People of all walks of life are expected to converge at the Forecourt of the State House on Saturday, 17 June, 2017 to participate in the third edition of the International Day of Yoga (IDY).
The upcoming event is being organised by the High Commission of India, Accra in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Addressing journalists ahead of the Yoga Day, Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Birender Singh Yadav said: “Seeing the growing popularity of yoga, the High Commission of India and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have joined hands to celebrate” the day so that the Ghanaian society especially the youth could learn the well-being and health benefits of yoga.
He stressed on the importance of Yoga as a holistic system that could not only bring health and happiness at the individual level but also harmony and peace in the world, transcending national boundaries and cultural differences.
Mr Yadav added yoga has the capacity in strengthening peace and harmony in the world. Yoga also promotes people to people relationship.
He continued: “Yoga is essentially a discipline based on an extremely subtle science which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body. It is an art and science for healthy living”.
Mr Yadav emphasised: “Everybody can practice yoga irrespective of his or her religious belief “.
Representative of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah added that yoga is not a religion but a physical exercise and therefore appealed to Ghanaians to practice yoga regularly to make them reduce illnesses.
He urged Ghanaians to emulate the self-belief demonstrated by Indians as a developing nation and to take advantage of the benefits of Yoga.
Instructively, the word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’ meaning ‘ to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. According to yogic strictures, the practice of yoga leads to the union of an individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.
The science of yoga has its origin thousands of years, long before the first religion or belief systems were born. The seers and sages carried this powerful yogic science to different parts of the world including Asia, the Middle East, North Africa.
Interestingly, modern scholars have noted and marveled at the close parallels found between ancient cultures across the globe. However, it was in India that the yogic system found its fullest expression.
African Eye Report
