ID :
371926
Mon, 06/22/2015 - 05:48
Auther :

Indian PM Wants Yoga To Be Integral Part Of Daily Lives

By M.Santhiran NEW DELHI, June 22 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on people of the world to make yoga as an integral part of their daily lives to keep them fit and healthy. Attired in a white traditional Indian "dhoti," he performed various asanas (poses) with more than 37,000 Delhi residents, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is locked in a political battle with his government. Speaking in Hindi before officiating the first International Day of Yoga at Rajpath in the capital here, the 64-year-old BJP leader said yoga was more than just an exercise. Rajpath is a ceremonial boulevard for march pasts as well as pomp and revellery on Republic Day, which sees city residents from all walks of life taking part in synchronised yoga exercises and pranayams. Modi who practises yoga to keep himself fit and stays awake long hours, then joined students, government employees and public to take up positions on neatly laid out mats to perform yoga for over 35 minutes. Officials said a total of 37,000 mats were used for people to participate in the yoga exercises and the organisers had applied for a Guinness record for the largest simultaneous assembly of people at a yoga event. The Guinness record is currently held by Vivekananda Kendra which organised a yoga event in which 29,973 people participated in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on Nov 19, 2005. The United Nations last year announced June 21 as an International Day for Yoga, which has been celebrated across 251 cities in 191 countries around the the world, including Malaysia. -- BERNAMA

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