Imphal: Manipur Tuesday observed the 8th International Day of Yoga with a mass yoga demonstration under the theme “Yoga for Humanity” at the Indoor Stadium, Khuman Lampak, Imphal West.
The observation was organised by the Directorate of AYUSH, Manipur & State AYUSH Society, Manipur in coordination with the Directorate of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of Manipur. The day was also observed in different parts of the State with mass participation.
Chief Minister N. Biren Singh along with Cabinet Ministers, Members of Legislative Assembly, Member of Parliament, Director General of Police, senior civil and police officials of the Government, students, and others attended the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, N. Biren Singh stated that International Yoga Day is observed on June 21, every year across the world and as such the day is also observed in many places of the State. He appreciated the thoughts and visions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his initiative to achieve recognition of Yoga from the United Nations General Assembly.
He continued that though Yoga had been a part of the Indian Society since time immemorial, it was not widely practiced all over the country. However, following the proposal of International Yoga Day by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2014 and the declaration of June 21 as International Yoga Day, the day is observed all over the world, he added.
The Chief Minister maintained that this year, the Day is observed under the theme “Yoga for Humanity” implying that yoga helps in building good relations among all people regardless of caste and region. He further stressed the need of everyone to perform yoga taking out some time daily adding it would not only improve our immune system and self-confidence but also imbibe us with good and positive thoughts.
Stating that acknowledging the importance of Yoga, 175 Nations supported the India-led resolution on International Day of Yoga at the UN General Assembly, he added that many countries began to imitate India’s humanism and its way of natural therapy and AYUSH. He also mentioned the necessity of human beings to have close relations with nature.
N. Biren Singh expressed that being a human being, everyone should have respect for others and there shouldn’t be any thought of being superior to others. It is only through such a culture of respect, we could make our society progress with inclusive development. He also maintained that the State had been able to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic with lesser casualties because of the discipline maintained by our people abiding the Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Government.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Sapam Ranjan, delivering his presidential speech, stated that International Yoga Day is observed every year across the world after the declaration of June 21 as International Yoga Day by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. He continued that the 6th and 7th International Yoga Day couldn’t be observed physically due to COVID-19 pandemic. But this year, the day is observed with mass participation as a part of the celebration of 75 years of India’s Independence, he added.
He recalled the credibility of yoga during the COVID-19 pandemic in maintaining our well-being and possession of positive thoughts at the time of hardship. Maintaining that yoga had been gaining popularity with time, he appealed to the public to perform yoga for well-being on oneself.
During the programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on the occasion of the 8th International Day of Yoga from the iconic Mysore Palace, Karnataka was live telecasted.
As a part of the observation, Common Yoga Protocol was also performed by everyone present at the venue.
