– Indian High Commissioner says as Guyana observes Yoga Day

THE High Commission of India, in collaboration with the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), celebrated the sixth International Day of Yoga on Sunday online with special effort put towards educating persons about the benefits of yoga.

Due to the pandemic-related restrictions, designated persons demonstrated the practice of yoga via zoom while remarks came from notable individuals both locally and abroad. The theme given to the observation of International Yoga Day to suit the situation is: ‘Yoga at home and Yoga with family’.

In his opening remarks, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, said that though the practice has been passed down from generation to generation, it has not lost its value to modern society.

“Yoga, as you all know, is a gift to the world from ancient India. It is an intangible cultural heritage as declared by UNESCO. The practice of yoga has proven to be very beneficial for the physical, mental and spiritual health of individuals and focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body; between the individual and society and between human kind nature,” he said.

Dr. Srinivasa explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has left the High Commission with no other option but to celebrate the day remotely, but the slowdown in activity has also created a greater avenue of time for persons to take a break from their busy schedules to get involved in yoga.

He stated: “Due to a slowdown in daily activity, accumulation of stress and potential disruptions of normal routines, the health building and stress relieving aspects of yoga are highly relevant in this present scenario. Yoga is also an effective way to boost immunity…celebrating the yoga in this way would also be a means of family and social bonding.”

In a global message presented on Sunday, Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, said that yoga has something to offer to everyone and enables strong minds and healthy bodies. He said that moving past the pandemic, focus on preventative healthcare will become even more important to the world and is why practices such as yoga will always have relevance.

“I am confident that yoga will become even more popular,” he said, adding “these are times of distancing…but yoga is that which joins or brings things together. Yoga ends various kinds of distance. Distance between our mind and body — which is the root cause to many problems; distance between the life we have and the life we want to have, and distance between our expectation and reality which can become a source of stress.”
During the event, remarks were also shared by Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Timothy Harris. The Prime Minister stated that yoga unites the consciousness of the soul and body and should be seen by more as an important, especially during these challenging times.

“At no time has it been made more apparent, than at this momentous important juncture in history, that the most important connection we have on earth, apart from with ourselves, is to our families. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought us closer to our families and our loved ones…the International Yoga Day 2020 theme, ‘Yoga at home and Yoga with family’, is therefore well chosen,” he remarked.

Also providing messages to the Guyanese public were Guyanese Cricketer, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and former West Indies Cricket Captain, Richie Richard, who put forward that yoga impacts the life of a person at every level and remains an art and science for healthy living.