Vidhana Soudha premises were buzzing with activity early on Wednesday as thousands of yoga practitioners performed yoga to mark the ninth International Yoga Day.
‘Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, organised by the Department of Ayush and the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department, witnessed various yoga boards, NCC cadets, schoolchildren, and volunteer groups gather as early as 6 am to perform yoga.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated the event. He stressed the benefits of yoga and urged everyone to develop it as a regular habit.
“Yoga has been a part of our culture and tradition since ancient times. Our early extant works, which are a part of the world’s culture now, mention yoga, hence India is called as ‘Yoga Guru’,” he said.
He was accompanied on stage by UT Khader, Speaker, Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Minister, Health and Family Welfare, Rizwan Arshad, MLA, Shivajinagar, and T Anil Kumar, Secretary of Ayush department. “I have been doing yoga since second grade. I start my day with Surya Namaskar and other forms of yoga. It helps me retain my attention throughout the day and keeps me from overstressing,” said Koundinya K, a 7th-standard student.
Samruddhi Balachandra, a software professional, highlighted how yoga has helped her. “I joined as a software developer 4 years ago. Initially, I used to be under immense pressure every day which affected both my mental and physical health. Following a friend’s suggestion, I started doing yoga occasionally and I have been a regular performer for 2 years now,” she said.
Nanjappa Gowda, an elderly person with blood pressure issues, shared how practising yoga helped bring down symptoms of dizziness and hand tremors that he used to experience.
Former Indian cricketer and commentator B K Venkatesh Prasad, athlete Anju B George, and Kannada actress Bhavana Ramanna were also present.
Published 21 June 2023, 09:23 IST