"The energy of yoga, nourished for centuries in Indian spiritual centers such as Mysore, is showing the world the direction for the health of all": Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
said today .
Modi celebrated the eighth International Yoga Day, which he described as "a global festival", in the historic city of
Karnataka
, with the scenic setting of the Amba Vilas royal palace behind it.
In his greeting, the Premier also recalled that yoga is associated with innovative ideas and creativity and that this practice is now uniting the world and bringing different health systems closer together.
The Premier then conducted a session of about half an hour, guiding 15,000 people, including
hundreds of children with disabilities
.
All Indian states held public events today, with sessions attracting thousands of practitioners;
the central government has organized
75
, in as many iconic locations, as many as the years of the country's independence.
On social media, politicians and celebrities hailed the Day,
proclaimed by the United Nations eight years ago
at the urging of Modi himself, as "an extraordinary gift given by India to the whole world".
The Hindu
newspaper
reports that Abdullah Shahid, President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, stressed that the theme of this year's celebrations, "
Yoga for Humanity
", could not be more appropriate, as the Covid19 pandemic has devastated lives and livelihoods everywhere, generating anxiety and depression.
