Indian High Commissioner: Yoga promoted healthy living during pandemic

The High Commissioner of India Arun Kumar Sahu has said Ayurveda, yoga and pranayama have played a critical role in maintaining and promoting healthy living during the pandemic.

Sahu was speaking during the launch of the annual International Day of Yoga celebration at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation (MGICC) in Mt Hope on Tuesday.

Ayurveda is a natural system of medicine which originated in India and pranayama refers to the regulation of the breath through certain techniques and exercises.

“People in different geographies and cultures understood that there was no alternative to healthy living (during the pandemic),” said Sahu.

“As the average life expectancy increases, it is only natural that yoga will play a seminal role in this regard.

He said over the centuries, yoga has been accepted and practised in all corners of the world. “Today, it has become global and has reincarnated in various forms for business and commerce.

“Nevertheless, yoga links one’s body with the mind, connects the internal to the external and joins the material energy with the cosmic.”

Sahu said, as technology makes humanity more connected and mobile it has become crucial to maintain a balance between the body and the mind to fight stress and anxiety, adding yoga is expected to provide global solutions to local physical and mental-health issues.

The United Nations (UN) recognises June 21 as World Yoga Day and the decision was adopted by 177 countries since 2015.

“This year, the MGICC, in collaboration with the High Commission of India and local organisations such as the International Day of Yoga Committee, Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) and various yoga centres in TT, will be celebrating the eighth International Yoga Day.”

The public is invited to participate in a public yoga event on June 20 between 6-8 am at the Chaguaramas Boardwalk, Port of Spain.

Participants can register at https://forms.gle/gMuj9EbjP7kv187c9.

Formal yoga classes are also available at the MGICC, Mt Hope.