Georgia Celebrates International Yoga Day

The International Yoga Day was celebrated for the first time in Georgia in Rike Park on June 26.

According to the decision of the organizers, the Embassy of India in Armenia and Georgia, United Nations (UN) in Georgia, Tbilisi City Hall and various Georgian Yoga Centers, the Yoga Day was held in a format of a charity event with participants expressing their solidarity towards the victims of the flood of June 13.

Yoga workshops, master classes and lectures on a healthy lifestyle were held by leading Yoga trainers and an exhibition was displayed by a variety of companies and organizations who support healthy living.

The event was attended by the Ambassador of India to Armenia and Georgia, Suresh Babu; Head of the United Nations in Georgia, Niels Scott; Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi, Irakli Lekvinadze and many more.

“This is a unique event,” said Babu. “It is noted in the book of Guinness Records as the biggest scale Yoga training. It is an honour for us that even in such a hard days, as it is today for Georgia, people still have hospitality. I am pleased that Georgia joined such an important occasion.”

June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014. Yoga, a 6,000+ year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice originating from India (Bharat), aims to transform body and mind. The declaration came after the call for the adoption of 21 June as International Day of Yoga by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modiduring in his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014.

“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. It is not about exercise but discovering the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day,” stated Modiduring at the UN General Assembly.

Tbilisi Yoga Day Project Coordinator, Maiko Chitashvili, said that the event was held with the financial support of the Mayor’s Office of Tbilisi.

“Attending the event is free. However, all the gathered money will be transferred to the flood victims’ fund,” Chitashvili said.

This year International Yoga Day was celebrated in 251 cities of 100 different countries. In Deli, India, more than 35,000 people took part in the event.

Tatia Megeneishvili