International Yoga Day: Vijay Rupani performing yoga at at the Sardar Patel stadium.
Yoga is the best way to deal with stress, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said today and expressed happiness that over 75 lakh people across the state joined him in the International Yoga Day celebrations.
Around 750 differently-abled people also joined Mr Rupani in doing exercises based on the ancient Indian discipline in Ahmedabad, while women and students performed 'aqua yoga' in some other parts of the state.
Mr Rupani attended a yoga day event at the Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad this morning and performed various 'asanas' (exercises) along with thousands of other enthusiasts.
Union Minister of State for Law and Justice P P Chaudhary along with Gujarat High Court Justice M R Shah and Rajasthan High Court Justice K S Jhaveri also performed yoga with thousands of participants at the function.
The participants included students, women, senior citizens, IAS and IPS officers and personnel from the paramilitary forces. Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel was also present at the event and performed yoga.
Later, Mr Rupani along with his wife Anjaliben attended another programme at the GMDC ground where 750 'divyang' (differently-abled) people performed yoga.
Other Gujarat ministers and dignitaries also took part in yoga events in various parts of the state.
Addressing the participants, Mr Rupani said people should try to do yoga regularly.
"Thanks to efforts of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yoga has become popular across the world. In Gujarat, over 75 lakh people took part in this fourth edition of the International Yoga Day," he said.
"Yoga is the best way to deal with stress. It helps us in keeping away various ailments and also gives us peace of mind. I urge people to make yoga their daily routine instead of just doing it today," the chief minister said.
In Vadodara, school students performed yoga in water at an indoor swimming pool.
Similarly, group of women performed 'aqua yoga' in Rajkot.