Highlights
- The benefits of Yoga are holistic, and they affect not just the physical wellbeing but the emotional, mental, and spiritual health as well.
- The theme of The International Yoga Day this year was Yoga at home and Yoga with family.
- The Consulate General of India held two virtual conferences and a contest for youth and kids to create awareness about Yoga.
To raise global awareness about the holistic benefits of Yoga, the United Nations proclaimed 21 June as International Yoga Day.
This year due to the coronavirus pandemic, celebrations across the world have been virtual.
In Sydney, the Consulate General of India held virtual celebrations of the International Yoga Day in various forms.
“Yoga is centuries-old traditional wisdom we have been practising, but the biggest benefit of International celebration of the Yoga Day is, the awareness created in the world of the holistic wellbeing of Yoga and its physical, emotional, mental and spiritual benefits,” the Consul General of India in Sydney, Mr. Manish Gupta told SBS Hindi.
International celebrations of Yoga began in 2015 and this year the Consulate General of India celebrated the sixth edition of the Day.
“Being a challenging time world-wide, all the celebrations and conferences by the Consulate were virtual”, Mr. Gupta said.
“The Prime Minister of India Mr. Modi’s theme of Yoga at home and Yoga with the family for this year’s celebrations is very pertinent to the current situation”, Mr Gupta shares.
Source: Getty Images/PeopleImages
Talking of awareness of Yoga in Australia, the Consul General Mr. Gupta opines, “Yoga needs no introduction in Australia, but most people seem to focus on the Asanas, a lot of focus is not placed on Pranayam and Dhyana. In the context of the Coronavirus, it would be good to create greater awareness about these aspects as well.”
As a precursor to the International Yoga Day, the Consulate in Sydney held a virtual International Ayurvedic and Yoga Conference in May.
Another virtual conference organized, was the Ayur Vimarsh. This included Yogacharyas and Ayurvedic experts from the USA, India, the UK, and Australia.
This year the Consulate General of India in Sydney also placed great emphasis on the participation of kids and youth through engaging contests.
The novelty of this year’s celebrations was the inclusion of vegetarian food prepared by outstanding culinary legends and chefs.
"Balanced diet being an integral part of Yoga, these recipes will be shared on the social media platforms of the Consulate General."
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