Millions of Indians on Tuesday morning stretched and twisted their bodies and performed breathing exercises to celebrate the second International Yoga Day, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chandigarh urging people to delink the ancient Indian practice from their religious beliefs.
"Yoga is not a religious activity. Many people do not understand yoga completely. It is not what you will get from yoga, but what is important is what you will give to yoga and what all (ailments) will it rid you off," he said early in the morning in a nearly 30-minute speech before the yoga session.
Yoga, the prime minister said, could give "health assurance at zero budget" and it should be made a part of everyone's daily life for peace and harmony.
Mass yoga events were held in schools, public places, lawns of residential localities and office complexes across thousands of Indian villages, cities, and towns -- from the deserts of Rajasthan to eastern planes and from the Himalayan heights to high seas -- on naval warships -- down south. The celebrations of the day and yoga performances even went high up in the sky at 35,000 feet above Earth on some morning flights.
Modi, in a white T-shirt and a payjama with a stole around his neck, led from the front in Chandigarh's Capitol Complex. Stretching on a mat and staring at the overcast Chandigarh skies, he himself performed the asanas among the crowd of over 30,000 yoga enthusiasts.
"Yoga binds body, mind, intelligence and soul. It provides a balance to mind and body. Anyone can do it anywhere," said Modi, a keen yoga enthusiast on whose proposal the UN marked June 21 to be celebrated as the International Yoga Day every year.
In the run-up to the celebrations, the government had created a huge hype to popularize the event, asking people to organise ceremonies for mass participations.
In Delhi, as the morning sun broke through the overnight clouds, tens of thousands of its residents performed asanas. Over 10,000 people gathered at Central Park in the heart of Connaught Place and the circular road around it, making it one of the largest yoga events in the city.
It rained heavily in Mumbai but that did not deter lakhs of school and college students and men and women of all ages from doing yoga exercises in many parts of the city and suburbs.
The Indian Navy in Mumbai completed a three-week long capsule to train 25 personnel and popularise yoga among thousands of its sailors and civilians while over 2,000 took part in a yoga programme at Kohli Grounds.
Tamil Nadu capital Chennai also saw thousands of people performing yoga. The navy marked the day with its officers and personnel performing yoga on INS Adyar.
And it wasn't just the metro cities.
In Jammu and Kashmir, scores performed yoga exercises and the main function was held at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu. Similar functions were held in Srinagar and Leh and Kargil towns of the Ladakh region.
In Himachal Pradesh, the day was observed amid cloudy conditions and yet thousands did asanas in hundreds of camps across the state.
In Left-ruled Kerala, the day sparked a controversy as Health Minister K.K. Shailaja was irked by Sanskrit kirtans rendered at an event. She pointed out that yoga doesn't belong to any particular religion and is also practised by atheists.
Celebrations were also held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and northeastern states.
High up in the sky, budget airline SpiceJet conducted practice sessions on all its two-hour morning flights. It was a special 10-minute 'Upa-Yoga' onboard capsule for its passengers and crew. The participants performed while seated. The special asanas are believed to help activate joints, muscles and energy systems to overcome jetlag, fear of flying and breathing difficulties.
FROM TIMES SQUARE TO SYDNEY HARBOUR - YOGA UNIFIES ALL
From several thousand enthusiasts participating in mass yoga sessions all through the day at New York's iconic Times Square, to mass yoga in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, at the European Union parliament, and even atop Sydney Harbour Bridge -- the ancient Indian tradition got a fillip across the world on Tuesday in the second edition of International Yoga Day.
Thousands of yoga enthusiasts celebrated the International Yoga Day at Times Square a day early to coincide with the Summer Solstice.
The theme of the annual solstice celebrations in Times Square was "Mind over Madness Yoga".
The celebrations began at 5 a.m. with eight sessions scheduled through the day ending at 8.30 p.m. Over 30 yoga studios participated in the celebrations held in a three-block area at Times Square.
There was enthusiastic turnout of yoga among India's neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Enthusiasts participated in yoga asanas in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup posted pictures of Yoga Day celebrations at Indian missions from across the world -- in UAE, Tunisia, Sudan, Iraq, Astana, Bishkek, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif and even at the iconic Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.
He tweeted that there was tremendous response to IYD across Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam and events were also held in Africa, mainly in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
A dozen yoga practitioners stood in posture of namastey atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the rising sun forming a beautiful backdrop. The Hindu Council of Australia collaborated in hosting the world's first yoga event atop Sydney Harbour Bridge.
At the European Parliament, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was the main guest as he led the International Yoga Day celebrations.
An Indian Youth Delegation to China celebrated the occasion in the southern Chinese city of Guilin.
International Day of Yoga was also celebrated at Wuxi Hollywood Studios in Jiangsu, as well as in Simatai and Xi'an and at the Great Wall.
South Koreans performed yoga on board an Indian Navy vessel in Busan, while reports of yoga celebrations also came in from Morocco, Guyana and Honduras.
