The International Day of Yoga was celebrated online across the country on Sunday as people remained indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students and teachers of yoga paid homage to Sage Patanjali - considered the proponent of the ancient discipline - via video-conferencing.
National Sanskrit University (NSU) celebrated the occasion by offering prayers to Sage Patanjali. Experts performed ‘Yogasanas’ on the dais under the guidance of Vice-Chancellor V. Muralidhara Sharma, and the proceedings were video-recorded and uploaded on the internet for the benefit of thousands of viewers from across the State and abroad.
Prof. Sharma stressed the need for a healthy respiratory system in order to keep pandemics like coronavirus at bay, and appealed to the public to inculcate yoga in their daily lives. “There is no lifesaving drug available for coronavirus as of now. The government has urged people to boost their immunity, which can be achieved by practicing yoga and meditation,” he said. He recalled that the varsity was also providing yoga therapy to students suffering from several disorders.
At the Armed Reserve Parade grounds, police personnel of the Tirupati Urban District led by Additional Superintendent of Police E. Supraja performed yoga. “Yoga is not only about body postures or breath control techniques, but also a comprehensive tool to improve one’s intellect,” Ms. Supraja said.
At Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati (IIT-T), students performed yogasanas by watching online videos. Director K.N. Satyanarayana said that the event was themed as ‘Yoga at home, Yoga with family’.
Sri Padmavathi Women’s University (SPMVV) conducted a webinar on ‘Role of Yoga in improving immunity’ under the banner of its NSS bureau, where its coordinator K. Katyayani spoke on the need for a balanced diet and yoga. R. Lakshminarayana, an academic from Sanskrit University, participated as a resource person and explained how yoga would improve physical and mental health.
30 Andhra Battalion (Kadapa) Commanding Officer Colonel S.K. Chauhan conducted a yoga session for the staff. Lt. Col. Ravi Chandran and Major C. Vijayabhaskar and NCC officers took part.
In Ongole, people performed various yogasanas at a yoga festival here on Sunday.
Patanjali Yoga Peetam State president G. Balasubramanium led the yoga practitioners in performing difficult yoga postures online as a total lockdown was in force in the area.
The yoga guru, who has trained thousands of students in and around Ongole, guided them in performing yoga postures including Suryanamaskarams coinciding with the solar eclipse and some yogic postures to keep respiratory diseases at bay.