, including Strasbourg, Nice, Avignon, Angers, Gretz, Samoens, Toulouse, Nantes, Gouvieux and in French overseas territories like Guadeloupe, Martinique and the Reunion Islands.
Beijing
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Siongh Chouhan participated in a Yoga programme in Beijing. Tweeting his message for the day, he said, "Great enthusiasm in China, sharing moments from today's #YogaDay celebrations @Beijing," He also wrote "Celebrated the 2nd #InternationalDayOfYoga with my new friends here in Beijing. Yoga connects people heart-to-heart."
Chouhan said that yoga binds people and their hearts and builds positivity. "It gives peace to mind and body and gives boundless happiness. Yoga has no geographical boundaries, it can be performed anywhere."
In another event, more than 100 daring yoga enthusiasts took part in a special session at the Stone Forest Gorge. Suspended 700 metres in the air and hanging more than 32 metres off the face of a cliff, the glass viewing platform is the world's largest and, situated in northeast Beijing.
London
The High Commission of India along with the Government of India Tourist Office in London, in collaboration with 14 British yoga institutions organised the Yoga Day at the Potters Fields Park, near Tower Bridge, on Sunday, 19 June from 8.30 am to 5 .30 pm. The day-long event saw more than 10,000 people participating in various yoga and meditation sessions.
Alongside the main event near Tower Bridge there was another event organised in the beautiful grounds of Alexandra Palace, North London. Inaugurating the event, H.E. Navtej Sarna, the High Commissioner of India to the UK, said, “It is important, that Yoga is practised correctly and in a disciplined manner to tap into its full potential. In this event today, here at Potters Park, I welcome our partners to demonstrate by their example, Yoga in its correct form. I must emphasise, that the International Day of Yoga is just a day to remind the world of India’s gift of yoga to the world, but it is for each individual to benefit from the practice of Yoga.”
For the occasion there were special messages from the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, were screened at the event. Priti Patel MP, Minister of State for Employment and Prime Minister Cameron’s Indian Diaspora Champion, congratulated the Indian High Commission on the occasion. Lord Ranbir Singh Suri and Mr. Bob Blackman MP also attended the event and recognised Prime Minister Modi’s initiative of bringing Indian yoga to the world stage.
The organisations which came together for the event included British Wheel of Yoga, Patanjali Yog Peeth (UK) Trust, The Art of Living Foundation, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Brahma Kumaris, Isha Foundation, Datta Sahaj Yoga Mission UK, Heartfulness, Coolherbals, Chi Kri, The World Yoga Festival, Special Yoga Foundation and SKY Trust UK. The polarity of yoga is no surprise with Britons reportedly spending £790million a year on yoga lessons. There has been an increasing number of middle-aged people, the so called ‘sliver yogis’ are discovering the benefits of yoga. Credited with stimulating grey matter, protecting against heart attacks, providing better sleep, reducing back and joint pains among others.
Now even science is backing the benefits gained by the practise. Researchers at the University of California found that doing a three month course on yoga is more effective that brain training exercises and helps improve sleep among breast-cancer survivors. When former advertising executive Lucy Edge, 53, fell into depression, she opted for yoga instead of anti depressants. “I took a six month break, travelled to India to learn yoga. As daughter of a scientist, I didn't want to make mad claims, I wanted evidence and I found much of it through yoga.”
Yoga Day celebration in numbers:
135 plus nations participating.
Estimated 400-500 million yoga day participants from across the world.
Over 100,000 yoga programmes across India.
35,000 people, led by the PM, participated in the event in Chandigarh.
57 ministers led yoga programmes in various parts of the country.
10,000 participants simultaneously performed yoga at various locations in Delhi.
$80 billion: the estimated evaluation of the yoga industry worldwide
