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Diplomatic Observer
News Center -TDO- An event was held due to “International Yoga Day” hosted by India's Ambassador to Turkey Sanjay Kumar Panda.
Ankara residents showed great interest in the event, which was held at the Indian Embassy in Ankara.
Ambassador Panda, who gave a speech at the opening, thanked the participants and said: “I am very happy to welcome you here to celebrate International Yoga Day. As you know, in 2014, the United Nations, on the initiative of India, approved by 177 UN member states and declared June 21 as International Yoga Day.
Yoga has been practiced in India since ancient times as a tool for health and well-being. Over the past decade, it has gained worldwide acclaim for its enormous health benefits and has become popular as a lifestyle.
Patanjali, the most prominent advocate of yoga, describes yoga as the end of changes in the mind, which is the main cause of mental upheavals and disappointments, and therefore most of human suffering.”
Alvaro Rodriguez, the UN representative to Turkey, said in his speech here:, “I'm so happy to be here today to celebrate International Yoga Day.
Yoga is already extremely popular around the world. We all know how good it is for our health. It's good for our soul.
Yoga balances body and soul, body health and mental happiness, as well as its many positive contributions to personal well-being.
We celebrate this day at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate people's lives and livelihoods globally, when Yoga's message of promoting both physical and mental well-being of humanity is highly relevant.
The COVID-19 outbreak, beyond its immediate effects on physical health, has also aggravated the psychological and mental problems of people around the world. This underlines the need to urgently address the mental health dimension of the pandemic in addition to physical health.
The United Nations is also providing yoga facilities to its staff and others as part of its response to COVID-19.
In its 2018-2030 Global Action Plan, the World Health Organization mentions yoga for improving physical activity-related health: more active people for a healthier world.
UNICEF says children can practice many yoga postures without taking any risks and get the same benefits as adults.
At a time when the whole world is trying to get rid of the effects of COVID-19, I hope that yoga will be able to give people everywhere the feeling and unity that we must establish together to live in harmony and start a dignified life for everyone at the same time, and we do our best not to leave anyone behind.
I repeat in this spirit: Namaste! Thank you!”
Yoga lovers repeated their yoga moves accompanied by instructors.
