Hundreds of thousands of people across the country and abroad will bend and stretch and do some deep breathing as part of yoga exercises for the second International Yoga Day celebrations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the events in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Modi will take part in a mass yoga demonstration of the "common yoga protocol" at the spruced up Capitol Complex in Chandigarh early on Tuesday morning.
Authorities were busy giving last-minute touches to the Capitol Complex amid fears of a washout after showers lashed the city on Monday evening.
The showers notwithstanding, preparations continued in full swing and officials were busy cleaning up the venue after the rain.
"There are high chances of rain in Chandigarh and nearby areas on Tuesday too," Surinder Paul, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.
A total of 30,000 participants -- 10,000 each from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana -- donning T-shirts and black or blue tracksuit lowers, will perform deep breathing and stretching exercises against the backdrop of the Capitol Complex, one of the acclaimed creations of French architect Le Corbusier.
Apart from the main event at the Capitol Complex, yoga day events will be held at 100 other locations across Chandigarh.
In the run up to Tuesday's event, Modi released a commemorative postal stamp on Surya Namaskara in New Delhi on Monday.
President Pranab Mukherjee will kick off a yoga demonstration at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday in which around 1,000 persons will take part. The participants will include officers and staff of the President's Secretariat, their family members, members of Delhi Police, ITBP and President's Bodyguard as well as other residents of President's Estate.
Patanjali Yogpeeth, which is headed by Swami Ramdev said that a mass yoga event will be held in Faridabad on Tuesday and "several world records would be set."
Patanjali Yogpeeth spokesperson S.K. Tijarawala said over one lakh people are expected at the event in the "largest ever (such) congregation".
He said records will also be set of simultaneous performance of yogic postures as also push ups.
BJP president Shri Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the Faridabad event.
Yoga events will also be held in the national capital in Connaught Place, Lodhi Gardens, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Dwarka.
Over 173 Indian missions across the world are also organising Yoga demonstrations to spread awareness for the International Day of Yoga. The event will also be observed by 191 of 193 members of the United Nations.
In a first, the UN was lit up for the International Yoga Day, with a huge panel showing the different yoga postures.
The lighting will be on from June 20 even as Yoga events are being undertaken in India and elsewhere.
The Embassy of India in Paris organised an event at the iconic Eiffel Tower on Sunday as part of the series of events to mark the second International Day of Yoga.
Yoga demonstrations will also be organised at several places in state capitals. Events have been planned at all district headquarters in the country in association with prominent yoga institutions.
The protocol for yoga events on Tuesday involves loosening up exercises like neck bending and body twisting.
The second section of exercises, to be done in standing posture, comprises of yoga exercises, including 'tadasana' or palm tree posture and 'vriksasana' or the tree posture.
The third section will be in sitting postures, with five exercises, including 'shashankasana' or the hare posture and 'vakrasana' or spinal twist posture. Following these are the three prone postures, including 'bhujangasana' or the cobra posture.
It will be followed by the supine postures comprising 'sethubandhasana' or the bridge posture, 'pavanamuktasana' or wind releasing posture and finally 'savasana' or the dead body posture.
Breathing exercises like 'kapalbhati' and 'pranayama' will be performed next by dhyan or meditation and finally the 'Shanti path'.
A theme song for the International Day of Yoga, named 'Yog Geet' has been released this year in addition to the Yoga Protocol of 45 minutes.
The United Nations General Assembly had declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day on December 11, 2014 following a resolution moved by India and co-sponsored by a large number of nations. The first International Yoga Day celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21.
EMBRACE YOGA TO AGE GRACEFULLY, SAY EXPERTS
Yoga won't give you immortality but this ancient discipline of bringing union between the body, mind and spirit can definitely help you fight age - both physical and mental, say health and wellness experts.
"In my practice in India and abroad I have seen several cases where my clients have gotten better by regular yoga, pranayam and meditation," Preeti Rao, Health, Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant at Max Healthcare here, told IANS.
Regular yoga practice can help fight chronic lifestyle diseases like hypertension, hormonal imbalances, diabetes, reproductory disorders, and respiratory and cardiovascular related health concerns. Besides people with obesity, anxiety, constipation and digestive disorders can benefit significantly from practising yoga, according to the experts.
"From diabetes to high blood pressure, high cholesterol to heart problems, yoga can help you combat many such health issues that usually develop over the years. Also, arthritis is one of the most common problems among elderly people and yoga is a great way to tone it down and help the body become more active and flexible," said Nidhi Arora, physiotherapist at AktivOrtho, an orthopaedic, neurological and gynaecological rehabilitation centre here.
Founded by German orthopaedic specialist Gerd Mueller, AktivOrtho now has several centres in New Delhi and Gurgaon.
"Individuals prone to osteoporosis or are already suffering from the problem can gain a lot from yoga as a daily life discipline which increases bone density and growth. To keep a watch over increase in weight as well, yoga proves to be very helpful," Arora noted.
Yoga can improve blood flow in the body and increase oxygen supply to body cells. It helps improve balance which tends to become weak as one ages, acclaimed fitness expert and nutritionist Sonia Bajaj said.
What's more, the benefits of yoga transcends physical fitness alone.
"Yoga is not limited to yog or physical exercise," Rao said.
Scholarly studies and research in this area have strongly documented how yoga helps in improving cognitive abilities.
"Pranayama helps one to attain a better balance between the right and left-brain bringing more balance between emotional and rational thinking. Meditation facilitates a process of introspection, and brings more clarity and focus in one's life. Regular yoga also improves memory," Rao noted.
"A regular yoga practice even for just 20-30 minutes daily that is simple and involves varied breathing exercises and mediation is what I would recommend to remain sharp, alert and for a balanced life," she added.
A recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that a three-month course of Kundalini yoga and Kirtan Kriya meditation practice helped minimise the cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, brain disorders that impair the memory.
Kirtan Kriya, which involves chanting, hand movements and visualisation of light, has been practised for hundreds of years in India as a way to prevent cognitive decline in older adults.
Yoga and meditation was even more effective than the memory enhancement exercises that have been considered the gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment, the findings showed.
"Historically and anecdotally, yoga has been thought to be beneficial in ageing well, but this is the scientific demonstration of that benefit," lead author of the study Harris Eyre, doctoral candidate at the University of Adelaide in Australia, said.
"If you or your relatives are trying to improve your memory or offset the risk for developing memory loss or dementia, a regular practice of yoga and meditation could be a simple, safe and low-cost solution to improving your brain fitness," Helen Lavretsky, the study's senior author and professor in residence in the department of psychiatry, University of California-Los Angeles, suggested.
"Yoga forms like asana, pranayama and a regular devotion towards meditation are such strong tools that they are bound to invigorate the brain, help enhance the power of the mind and stimulate the nervous system as well. Yoga should be taken seriously as results from it are long-lasting and life-changing for sure," Arora of AktivOrtho noted.
However, with many different types of yoga being practised today, it is important for you to find out with the help of experts which type of yoga meets your needs, she said.
NO PUBLIC HOLIDAY TOMORROW, YOGA VOLUNTARY FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
There will be no public holiday and yoga will be voluntary for central government employees on Tuesday, when the country observes the second International Yoga Day.
"There will be no holiday and all government offices will remain open tomorrow," a senior official in Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
He said the Centre has not made it mandatory for the employees to take part in yoga.
"It is voluntary. Necessary arrangements have been put in place to allow employees to attend yoga at various programmes being organised across the country," the official said.
There are about 50 lakh central government employees.
Over one lakh events have been planned in the country on the second International Yoga Day. Of these, 10 regional-level mega events will be hosted in Varanasi, Imphal, Jammu, Shimla, Vadodara, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Bhubaneshwar and Hoshiarpur.
The main programme will be held in Chandigarh which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Yoga day programmes will also be organised in 391 universities, 16,000 colleges and 12,000 schools across the country.
