Special yoga sessions marked the International Day of Yoga in districts on Tuesday as various institutions and social organisations organised programmes.
Yoga experts performed various asanas at a function organised by the district administration in Belagavi.
Suresh C. Angadi, MP, inaugurated the event in the presence of Regional Commissioner N. Jayaram.
The Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre also conducted a yoga session for Army personnel and civilians of Belgaum Cantonment Board. Around 1,520 Army personnel, cantonment board members and their families participated in the session conducted by yoga teacher Kiran Manolkar.
At open spaces
Yoga enthusiasts congregated at open spaces in Hubballi to perform yogasanas amid drizzle.
Indira Glass House, Karnataka Gymkhana Ground, KS Sharma Yoga Science and Naturopathy Centre and various grounds of schools and colleges became the demo zones for yogasanas as people from different age groups participated enthusiastically and performed different asanas.
At Karnataka Gymkhana Ground at Deshpande Nagar, Union Minister for Rural Development Chaudhary Birender Singh performed yogasanas under the guidance of yoga guru Vaidyasri Channabasava. Jagadish Shettar, Leader of the Opposition; Pralhad Joshi, MP, were present.
Dharwad Deputy Commissioner P. Rajendra Cholan called upon the people to practice yoga daily to enjoy physical and mental health.
Addressing a programme in Dharwad, he said that doing yoga every day would help protect health. Yogaasanas and pranayama help improve the immune system and avoid medicines. Yoga practice was the best way to lead a healthy and joyous life, he added.
The Yoga Research Centre at Karnatak University, Dharwad, celebrated the day. A ‘Walk for yoga’ was flagged off on the university premises by Vice-Chancellor Pramod Gai and District Principal and Sessions Judge V. Shreeshanand.
Across age groups
People of all ages performed ‘yogasanas’ and yoga experts exhibited their mastery marked the International Day for Yoga in Ballari and Koppal districts.
In Ballari, B. Sriramulu, MP, inaugurated a programme at Municipal School grounds. He underlined the need for the people to understand the importance of yoga. Bharathi Reddy, zilla panchayat president, was present.
In Koppal, Karadi Sanganna, MP, said that yoga was a legacy passed on by our forefathers to lead a healthy life. M. Kanagavalli, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the programme.
Fitness
Chitradurga Zilla Panchayat president Soubhagya Basavarajan has said that every one should voluntarily come forward to practise yoga regularly to keep themselves fit. She was inaugurating a programme to mark the International Day of Yoga.
Ms. Basavarajan said that the yoga practice would help avoid diseases and keep you active for the whole day. “It also helps increase memory power,” she said.
G.H. Tippareddy, MLA, said that the International Day for Yoga was being celebrated by more than 192 countries because of the initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
