International Yoga Day 2023: President Murmu, Rajnath Singh and India twist and bend

On the 9th International Yoga Day, President Droupadi Murmu joined in the celebrations at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Performing different yoga asanas, she urged everyone to adopt yoga in their daily lives and experience its transformative power. Image Courtesy: @RashtrapatiBhavn/Twitter

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performs different yoga asanas with Indian Navy personnel onboard India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, in Kochi. After an hour of yoga, the defence minister interacted with the participants and hailed the ancient practice. Image Courtesy: @rajnathsingh/Twitter

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath performs yoga on the International Day of Yoga, in Gorakhpur. Wednesday’s event is aimed to raise awareness worldwide of the benefits of practising yoga, some nine years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully lobbied the UN. PTI

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan performs yoga on the International Day of Yoga, in Jabalpur. “Not just our country but the whole world is now passionate about Yoga,” he said on the special day. PTI

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur performs yoga during a session on International Day of Yoga, in Hamirpur. Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandviya, and Piyush Goyal, as well as Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena also attended yoga activities in the city. Image Courtesy: @ianuragthakur/Twitter

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari performs yoga at Yashwant Stadium in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule also joined him, PTI

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla along with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha officials perform yoga during a session on the International Day of Yoga, at the Parliament House complex in New Delhi. Yoga activities were held in the national capital in Nehru Park, Lodhi Garden, Talkatora Garden, Kartavya Path, New Moti Bagh-IAS Residences area, Sanjay Jheel, Singapore Park, and Central Park-Connaught Place. PTI

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi with others performs yoga on the International Day of Yoga at the Old Fort, in New Delhi. Recognising its universal appeal, the United Nations in December 2014 proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga by a resolution. PTI

BJP MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore twists and bends Yoga Day, at the Maharana Pratap Sports College, in Jaipur. PTI

People pose for the camera as they perform yoga on International Yoga Day at Purana Qila, or Old Fort in New Delhi. Notably, the theme for the International Day of Yoga this year is ‘Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or ‘Yoga for the Welfare of All as One World-One Family.’ Reuters

Indian Army personnel performs Yoga at the world’s highest saltwater lake — Pangong Tso. ANI

Indian Army personnel performs Yoga at Pangong Tso Lake, situated at a height of almost 13,862 ft. ANI

Army soldiers in the Jammu region perform yoga on a bridge. Indian Army held yoga sessions at several sites in the Jammu area districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, and Jammu in the weeks leading up to International Yoga Day. PTI

<span class="highlight" data-qa-component="highlight-text">In Mumbai, young girls were seen wearing the traditional Maharashtrian saree and participating in yoga </span>in front of the Taj Hotel. On this International Yoga Day, India is not only raising awareness of the health benefits of yoga and meditation but also highlighting the talent of its tribal artists. Reuters

People perform yoga to celebrate the International Day of Yoga, at Gateway of India in Mumbai. The Ministry of Ayush is working with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED) to provide 34,000 yoga mats that were uniquely made by tribal craftsmen around the nation. PTI

Students perform yoga at the Atal Bridge, during International Yoga Day in Ahmedabad. Gujarat minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi said the Yoga Day event in Surat has set a “new Guinness World Record” for the largest gathering of people for a yoga session at one place. Reuters