Tel Aviv: Hundreds of Yoga enthusiasts in Israel, a country that boasts of the highest number of practitioners and teachers of the ancient Indian discipline per capita of population, participated in the 9th International Day of Yoga celebrations on Wednesday (June 21). The celebrations here are marked by a series of events across the country every year, and the same vigour was visible this year, leading into the main event organised at the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation in collaboration with the Indian mission in Israel and the Indian Cultural Centre.
India’s Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla, Director General of the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation, Efrat Duvdevani, and Anat Ben-Levi, a member of Tel Aviv-Yafo City Council, participated in the event. Mr. Singla said,
Yoga is a gift from India to the whole world. It is our ancient heritage that transcends borders, and in Israel, I am happy to know that Yoga is becoming an integrated part of the local culture. The International Day of Yoga is a perfect opportunity to further spread the benefits of yoga
Ms. Duvdevani, in her address, recalled former President Shimon Peres’ active role in establishing full diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992 while serving as the foreign minister at that time. The Director General of the centre said,
I am very happy to host the International Day of Yoga. In 1992, Shimon Peres was posted as the foreign minister under Yitzhak Rabin’s government. Together they led the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and India, which are the basis for the fruitful cooperation that exists to this day between the two countries in the fields of economy, energy, agriculture, security and more
She further added,
Our centre, the Peace House of Shimon Peres, where women, men, children and teenagers, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, religious, secular and more gather every day, matched like a glove for this lovely day, a day full of calm and peace
Anat Ben Levi, the city council member of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, spoke of Yoga’s,
Connection between the body and the soul. What characterises the values of the yoga day matches the values of the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, among them freedom, love, giving, and the acceptance of everyone
Talia Sutra, an Israeli who has become a global celebrity in the Yoga world, and Darshana Rajput, a yoga expert at the Indian Cultural Centre in Tel Aviv, led the practice session at the event.
The event concluded with a spiritual music performance by Sandrine Santal and her band, who weaved together the rich Indian tradition with charming bhajans and hymns.
Almost every form of Yoga has patrons in Israel, but Ashtanga Yoga, with some 95 centres across the country, is the favourite, followed by Vinyasa and Vijnana, with more than fifty centres countrywide.
Another popular stream of Yoga is the Iyengar School of Yoga which has 30 centres across the country.
There are more than 1,100 registered Yoga teachers in Israel, and Yoga centres can be found in almost every major township of the country.
Also Read: PM Modi In US: Meets Healthcare Experts On Eradicating Diseases Like Tuberculosis
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
