On June 21st, India led the world in practicing the country's traditional health exercise during the International Yoga Day, where the celebration was mainly held at New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted as the yogin in a 35-minute session in front of the presidential palace in celebration of the International Yoga Day. The holiday, which was proposed by Modi himself during his New York visit last year, is also recognized by the United Nations, according to The New York Times.
About 35,000 participants, comprised of students, government officials and employees wore identical white International Yoga Day t-shirts, and took their places on the thousands of mats laid in a checkerboard arrangement across the area on Sunday.
"I believe that from the 21st of June, through the International Day of Yoga, it is not just the beginning of a day but the beginning of a new age through which we will achieve greater heights of peace, good will and train the human spirit," said Modi in his International Yoga Day speech.
Aside from the event in New Delhi, other members of the cabinet and the army also participated in the Yoga Day celebrations in other parts of India such as Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Shimla, and the Himalayas Mountains and desert.
The International Yoga Day was also celebrated by millions of Yoga enthusiasts in other cities worldwide, including Paris, France; Beijing, China; Osaka, Japan; Seoul, South Korea and New York in the U.S.
This celebration is the Indian Prime Minister's initiative to encourage the people around the world in integrating yoga as part of their healthy routine. According to Modi, yoga could help practitioners in combating stress, hypertension and other chronic diseases like diabetes.
A member of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Mr. Chandra, who participated in the said event said that his 2-hour daily yoga and meditation routine has continued to give him strength despite of his age. "I'm approaching 56, and I can work from 4 in the morning till midnight. I want to not be suffering from any ailment."
Mr. Chandra also added that yoga relieved his father from arthritis and has strengthened his mother through her cancer treatments.