Several high-ranking officials, dignitaries and celebrities from across the world are participating in the novel 'Guardian Yoga Ring' initiative on the occasion of International Day of Yoga (IDY) today.
The programme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' last month, celebrates the movement of the sun, that is, as the sun travels, people will welcome it through yoga from different parts of the Earth.
The collaborative exercise between 79 countries and United Nations organisations along with Indian missions abroad illustrates yoga's unifying power that surpasses national boundaries.
Since 2015, the International Day of Yoga has been celebrated worldwide on June 21 every year. The theme for this year's Yoga Day is 'Yoga for Humanity' which portrays how yoga has served humanity in alleviating suffering during Covid pandemic.
The Guardian Yoga Ring programme kicked off on Tuesday from Japan, the land of the rising sun with the 8th International Day of Yoga being celebrated at iconic Sankeien Garden in Yokohama.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@IndianEmbTokyo)
In Fiji, more than 1000 yoga enthusiasts joined the special yoga session organized by the Indian High Commission in Suva.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@HCI_Suva)
Just about the same time, yoga enthusiasts also gathered at the Gym Sunia Mafile'o in Tonga to celebrate IDY-2022 organized by India in association with the Tonga government's sports division and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@HCI_Suva)
In New Zealand, the International Yoga Day was celebrated with a yoga and meditation session organised at Auckland's Sky Tower and also at Indian embassy's new premises in Wellington.
(Images courtesy: Twitter/@IndiainNZ)
The International Day of Yoga was celebrated in Australia at the iconic cricketing location of 'the Gabba' in Brisbane today morning.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@HCICanberra)
Having arrived in India late Monday on a four-day visit, Australia's new Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, also the country's Defence Minister, also took part in the Yoga Day celebrations in Goa.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@RichardMarlesMP)
Yoga Day celebrations were also held in various parts of China on Tuesday, including the Haishang Pearl Wisdom Park in Guangzhou on the south bank of the Pearl river and at the embassy of India in Beijing.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@EOIBeijing)
Live from Guangzhou | #IYD2022
is held at Haishang Pearl Wisdom Park is located at the foot of Luoxi Bridge, the South Bank of the Pearl River@EOIBeijingWatch Live : https://t.co/uyAp0ETKzE#YogaForHumanity #GuardianRingForYoga @moayush @PIB_India @PMOIndia @iccr_hq pic.twitter.com/aw7xsAle1I
— DD India (@DDIndialive) June 21, 2022
While IYD celebrations were organised at Mirpur cricket stadium in Dhaka, yoga sessions were also held at several places across Bhutan, including capital Thimphu.
(Image courtesy: Twitter/@AzusaKubota)
The day is being celebrated across the regions of Russia as well. Several yoga sessions have been held in the parks of the Russian capital over the last one week.
VIII #InternationalDayofYoga is being celebrated across the regions of Russia and Moscow. Some glimpses of the "Yoga in the Parks" of #Moscow held between 13-18 June 2022
1. Sokolniki Park#YogaForHumanity #YogaDay @AmbKapoor @AmritMahotsav @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @ANI pic.twitter.com/MgduanojB3
— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) June 19, 2022
Also Read: Japanese embassy in New Delhi celebrates International Yoga Day