New Delhi: Months after wielding the broom and leading a cleanliness pledge at India Gate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 21 perform yoga at a public event next month in a bid to increase participation in the ancient discipline.
According to government officials, the PM will practise physical poses and breathing control at the event on Rajpath here.
The Prime Minister, meanwhile, chaired a high-level meeting today to review the preparations for International Yoga Day. Emphasising that Yoga's central theme is "synergy", Modi today called for a coordinated effort, not only involving various ministries and departments, but also with people's active participation, "to enable a befitting celebration for the first International Yoga Day," a PMO statement said.
He called for the involvement of eminent yoga practitioners, spiritual leaders and other distinguished individuals from various walks of life, so as to make the event a success, it added.
Got an overview of various events being organised for the International Day of Yoga in India & in various parts of the world.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 28, 2015
Let's work together & make 1st ever International Day of Yoga a success. I request people from all walks of life to actively participate.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 28, 2015
We are planning events & activities on International Day of Yoga with an aim of making Yoga a mass movement globally. http://t.co/GmGaJhcE53
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 28, 2015
Police are drawing up security plans to manage the crowd at the event, which will take place on the avenue running between the presidential palace and India Gate, news agency Reuters quoted a Home Ministry official as saying.
Other senior politicians including Home Minister Rajnath Singh may join Modi in practising yoga, a Bharatiya Janata Party official said.
The United Nations declared June 21 the first International Day of Yoga after adopting a measure proposed by the Modi government. Modi used his first speech at the UN General Assembly in September to call for such a day to be recognised.
Yoga lets people "discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature", Modi had said at the time.
Modi, an enthusiastic practitioner of yoga, says he performs Yoga exercises every day and credits them with giving him energy so he only needs a few hours sleep each night.
In November, Modi appointed India`s first minister to promote yoga and traditional medicines as he embarked on a mission to increase awareness about home-grown health treatments.
Modi also introduced a plan to allow government officials to practise yoga at work.
Yoga is one of India most successful cultural exports. About 20 million people are estimated to regularly perform the exercises in the United States and they spend an annual USD 10 billion on classes and related products, a 2012 study by yogajournal.com found.
(With Agency inputs)
