Lauds enthusiasm of people of J&K, especially Srinagar, towards Yoga
Despite the rain-induced delay, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Friday morning addressed the 10th International Day of Yoga (IYD) event in Srinagar besides taking part in the Yoga session.
PM Modi expressed gratitude for being present in J&K, “the land of Yog and Sadhna”, on the occasion of International Day of Yoga. “The atmosphere, energy and experience from yoga can be felt in Jammu & Kashmir today,” Modi said.
He conveyed his best wishes on the International Day of Yoga to all citizens and those practising yoga in different parts of the world.
Noting the 10th anniversary of International Yoga Day, the Prime Minister recalled that a record 177 countries endorsed India’s proposal in the UN. He also mentioned subsequent records made in the context of IYD such as 35,000 people doing yoga on Kartavya Path in 2015 and more than 130 countries participating in the yoga event led by the Prime Minister at the UN Headquarters last year. He also expressed happiness that more than 100 institutes in India and 10 major foreign institutes have been recognized by the Yoga Certification Board formed by the Ministry of Ayush.
“State Medical Universities in Turkmenistan have included yoga therapy, Saudi Arabia has made it a part of their education system and Mongolian Yoga Foundation is running many yoga schools,” PM said.
Informing about the acceptance of yoga in Europe, the Prime Minister said that so far, 1.5 crore German citizens have become yoga practitioners. He also recalled India awarding a Padma Shree this year to a 101-year-old French yoga teacher for her contributions to yoga even though she had not visited India even once. He further added that yoga has become a topic of research today and multiple research papers have already been published.
The Prime Minister lauded the enthusiasm of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, especially Srinagar, towards yoga and said that it provides a platform to boost the tourism of the Union Territory.
He also praised the spirit of the people to come out and show their support despite the rainy weather conditions. “Association of 50,000 to 60,000 people with yoga program in Jammu & Kashmir is huge”, he added.
The Prime Minister concluded his address by thanking the people of Jammu & Kashmir for their support and participation and conveyed his best wishes to all Yoga enthusiasts from around the world.
