Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday encouraged people to practise yoga to boost their immune system amid a surge in novel coronavirus cases across the country.
“Yoga boosts the immune system of the body,” Modi said.
“Pranayama yoga or breathing exercises strengthen our respiratory system. It is more relevant in the current times as it is the respiratory system of the body that is most adversely affected by the Covid-19 virus,” the prime minister said.
“A lot of coronavirus patients across the world are benefiting due to yoga. The power of yoga is helping them defeat this disease,” said the 69-year-old leader.
Modi was addressing the nation on International Day of Yoga, which was marked by a series of online events.
Very few mass yoga sessions were held due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
India’s coronavirus caseload topped 400,000 yesterday as the country registered a record daily increase of 15,413 new patients, the Health Ministry said.
Some 13,250 patients have died in India as a result of the virus.
Across the world, approximately 8.9mn people have been affected by the pandemic.
Making a strong case for people to take up yoga, he said, “Anybody can embrace yoga. All you need is some time and empty space”.
He added, “If we can fine tune our course of health and home, the day is not far away when the world will witness the success of healthy and happy humanity.”
In previous years, Modi led yoga events attended by tens of thousands of participants across the country.
In light of the pandemic, the government said this year’s theme would be “Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family.”
“This year we are celebrating Yoga Day at our homes. Today is also a day we will strengthen the bond with our family,” Modi said.
Television footage showed Indians including several leaders of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doing yoga poses at homes while yoga gurus like Baba Ramdev livestreamed sessions.
Security forces and paramilitary personnel also practised yoga across the country - including on horseback - as well as in the high-altitude Himalayan regions with sub-zero temperatures.
Several Indian missions abroad also organised online events to mark the occasion.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu urged educational institutions to include yoga as part of online learning programmes to improve immunity. He said children must be introduced to the ancient Indian technique at a young age
He said yoga is a unique gift of India to the world which is successfully transforming millions of lives around the globe.
“I am glad that ‘Unicef Kid Power’ has listed 13 yoga stretches and poses for children,” Naidu said.
The 5,000-year-old tradition is not a mere workout, he said, adding: “It is a science that emphasises balance, poise, grace, equanimity, peace and harmony”.
Various components of yoga such as postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques together help in bringing about a positive transformation in the human body and mind in innumerable ways, Naidu said.
Referring to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the physical and mental health of the people, the vice president said, “Indeed the world is going through challenging times and we simply cannot allow the pandemic to get the better of us. We have to unite and put up a stronger fight and to ensure that we are healthy, both physically and mentally.”
He said yoga can be an effective solution for the high level of stress that the pandemic has created in our lives.
“Yoga is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health and its full potential must be harnessed,” he added.
Yoga, an ancient discipline is one of India’s biggest cultural exports, with millions of practitioners worldwide.
Health workers and staff of Jitendra Narayan Roy hospital perform yoga postures on the terrace of the hospital building to celebrate the International Yoga Day in Kolkata yesterday.
