Ezulwini: Held at Royal Villas on Monday by the High Commission of India, the seventh edition of the International Yoga Day was a huge success.
A total of over 50 people participated including Eswatini Police Yoga Club, Eswatini Nazarene Health Institution, Sports Council, and other members of the public.
Yoga is a holistic and integral science of life dealing with physical, mental, and spiritual pursuits to achieve harmony of the body and mind.
Yoga is almost a 5,000-year-old tradition from India which helps a person to attain inner peace, the word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root, Yoga refers to an inner science comprising of a variety of methods through which human beings can achieve union between the body and mind to attain self-realization.
Yoga recognized its importance and efficacy on December 11 in 2014 the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the international day of yoga (IDY) the declaration came at the behest of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi during his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014, where he stated Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition, it embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with you, the world, and nature.
When opening the event, the High Commissioner of India Radha Ven-kataraman said Yoga is a 5000 – year old tradition of India that has become universal today, adding that the commission commenced its celebration in Eswatini since 2020.
“Last year the event was confined to very few participants at my residence due to covid-19 restrictions in place we could not invite one and all, this year too we have restricted the participants to meet extant covid protocols,” Radha said.
She went on to say that she was happy to say that awareness of Yoga and practice of it for health benefits has spread in the Kingdom and more and more emaSwati from all walks of life have shown enthusiasm to learn and adopt Yoga for a healthier life.
“The High Commission in Mbabane is here for every one of you regarding imparting of knowledge on Yoga and many private local teachers are also available in Eswatini from which one can seek personal guidance,” she said.
“Let us together pledge to commit ourselves to the regular practice of Yoga to attain physical and mental well-being which will lead to peace and harmony in oneself, in society, country and the universe, the various poses of Yoga for beginners will be demonstrated to us by the instructors today,” said Radha.
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