On Tuesday, June 21, Reading shaka hosted two yoga sessions for the samaj to mark the International Day of Yoga.
The morning session started at 4.30am and included meditation, warm-ups, 108 Surya namaskars, pranayams and gayatri mantra chanting.
The evening session at 6pm included gentle asanas, shavasana, pranayams as well as laughter yoga.
Supported by United Nations, every year, the International Day of Yoga is commemorated all over the world. The date ties in with the summer solstice and also considered to be auspicious in many cultures.
This year the theme is “Yoga for wellness” with focus on practising yoga for physical and mental well-being which is relevant to current times as the society is recovering from the pandemic and lockdowns which has had a profound effect on people’s mental health.
The UN website states that yoga can promote both physical and mental health. https://www.un.org/en/observances/yoga-day
People around the world are embracing it to stay healthy, overcome depression, alleviate anxiety, and it plays a vital role in rehabilitation.
