A global turnout for Yoga Day

Large crowds of Indians stretched and contorted themselves in mass public events across the country to commemorate the f irst International Day of Yoga.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led an estimated 35,000 people, in what organizers billed as the largest yoga demonstration, on Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, the capital.

“We are not only celebrating a day, but we are training the human mind to begin a new era of peace,” said Modi.

He proposed the event last fall at the United Nations General Assembly, and India sponsored yoga events worldwide Sunday through its diplomatic missions.