16,000 mark Yoga Day in Dubai
More than 50 nationalities take part in public event
More than 16,000 people of over 50 nationalities gathered in Dubai to commemorate International Yoga Day yesterday.
Attending the event at Al Wasl Sports Club were India’s boxing champion Mary Kom, Indian Consul General Anurag Bhushan and Major General Nasser Al Razooqi, UAE Karate and Taekwondo Federation president.
“Today, we celebrate yoga and we celebrate how it is a wonderful support to the mind, soul and peace,” said Major General Al Razooqi.
Coming with the Indian consulate were organisations such as Friends of India and the Raja Yoga Centre in support of Yoga Day.
Mohan Das from Friends of India said: “Yoga is an ancient method of healing, both for the mental and physical well being. Saints have discovered this method and passed it from generation to generation, so yoga is India’s gift to the world.”
ADubai expat attempted the world’s longest headstand for 61 minutes yesterday, marking the first International Yoga Day. Indian yogi Ivan Stanley, 41, assumed the shirsasana (headstand) position at around 9.05am as family, media and supporters looked on. Perched on his head, and placing his forearms flat on the ground for balance, Stanley held the posture for 61 minutes, according to his sister who kept time, at The Palladium Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Tower.
A press release issued on his behalf said the attempt has been registered at Guinness World Records’ global and Dubai offices and “certification is expected in due course”.
Stanley, an advertising professional who has been living in Dubai for 15 years, was very still during the attempt and kept his eyes closed. After he reached his target of 61 minutes, he slowed lowered himself into a prostrate position and rested for a short while without opening his eyes or saying a word.
He soon found his feet again and received hugs from family and supporters. “It gets completely mental after a while… The physical part is the balance but your mind says, ‘give it up’. It the last five minutes, it really shifts from physical to mental,” Stanley said. He added that apart from feeling some disorientation towards the end, the feat went smoothly.
‘Good for the heart’
“I did this to push myself beyond my barriers. I also wanted to see what we’re made of, what we can achieve.”
Stanley said the yoga shirsasana position — which is normally held for a much shorter time than Sunday’s record attempt — is “really good for the heart. It supplies a lot more blood to the brain”.
June 21 has been declared by the UN as International Yoga Day, starting this year. In Dubai, a mass yoga session of roughly 12,000 people was planned for last night.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed asanas as he led the first ever International Yoga Day celebrations yesterday at the imposing Rajpath with over 35,000 participants including diplomats, soldiers and students.
The entire 2km stretch from Rafi Marg crossing near Vijay Chowk to India Gate was lined with blue and red mats over green carpets with people of all ages twisting, bending and stretching on the ceremonial road performing various yoga exercises.
Modi expressed his gratitude to the United Nations and 193 countries for their “unprecedented support” in passing a resolution moved by India to declare June 21 as International Day of Yoga and said a “new era” is beginning to train the human mind to scale new heights of peace and harmony. Modi also cautioned against commodifying yoga.
Before surprising everyone by joining the mass session, the Prime Minister said, “Who would have thought that Rajpath would become Yoga Path?”
An avid yoga practitioner, 64-year-old Modi was not scheduled to perform the ‘asanas’ at Rajpath — located between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan — but he climbed down from the podium after his address to join the over 35,000 participants, including students and officials, in the mass demonstration.
Attired in a white sweat shirt and trousers and a tricolor scarf, Modi did most of the 21 ‘asanas’ along with thousands of participants as part of the common yoga protocol, following simultaneous instructions in Hindi and English and watching instructors on big digital screens at Rajpath.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma was among scores of diplomats who attended the mega event. Several top bureaucrats, including secretaries to union ministries and officials from the PMO were also present.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung were also present on the occasion, but were seated in separate enclosures.
Later, addressing a two-day international conference on yoga for holistic health here, Modi said, “if we make yoga a commodity, then maximum damage to it will be done by us. Yoga is not a commodity, yoga is not a brand which has to be sold.”
Drawing attention to boards of “pure ghee” shops in the market, Modi said that 50 years back these were never seen, but today they exist because money is there. “This should never happen in relation to yoga. Never should a time come when we hear that only my yoga is true and all the rest are uselessly holding their nose and spending dollars. This is not a trade or organisation but a state of mind (vyapaar ya vyavastha nahin avastha hai).”
Under attack from Congress for “usurping” the traditional form, Modi stressed that yoga is “not the brainchild of a government” or the United Nations, but a gift from many generations and many traditions from across the world. The Prime Minister cautioned against one-upmanship on the ancient practice, saying it belongs to all countries and all communities.
‘Yoga is secular’
Yoga exponent Ramdev, who shared the dais with him at Rajpath as well as at the conference, said yoga is “scientific, universal and secular”.
Of the 177 countries, which backed the Indian resolution on the Yoga Day in UN, 47 were Muslim countries. The Prime Minister chose the occasion to make a pledge that the spirit of India and the collective entry of its people will work to the creation of a more equal world, a world without fear, a world of peace and foster culture of inclusiveness, of fraternity and of one global family.
“Most people think that yoga is some sort of an exercise for limbs. I think this is the biggest mistake. Yoga is not limited to physical exercise. Had this been the case, children working in circus would have been called yogis. Hence, how much we make our body flexible is not yoga,” Modi said comparing asanas with fine-tuning of musical instruments before a music performance.
Terming the participation of thousands of people as “overwhelming”, a representative of Guinness Book of Records hoped that the event will set a world record.