Yoga fosters national unity, universal peace in these fractious times: Modi

PM leads 50,000 people, mostly school students and youth, on fourth international yoga day, does 20 asanas and three pranayams.

International Yoga Day 2018 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi led 50,000 people on Thursday morning to mark the fourth international day of yoga here and said that the ancient Indian knowledge system fosters amity, which can form the basis of national unity and universal peace in these fractious times.



Modi addressed the participants in Hindi and, uncharacteristically, in English as well, as he reached out to yoga enthusiasts across the world, and for 40 minutes led the way to perform 20 yogic and three pranayama, or breathing, exercises in the backdrop of Dehradun’s iconic Forest Research Institute building.



“Dehradun to Dublin, Shanghai to Chicago, Jakarta to Johannesburg, Himalayan highlands or sunburnt deserts, Yoga is enriching millions of lives across the world,” the PM told the participants, comprising predominantly school students and youths. The PM and participants performed yoga on mostly saffron yoga mats, with a sprinkling of blue coloured mats as well, on a green carpet.



Dehradun was picked as the venue for the fourth edition of the event, also the last before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The PM as well as Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat spoke of the spiritual importance of Uttarakhand, which they said was home to the ‘char dham’ – Hindu religion’s preeminent pilgrimage centres.



Rawat pointed out that it was thanks to the PM’s efforts that the state now had an all-weather road for visiting the four pilgrimage centres, or char dham, and that he prays to the deities of Kedarnath and Badrinath to bless the PM’s vision of shaping a ‘new India’.



Modi said river Ganga originated in Uttarakhand, and it was also the birthplace of yoga and Ayurveda. He said yoga contributed to national unity, and has become one of the most powerful unifying forces in the world. The PM said India needed to learn to respect its cultural heritage, and his espousal of yoga in the last three years has inspired many individuals to take it up and several institutions devoted to the study and propagation of yoga have come up.

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Peru, Japan also celebrate fourth edition of International Yoga Day

The fourth edition of International Yoga Day is being observed across the globe today.

Peru on Thursday observed the fourth edition of the International Yoga Day.
"Certified Yoga professionals trained locally by AYUSH Information Cell of Embassy have taken the main lead in conducting today's IDY event at Caral, Peru. They received certificates and are keen to impart Yoga training to other Peruvians," tweeted India in Peru.



The Indian Embassy in Peru celebrated International Yoga Day on 20 June as well.
"The celebration of the International Day of Yoga was held in the Sacred City of Caral on June 20, 2018. A civilization more than thousands of years old as well as this millenary discipline," India in Peru, wrote in another tweet.
The Indian Embassy in Japan has also celebrated International Yoga Day on June 19.
Indian Ambassador to Japan Sujan Chinoy along with Japan's Member of Parliament Hakubun Shimomura had addressed the participants during the celebrations.
"Embassy organised #IDY2018 at #JapaneseDIET 19 June with the participation of parliamentarians. MP Hakubun Shimomura, Chairman Parl League for Promotion of #YOGA in @japan & Amb @SujanChinoy addressed participants. PM @narendramodi video msg on #IDY2018 inspired all," India in Japan had tweeted on June 19.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined thousands of volunteers and perform Yoga asanas in the lawns of Forest Research Institute in Dehradun.
Yoga guru Ramdev has conducted a yoga session in Kota, Rajasthan at RC Ground.
The fourth edition of International Yoga Day 2018 will be observed across the globe today.
To celebrate the day, various Yoga training programmes, camps, seminars, workshops have been organised across the world at big levels.
The first International Day of Yoga was observed all over the world on June 21, 2015, where more than 30,000 people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, performed yoga asanas (postures) at Rajpath in New Delhi.
The idea of International Day of Yoga was first proposed by Prime Minister Modi during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 27 September 2014.
He had then proposed June 21 to be observed as International Yoga Day all over the world, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world.