Close to 600 yoga practitioners gathered at the golf course of the India House Estate in Thimphu for a mega yoga session yesterday. It was to celebrate the 4th International Day of Yoga.
Yoga has been gaining popularity among the Bhutanese over the years. This is quite evident from the fact that there are over 4,000 registered yoga practitioners with the Nehru Wangchuck Cultural Centre in Thimphu.
Among the participants were the prime minister, India Ambassador, some ministers, senior government officials, IMTRAT and DANTAK officials, and students.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a growing health concern worldwide. Bhutan spends more than Nu 180 m every year to treat people with advanced NCDs in hospitals outside the country.
Yoga is seen as an effective way to combat lifestyle diseases. “Yoga does offer relieve from a number of lifestyle diseases, which are afflicting millions and millions of people,” Indian Ambassador Jaideep Sarkar said.
The idea of the International Day of Yoga was first proposed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2014.
In the following year, the UN General Assembly declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga. It has since become an annual affair around the globe.
In Bhutan, the day this year was pushed to 24 June for the convenience of the participants.
