Launch of International Yoga Day programmes:By North coast rising sun.co.za

The launch of this project will see many communities benefitting through various yoga and wellness programmes, which will be conducted by yoga experts. Foundation members will be travelling through various communities, in rural areas, towns, and cities to promote yoga.

President of the KwaZulu-Natal International Business Association, Omie Singh, philanthropist and humanitarian, Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu, and CEO of the Rising Sun Community Newspapers, Vijay Maharaj show their support for the upcoming yoga programmes.

The Sivananda World Peace Foundation will this year launch the 2023 international yoga programmes on May 6 at the Rydalvale grounds in Phoenix at 2pm.Yoga experts will be present together with the community to perform a live demonstration of the yoga protocol. 

The launch of this project will see many communities benefitting through various yoga and wellness programmes, which will be conducted by yoga experts. Foundation members will be travelling through various communities, in rural areas, towns, and cities to promote yoga. 

Members are very delighted that they will be able to demonstrate yoga on a large scale to benefit various communities. 

“Yoga is a source of inspiration that binds us all as a nation. It teaches us to remain calm through turbulent times. We will continue to promote social cohesion in all communities. All races will participate creating oneness and peace in keeping with our theme: Yoga for health, wellness, and humanity,” said members.

Currently, the foundation has online and physical programmes in rural schools and at various religious institutions.“As we celebrate this day, we strongly emphasise that we all should live in harmony and peace. Yoga is a medium in which we can achieve social cohesion, peace, and harmony. For the past six months, we have been to schools across the province to highlight the benefits of yoga to pupils. 

We feel that pupils need to be taught yoga to encourage them to concentrate more on their studies. Children are faced with many challenges and by us bringing yoga to schools will enhance their concentration and make them excel in their studies. Yoga is essentially a discipline, which also brings harmony to all walks of life, and thus is known for disease prevention, health promotion, and management of many lifestyle–related disorders. 

Yoga is a 5, 000- year-old physical, mental, and spiritual practice speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Yoga gurus or teachers from India later introduced yoga to the West, following the success of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda, and B K Iyengar in the late 19th and early 20th century. We have launched a mobile yoga trailer to visit communities. 

The objective of us having the mobile yoga vehicle is to create awareness on yoga and how it benefits everyone in better understanding the significance of traditional and authentic yoga techniques,” they continued.

 At the initiative hosted by the Prime Minister of India, a resolution to establish June 21 as the International Day of Yoga was approved.

In its resolution, the UNGA recognised that yoga provided a holistic approach to health and well-being, and wider dissemination of the information on the benefits of practicing yoga should be given for the overall health of the world population.

In his address at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and fulfillment, harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and well-being.

”By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, yoga can help us deal with climate change too.“Yoga is not just about working out, it’s about a healthy lifestyle. The practice of yoga allows students to be still in a world consumed with chaos. Peace and tranquility are achieved through focused training that appeals to everyone. It is estimated that close to 200 million people around the world practice yoga (of some form or the other), a majority of them in India, and over 20 million of them in the United States alone. We encourage all communities to follow a yogic lifestyle, a life that is healthy, humble, and devout. 

All yoga experts, who want to volunteer in these initiatives across the province, can give us their contact details,” they continued.

They invite members of the community to join them as well on June 18, 2023, at the Durban Amphitheatre where thousands will come together to perform the International Yoga Day Programme at 8am.

For more information, send an email to sivanandaworldpeace@gmail.com or call 083-357-8747.