PM Modi to lead Yoga Day event in Dehradun today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join thousands of volunteers performing yoga asanas in Uttarakhand's Dehradun to mark the 4th International Yoga Day today while many Union ministers will join similar events across the country.
The exercise in Dehradun will be held in the picturesque lawns of the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in the lap of the Himalayas.
“Yoga is not just a set of exercises that keeps the body fit. It is a passport to health assurance, a key to fitness and wellness. Nor is Yoga only what you practice in the morning. Doing your day-to-day activities with diligence and complete awareness is a form of Yoga as well,” a statement quoting Modi said.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Uma Bharti, Ram Vilas Paswan, Ravi Shankar Prasad will be in Lucknow, Nagpur, Chennai, Rudraprayag, Hajipur and Patna respectively, a BJP functionary said.
Among other ministers, Ananth Kumar will be in Bengaluru, J P Nadda in Shimla, Narendra Singh Tomar in Gwalior, Piyush Goyal in Noida and Prakash Javadekar in Mumbai.
A series of yoga-related events are also being organised across the world to mark the occasion.
Greeting yoga enthusiasts across the world on the occasion, the prime minister said that this exercise is one of the most precious gifts given by the ancient Indian sages to humankind.
“Yoga is not just a set of exercises that keeps the body fit. It is a passport to health assurance, a key to fitness and wellness. Nor is Yoga only what you practice in the morning. Doing your day-to-day activities with diligence and complete awareness is a form of Yoga as well,” a statement quoting Modi said.
In a world of excess, yoga promises restraint and balance. In a world suffering from mental stress, it promises calm. In a distracted world, it helps focus. In a world of fear, it promises hope, strength and courage, the statement added.
The prime minister also took to social media to share the intricacies of various yoga asanas. He shared pictures of people performing the exercise at various locations across the world.
Modi had earlier participated in yoga celebrations at Rajpath in New Delhi in 2015, the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh in 2016, and the Ramabai Ambedkar Sabha Sthal in Lucknow in 2017.
The United Nations General Assembly in December 2014 had declared that June 21 would be observed as International Day of Yoga every year. PTI
