The International Day of Yoga was celebrated at Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre, Choglamsar, on June 21 on its school campus. With the help of Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, as MIMC in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Leh and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, the event was successfully conducted.
To observe the International Day of Yoga, an organisation each from every district of the country has been marked and approved for organising the event. It is a matter of great pride that Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre, has been recognised by Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, for conducting the event. Last year also, MIMC had celebrated the auspicious day on its school campus.
Mahabodhi organised various yoga classes with the guidance of four expert yoga teachers from May 21, 2016 to June 20, 2016, at different venues such as Mahabodhi Centre at Changspa, Mahabodhi Sambodhi Retreat Centre, Mahabodhi Residential School and at its Global Family Home in Choglamsar, as part of the International Day of Yoga celebration throughout the country. MIMC organised these yoga classes with active support from Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN), Ministry of AYUSH.
Shri Prasanna Ramaswamy G, IAS, Deputy Commissioner Leh, was the chief guest on the occasion, while Venerable Sanghasena, spiritual director and founder president of MIMC, presided over the function. The venerable monks from Thailand, Tajamala Ara, District Coodinator of Nehru Yiva Kendra, Leh, were guests of honour on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Venerable Sanghasena, founder president of MIMC, said, “We were the first in Ladakh to stress on the importance of yoga and meditation. People may earn lot of money, achieve success in life and go on to work in big companies but without doing yoga or meditation they are incomplete. Their stress level is high and doing yoga everyday can help in balancing the life. There is need for people of Ladakh to do yoga everyday as due to hectic schedule and busy lifestyle, lots of people are committing suicide.”
A “youth convention” was also organised by MIMC and Nehru Yuva Kendra Leh on the same day in which youth was made aware of the effects of drug abuse and creating an alcohol-free Ladakh by the experts.
Dr Tashi Namgyal, Block Medical Officer, Leh, spoke about drug abuse. “There is no doubt that taking drugs and other substance can cause damage to your health. Doing yoga is one of the effective ways to combat drug abuse and for enjoying a healthy lifestyle.”
Later, Shri Prasanna Ramaswamy G, IAS, Deputy Commissioner Leh, requested the students to make yoga a habit. “I never realized the importance of yoga while I was in the school. But now I know its importance and request the students to practice yoga.”
Tajamala Ara, District Coodinator of Nehru Yiva Kendra, Leh, thanked the venerable monks from Thailand, Ven Sanghasena, yoga experts, students and foreigners for making the event a successful one.
A team of yoga experts led by Mike Narada, Ms Kunzang Dechen, Ms Yuki, Ms Shashi and yoga teacher from Germany conducted the event. As many as 400 people, including students from the school, took part.
The two-minute opening prayer was followed by five-minute body-loosening exercise and a series of asanas spread over 15 minutes. Then, after five minutes of pranayam, meditation was held for five minutes. The last few minutes included pledge by the participants and the closing prayer.
It may be recalled that on December 11, 2014, United Nations decided to observe June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. Shri Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, addressing the 193-member UN General Assembly, proposed to adopt June 21 as International Yoga Day, which was later accepted by UN after the proposal got overwhelming support from 177 nations.
