Canada to host major yoga event
TORONTO: As Canada marks the 150th year of its confederation, an Indo-Canadian nonprofit is seeking to brings its own touch to the national celebration by hosting the largest gathering of yoga enthusiasts at a single venue in North America.
The event, scheduled for June 24 at the International Center in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, is being organised by International Yoga Day Canada (IYDC) and will also segue into the third iteration of the International Day of Yoga-related activities across the world.
The organisers expect to attract nearly 10,000 participants to the meet, making it the “largest congregation of yoga practitioners” in North America, and possibly the biggest outside India.
The IYDC event will feature two headliners - Baba Ramdev, founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, and Sister Shivani of the Brahma Kumaris - to lead the two sessions that will comprise the schedule for the day. Noting that Yoga day coincides with Canada’s 150th birthday, Satish Thakkar, chair of IYDC’s board of directors, said, “We want to take the benefits of yoga to all Canadians to promote wellness and build a healthier and happier Canadian society.”
“This is unique since the topmost yoga institutions have decided to come together under one umbrella for this event,” said Dinesh Bhatia, India’s consul general in Toronto.