United Nations, June 19 (IANS) With “Oms”, asanas and breathing exercises, hundreds of diplomats, UN staffers and visitors celebrated the International Day of Yoga here.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Yoga for Healthy Ageing”, which Secretary-General Anotnio Guterres said “speaks to the vital importance of physical and mental well-being, mobility, and dignity as populations age across the globe”.
“Yoga teaches us mindfulness, respect, and care for ourselves, for our planet, and for one another”, he said.
“On this International Day, let us extend that care to the older members of our human family and build a world where every generation can lead a healthy life”, he said.
While the International Yoga Day is observed on the Summer Solstice, which falls on Sunday, the celebration was held earlier on Thursday because the UN is closed for the weekend and Friday is a partial holiday for Juneteenth, a day on which the US commemorates the end of slavery.
About the celebration’s significance, India’s Permanent Representative P Harish recalled that Prime Minister Modi had said that when the message of yoga “goes to all corners of the world, [it] becomes not only an individual movement, but a mass movement where people lead healthy lives, focus on wellness, and eventually (it) builds international cooperation”.
“The simplest yoga asana is ‘namaste, ’ symbolising the unity of mind and body of human and nature”, he said.
In the UN campus North Lawn by the East River and with the benevolent glance of Mahatma Gandhi's statue, the participants representing countries across the world cycled through yoga practices, starting with a heartfelt "Om", and through asanas of varying complexities.
The General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Yoga in a resolution in 2014 at the suggestion of PM Modi.
The resolution was co-sponsored by 177 countries, setting a record for co-sponsorship.
On Sunday, New York will hold the traditional event, "Solstice in Times Square: Mind Over Madness Yoga", co-sponsored by the Indian Consulate.
That theme plays on the frenetic, maddening pace of the city, and how yoga can calm it.