Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Visakhapatnam as a confluence of progress and nature, addressing a large gathering at the International Yoga Day celebrations on the city’s coast.
Extending greetings to participants, Modi said yoga had united the world and noted that 175 countries had supported the International Yoga Day proposal. He called it remarkable that yoga was now practised in all of them.
He said yoga was a collective process that enhances humanity and that over the past decade, it had touched the lives of millions. People of all ages, from rural villages to urban centres, were now embracing yoga, he added.
This year’s celebrations were held under the theme “One Earth, One Health”. Modi pointed to the participation of naval personnel practising yoga aboard ships off the Visakhapatnam coast.
He congratulated Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister V. Kalyan for organising the event on such a scale.
Modi said AIIMS Delhi was developing yoga-based therapeutic models and that systems were being built to bring yoga further into public life.
He also referred to recent discussions on yoga in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast and stressed that Indian culture teaches responsibility for the welfare of all.
He called yoga a vital tool for individual discipline and a path to peace amid global challenges. He said the mindset of “from me to we” must begin with yoga.
Modi also remarked on the growing burden of obesity, suggesting a 10% reduction in oil consumption in daily diets.