‘Yoga brings not only peace but also unity’

After the idea of an International Yoga Day was proposed to the U.N. General Assembly in 2014, 177 countries co-sponsored the resolution, as the ancient practice brings not only peace and harmony to people but also unity to countries, Indian Ambassador to Turkey Sanjay Panda has said.

Referring to the June 21 International Yoga Day celebrations, the ambassador said India's contribution to yoga gatherings was that embassies all over the world took the lead, so yoga experts were sent to all countries.

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the value of yoga at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in 2014, he said yoga comprises universal values and a universal appeal, and his proposal aimed to popularize yoga all over the world because it has a lot of health benefits, Panda told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

"So, unprecedentedly, 177 countries co-sponsored the resolution, including Turkey. Never before had so many countries supported a resolution in the U.N.," he said. "And so it was decided to designate June 21 as International Yoga Day since it is the summer solstice, the longest day. The northern hemisphere is in such a point that you get the maximum amount of daylight and maximum amount of energy, so you get the maximum benefits," the ambassador added.

Panda said that in the first few years, the Indian Council for Culture and Relations selected yoga experts and sent them to conduct yoga classes and also train more yoga trainers all over the world.

"Here in Turkey, we never needed a yoga teacher to come - although they came to the yoga center in the embassy - as already a lot of experts are available in Turkey. Especially in Istanbul, the number of yoga studios is phenomenal," he noted.

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