Yoga, a perfect mantra for staying fit

Leaders, government employees and others take part in yoga sessions to mark the International Yoga Day

(Clockwise) Women performing yoga atKBR National Park in the city on Tuesday; Students of GitanjaliSchool, Begumpet, taking part in a yoga session on the schoolpremises; Students of Telangana State Residential Schoolfrom Choutuppal in Naglonda district performing yoga atSanjeevaiah Park; actor N. Balakrishna performing an asanaat KBR National Park; Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya at amass yoga session at Sanjeevaiah Park. Photos: Nagara Gopal

On a sunny morning, stretching, salutations and selfies marked the second International Yoga Day in the city on Tuesday.

Nearly all the government institutions held yoga sessions for its employees, with some even serving specially prepared recipes for breakfast. At Raj Bhavan, Governor and his family with a few officials of the Telangana and AP governments observed the day with a yoga session organised at Durbar Hall. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan urged everybody to practice yoga to beat stress and anxiety.

For Telangana Ministers and staff, a session was organised at L.B. Stadium where Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Transport Minister Mahender Reddy and Health Minister C. Laxma Reddy participated along with the officials of the government departments. The Indian Army too organised a session for its personnel stationed at Secunderabad, Mehdipatnam and Golconda.

Parks across the city hosted yoga teaching sessions for all citizens.

At KBR Park, actor and chairman of Basvatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, N. Balakrishna, participated in a yoga session organised for the hospital’s staff.

At Picket Garden, Bharatiya Yog Sansthan held a session for patrons of the park. Picket centre in-charge Yadagiri and yoga teachers R. Sreedhar Rao of CBIT, Mohanlal, B. Srinivas and Ranganatham participated in the programme.

Staff of Apollo Hospital were seen meditating on the occasion. A session was also organised for 100 pregnant women by Kovida Sahrudaya Foundation. Not to be outdone, star hotels, including The Park, organised yoga sessions for its guests.

A massive event was organised for students mainly from Osmania University and JNTU-H at Gachibowli Stadium, in which many from other educational institutions across the State took part.

Sportspersons training at Pulela Gopichand Academy also observed the day with a session for the 50-odd trainees at the academy.

International Yoga Day was also observed at Gitanjali Senior School, Begumpet. The event was graced by Minister of Textiles Raghuram, who spoke about the tradition of yoga that India has contributed to the world. Various members of The Art of Living were also present. School students and faculty performed several asanas while reciting shlokas.

Maulana Azad National Urdu University observed International Yoga Day. The programme was graced by Ramakant Sahu, who explained the importance of yoga for a healthy life. Various asanas were demonstrated by yoga guru Ram Avatar Tiwari. Mohammad Fariyad, coordinator of National Service Scheme and Yoga Day, in his remarks, said that the government was focused on promoting yoga.