International Yoga Day celebration by CII & Young Indians

Ludhiana, June 21, 2015: June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014. The declaration of this day came after the call for the adoption of 21 June as International Day of Yoga by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly earlier the same year.

To support the Prime Minister’s initiative, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) celebrated International Yoga Day on 21st June, organized Yoga Sessions in various cities all across the country.   In Ludhiana, CII & Young Indians (Yi) Ludhiana jointly organized the yoga session to mark the first ever "International  Day of Yoga".  The theme for the session was YOGA- ‘The Art of Calming Mind’.

Mr. Sharad Sharma and Ms Sonia Kumar, Senior Yoga Instructors from DHYAN FOUNDATION especially traveled from New Delhi to conduct the session at Ludhiana and shared various Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga techniques with the participants.

Sharing his views with participants Mr Sharad said that, “Yoga means union of the individual consciousness or soul with the Universal Consciousness or Spirit. Yoga is a 6000 year old Indian body of knowledge and is derived from the Sanskrit word Yuj. Many people think of yoga only as a physical exercise where people twist, turn, stretch, and breathe in the most complex ways, these are actually only the most superficial aspect of this profound science of unfolding the infinite potentials of the human mind and soul.  Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga, which we practiced today, offers a lot of benefits like Weight loss, strong and flexible body, glowing beautiful skin, youthfulness, peaceful mind, overall wellbeing, freedom from stress. It’s perfectly suitable for today’s stressful life style”.

Dr Gauhar Vatsayayn, Chair, Health Vertical Yi- Ludhiana also interacted with participants and said, “Ayurveda is the world’s most sophisticated and powerful mind-body health systems. More than a mere system of treating illness, Ayurveda is a science of life!  It offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vibrant and healthy while realizing their full human potential. It uses the inherent principles of nature, to help maintain health in a person by keeping the individual's body, mind and spirit in perfect equilibrium with nature. Practicing Ayurveda also improves your yoga practice, a perfect win-win situation.  Adoption of   Ayurveda brings a healthier lifestyle”.

Mr S S Bhogal, Chairman, CII Punjab State Council during his address said that, “It’s a matter of great privilege for all of us that the United Nations General Assembly declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga.  This initiative found support from many global leaders.  First, the Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala supported the initiative, then more than 177 countries including USA, Canada, China and Egypt latter supported this move and today the whole world is enthusiastically celebrating Yoga Day”.

Mr Neeraj Satija, Chairman, CII Ludhiana congratulated the Government of India for recognition of Yoga at the United Nations and wholeheartedly supports the efforts for its international popularization. The session was well attended by close to 100 participants.