10,000 likely to participate in greater Toronto yoga event on June 25

The International Yoga Day Celebrations, which will be organised by IYDC, a Canadian not-for-profit organisation in June, was launched during an interactive session at the Consulate General of India, on Thursday.

While announcing the International Yoga celebrations that would take place on June 25 at Mississauga, Bhatia said that they expect around 10,000 people to participate in it.  He said Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and rajyog meditation expert Sister Shivani of Brahma Kumaris would guide the participants.

The programme will be televised globally through broadcast and social media with an aim to reach an audience across North America and India.

“International Yoga Day aims to raise awareness of the many benefits of practicing yoga. Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature,’’ Bhatia said.

Satish Thakkar, chair of the board of directors and organizing committee of IYDC, said: “Yoga brings peace, harmony, positivity and this message should be spread not only in GTA – which encompasses city of Toronto and the neighboring cities -- but to the whole of Canada."

IYDC was founded in 2015 to advocate the practice of yoga in Canada.

The draft resolution establishing the International Day of Yoga (IYD) was proposed by India at the United Nations and was endorsed by a record 177 member states.

The proposal was first introduced by then Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in his address during the opening of the 69th session of the General Assembly.

While Ramdev will be leading the yoga practice in the morning, Sister Shivani would lead a Raj Yoga meditation session in the evening.

Thakkar claimed that the 2017 IYDC would be one of the largest celebrations not only in Canada but in the whole of North America.

Sister Shivani, who sent her message via an audio clip, said: “When ‘I’, the self is Connected with the highest, ‘I’ can come to control. ‘I’ is like a discharged battery. For it to be charged, ‘I’ has to be connected to the power house, which is meditation."

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)