Indian armed forces join International Yoga Day celebrations

The Indian armed forces on Sunday joined the International Yoga Day celebrations.

The yoga sessions were carried out by the Indian Army personnel in various units across the country, including Kargil and Ladakh.

The Indian Navy held yoga sessions across its installations and on Indian Navy ships deployed overseas in world oceans.

INS Ranvir, Satpura, Kamorta and Shakti celebrated the International Yoga Day in the South China sea region with the theme 'Across the Oceans'.

Chief Executive Officer of INS Valsura, C. Kumar Aiyyar, encouraged the people to inculcate the habit of practicing yoga in their everyday lives.

"Our officers on navy ships in the ocean are practicing yoga. And in Valsura, we think that we need to practice yoga everyday to keep our mind strong and clean," said Aiyyar in Jamnagar.

Over 1000 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel performed yoga in Srinagar to become a part of the nationwide celebrations.

"The important thing about yoga is that it reduces stress, there is no other alternative. It keeps you calm and also increases your concentration. It also increases the immunity of your body," said CFPR DIG Mahesh Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in celebrating the International Yoga Day by practicing yoga at Rajpath in the national capital.

Dressed in all-white and a tricolour scarf, Prime Minister Modi performed a variety of poses, including the Vajrasan and Padmasan, at the Rajpath where an estimated 40,000 people, including the Cabinet Ministers, diplomats, foreign delegates, government officials, BJP leaders, NCC cadets and students, participated in the celebrations. Nearly 2,000 digital cinema screens were set up across Rajpath for the people to witness the live streaming of the performance of yoga asanas.

Similar yoga events took place simultaneously across India, with Chief Ministers like Vasundhara Raje, Chandrababu Naidu, Devendra Fadnavis and Raghubar Das joining in.

The yoga celebrations are being organised after the United Nations had in December last year declared June 21 as International Yoga Day.

The idea of celebrating the International Yoga Day was pitched by Prime Minister Modi at the United Nations General Assembly last year.