Indian ambassadors scattered across the world will be bending backwards—quite literally—and forward too, come June 21st. From registering large numbers to perform yoga to distributing free yoga mats and organising special food, embassies across 192 countries are going all for this Yoga Day.
In China—where the warmth of the Wuhan summit is still going strong—the Yoga day celebrations will kick off on 16th June at a special function at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation headquarters. This is the first time that an event like this has been held at the headquarters, which makes it “extra special’’. India is a newly minted member and such display of bending over backward, figuratively this time, is an acknowledgement of India’s growing power.
There has been an explosion of yoga schools across China. Popular especially with women, there has even been a study “China Yoga Industry Development Report". The Indian Embassy in China will be hoping that some of the practitioners would turn up for their events. So, it is expected that on June 20, the event organised at Zhengding Old City Wall in Shijiazhuang will see 500 participants. The next day, at the Embassy, the numbers are expected to be even more.
Through the display of soft power, the Yoga day has become a way to project India’s global reach. Indian Embassies across the globe are trying to out do each other. There are mass yoga events leading up for the day. In Seychelles, there was a surya namaskar challenge organised by the Indian High Commission at the Vivekananda Yoga Club this Tuesday. The challenge was duly accepted and by all accounts it was a healthy start to the day. A similar challenge has been thrown by the Indian Embassy in Myanmar. In Thailand, the Indian Embassy has decided to woo practitioners a little more than just good health. The participants will be given free yoga mats, a t-shirt and refreshments. And if there was ever a need to be convinced about yoga’s power, the Embassy in Thailand even has an endorsement from the Miss Thailand about the benefits of yoga. At the UN, where this movement began, there will be yoga sessions for everyone who wants to participate.
In Netherlands, there will be a whole day of mass yoga demonstrations, meditation sessions, music, dance and even vegan food. The grand finale in the evening will be a music concert called “The Soul Shanti Concert’’ by violin maestro L. Subramaniam and singer Kavita Krishnamurty. Bending forwards, sometimes helps you win the world.