After two years of break, the yoga session organised by the Indian Embassy at the Washington Monument ahead of International Yoga Day was well- received.
The Indian Embassy collaborated with an organisation known as ‘Friends of Yoga,’ and held a yoga event that attracted hundreds of yoga enthusiasts on the Washington Monument on June 18.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian Ambassador expressed his delight to be greeted by a large gathering of members of the Indian diaspora from different spheres of life. Yoga has been accepted as a form of healthy living across the world. The most significant part is how it attracts people belonging to all age groups. There is a whopping number of 37 million yoga practitioners in the US, to address the rising demand there is an increase in yoga studios across the US.
Due to the pandemic that had put the world to stand still, for two years the yoga day celebrations were held virtually. The grand event is intended to bring everyone together outdoors as a way of reiterating the benefits of yoga. It is an exercise in connecting with oneself, with nature and the living beings around.
The 15th director of the National Science Foundation Dr Sethuraman Panchanathan attended the event on the National Mall and established a connection between yoga and science.
The American Bazaar’s report quoted Panchanathan, “As a uniting force, yoga is now enabling people from different walks of life to come together. The ancient practice of yoga is a “great gift from India to all of humanity,” he said. Both Panchanathan and Sandhu joined the participants in performing yoga asanas on their mats with hundreds of others on the lawns of the Washington Monument.
