PM Narendra Modi, a yoga enthusiast, joined a mass session in Delhi on International Yoga Day
'Yoga can transform lives,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he spoke on the International Yoga Day being celebrated in India and across the world.
Shortly after performing Yoga asanas along with
nearly 37,000 people at Delhi's ceremonial boulevard Rajpath, PM Modi told a gathering: "Yoga reduces greed, coarseness and violence... In a world of fear, Yoga creates courage and strength."
He was speaking at the launch of a special commemorative coin and stamps to mark the Yoga Day, which he championed at the UN General Assembly last year.
"The spread of yoga is a symbol of a changing world," he said. He added that India cannot claim yoga as its exclusive preserve. "Yoga may have originated in India but it draws its energies from the millions who practice it around the world."
Earlier this morning, the
64-year-old prime minister performed a variety of poses at Rajpath, the venue of the annual Republic Day parade, along with a sea of people on colourful yoga mats.
The
35-minute session featured 35 asanas and PM Modi performed most of them, proving that he is a regular practitioner of the ancient Indian tradition. He performed asanas like the Padmasana, Vajrasana, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana and kapalbhatti.
"Yoga is not just for contorting your body into shapes. If that were true, people working in the circus would be called yogis,"
PM Modi said in his remarks before the session, adding, "Yoga is for a tension-free world."
After the session was over, PM Modi was virtually mobbed by his fellow yoga performers.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier said PM Modi would only address the session but not perform yoga.
The prime minister, who works long hours, describes yoga as "the anchor of my life." He has often said that he has been able to function on little sleep because of yoga and meditation.(
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Every morning at his official bungalow, PM Modi reportedly spends 20 minutes doing yoga.
Since he took power last year, his government has prioritized the ancient discipline and even set up a separate ministry dedicated to promoting yoga, Ayurveda and other traditional Indian practices. Following his pitch at the General Assembly in September, the UN declare a Yoga Day.