By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
A day where mind meets the body, as the Indian High Commission put together the 11th International Yoga Day celebration where yoga enthusiasts had the pleasure of gathering and entering into a head space of complete serenity as a community. This International Yoga day celebration was held at the Union Building in Pretoria on Sunday, 22 June.
The intention behind the celebration being hosted at the Union Building is to emphasize that yoga fosters unity amongst people because it gives one the opportunity to practice presence of mind and patience, and when it is done in a communal way it fosters a collective space for people to achieve outer peace.
Many distinguished yoga teachers had the opportunity to guide the session in order for the yogi’s to experience different perspectives and techniques. The Deputy High Commissioner of India, Banu Prakash, expressed to Diplomatic Insider about the growing popularity of yoga in South Africa.
“Yoga as you know if a gift from India to the world, and this 11th edition is a testament to the gaining popularity of yoga in South Africa, yesterday we also had a session in the Drakensberg mountain as well as the Cradle of Humankind, so all these iconic places where we did Yoga was in order to showcase the intangible heritage of yoga and heritage of South Africa.” said the Deputy High Commissioner.
The High Commissioner of India delivered a speech about International Yoga day and the significance it has in South Africa. “ The theme of this year’s Yoga Day is yoga for one earth, one health. Yoga above all teaches balance within ourselves, with the world around us and therefore to remain compassionate in all circumstances. This became very important during Covid19 when the world was tested not just in terms of healthcare but also in terms of its ability of caring and sharing… So whether you are a beginner or a practitioner, today’s celebration will enthuse you to continue your journey with yoga and help you in further enhancing your mental, physical and spiritual health.”
The Inception of International Yoga Day was in 2015 after the United Nations had recognised the day back in 2014, since then this seminar has taken place for the past 10 years and has been growing steadily since it was established. Experienced Yogi enthusiast Bev Naude, has even gone on and founded the Tshwane Yoga festival which started 2 years ago in order to increase the expansion of Yoga in South Africa, and they are hosted on the University of Pretoria campus.
“I am a very passionate yogi from Pretoria and I’ve been here all my life, I have been practicing for 60 years, I have been with the international day of yoga since its inception in 2015 and we got together as a group to present International day of yoga… I was involved, I am on the committee that organized, I am also the founder and coordinator of the Tshwane Yoga Festival which we started up because the International Day of Yoga in winter here in the southern hemisphere, I suggested two years ago that we started in summer or spring, I started it up two years ago we’re in our third year very successful, we have it out at the University campus.”