Ahead of International Yoga Day, more than 700 people participated in the yoga event at Trafalgar Square. The event was organised by the High Commission of India in the UK.
After being adopted by the United Nations, International Yoga Day is commemorated across the globe annually on June 21.
Speaking with news agency ANI, the Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami said, “It was a great pleasure to be able to have well over 700 people here in this central spot in London. With the iconic statues all around it. And of course, to have multiple yoga schools come here and lead us in the practice of yoga.”
He also highlighted that in London, people from all walks of life joined in, “exemplifying the point that our Prime Minister has made, that yoga unites everybody and that yoga is for everybody.”
When asked what’s different this year, Indian envoy Doraiswami pointed out that there were more participants, additional yoga schools, and a greater diversity of communities present.
However, the main focus remains on yoga’s role in healing and personal growth, rather than looking for changes in participation.
“Different in the sense that we had even more people up here; we’ve had more yoga schools join us; and we’ve had, in a sense, a bigger diversity of communities here,” Doraiswami said on Saturday.
“But the idea wasn’t to be different; the idea was to be to take through the continuity of yoga as a means of healing and as a means of growing,” he added.
Speaking with news agency ANI, Co-founder of the Indian Diaspora in the UK Hirdesh Gupta said, “We are here today at Trafalgar Square to celebrate the 10th International Day of Yoga organised by the High Commission of India. A lot of people here have joined in today to celebrate yoga. We want to thank PM Modi for recognising Yoga at the United Nations. Now, everybody is adopting yoga and making it a part of their day-to-day life.”
The theme of this year’s event was “women’s empowerment.”