Mammoth gathering at UN marks exponential growth in awareness of Yoga: Syed Akbaruddin

On the third anniversary of International Yoga Day, India's permanent representative at the United Nations and former official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India Syed Akbaruddin on Wednesday said that today's mammoth gathering at the United Nations marks the exponential growth in their awareness of Yoga.

"More than 170 countries supported the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognizing the important role of Yoga in bringing peace and prosperity in the world. Today's mammoth gathering at the United Nations marks the exponential growth in their awareness of Yoga. We are witnessing perhaps the largest congregation for celebrating the benefits of Yoga at the United Nations. Yoga is an ancient discipline in India. India believes that Yoga belongs to everyone and should be shared with the world in an open, transparent as well as inclusive manner," Akbaruddin said.

He further said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised Yoga as a form of traditional medicine and thanked everyone to be present here to enjoy Yoga.

"The theme of this year's celebration at the United Nations is 'Yoga for Health'. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised Yoga as a form of traditional medicine. Yoga, as a mind, body discipline has also been added to the intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. I thank all of you for being here, for gathering here to enjoy Yoga and making this year's event a much more memorable one," he added.

June 21 was proclaimed as the International Day of Yoga in December 2014.

Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the International Yoga Day function at Uttar Pradesh's Ramabai Ambedkar Ground with over 60,000 participants.

The 80-minute yoga session is expected to begin around 6:30 a.m. in the morning. Several dignitaries, politicians and bureaucrats will participate in the event.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga by consensus after adopting a measure proposed by Prime Minister Modi.