PM Modi greets people on first International Yoga Day

35,000 participants performed various yoga 'asanas' at a mega event on Rajpath

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday joined thousands practising yoga at the Rajpath here and said the International Yoga Day on June 21 was the start of a new era for training the human mind for peace and harmony.

Speaking at a function marking the start of International Yoga Day here at the Rajpath, Modi said yoga is not only an exercise to make the body flexible but a path for inner development.

He also greeted people on International Yoga Day asking for a pledge to make it an integral part of life.

Minutes before the mega event commenced at Rajpath, the Prime Minister tweeted:

 

Greetings to people around the world on 1st International Day of Yoga! Lets pledge to make Yoga an integral part of our daily lives #YogaDay

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2015

India is leading 191 countries to mark the day with over 35,000 participants performing various yoga 'asanas' at a mega event on Rajpath in New Delhi. Diplomats from 152 foreign missions had been been invited to take part in the event.

The organisers at Rajpath have applied for a Guinness record for the largest simultaneous assembly of people at a yoga event.

The Guinness record is currently held by Vivekananda Kendra which organised a yoga event in which 29,973 people participated in Gwalior on November 19, 2005.