Ten quotes from Narendra Modi’s address on International Yoga Day in Chandigarh

IDY gives us an opportunity to focus on the importance of yoga and how best we can make use of it for ourselves and for others.

Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said that various poses will be projected onto the side wall beginning at 9:00 p.m. EDT Monday night to highlight the role yoga can play in helping the United Nations achieve its sustainable development goals. An initiative by the Indian embassy and local government, the celebrations, which kick-started on June 18 and will continue till June 26, is seeing thousands of people in attendance. People from 21 cities in Poland including Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan, Lodz and Wroclaw participated.

More than 173 Indian missions across the world are also organizing Yoga demonstrations to spread awareness for International Day of Yoga.

Modi said people in every corner of the country and indeed in other countries too were taking part in the International Yoga Day.

A total of 30,000 participants – 10,000 each from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana – donning T-shirts and black or blue tracksuit lowers, will perform deep breathing and stretching exercises against the backdrop of the Capitol Complex, one of the acclaimed creations of French architect Le Corbusier.

Samina Qazi, a Yoga instructor, guided them through the exercises.

A study published past year in The Journal of Rheumatology and thought to be the largest randomized trial ever to explore yoga’s effect on arthritis patients found that just eight weeks of yoga classes improved arthritis symptoms of patients with one of two common forms of the disease.

Online marketplace Snapdeal has launched a special yoga-themed store featuring over 500 yoga-related products like yoga learning e-guides, mats, modern yoga equipment, yoga-wear and more.

After performing Yoga, the Prime Minister mingled with the people at the event, some of whom even took selfies with him.

The United Nations declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga on December 11, 2014 to promote the healthy benefits of the practice.

Sources in AYUSH ministry have told NDTV that this year, the second iteration of Yoga Day, will be big on sponsorships and merchandise, making revenue at the same time.

Elaborate arrangements had been put in place to ensure a smooth performance, officials said. The emphasis this year will be on participation of physically challenged people, youths and those from weaker sections of the society.