CHANDIGARH: The city celebrated the eighth International Day of Yoga at 75 venues on Tuesday, with the main event at the Rock Garden, where UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit was chief guest and union minister of state for commerce and industry Som Prakash was guest of honour.
They planted a sapling on this occasion and joined the 2,200 participants in stretching and bending. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address from Mysuru was livestreamed. Students from the Institute for the Blind also performed yoga virtually from their hometowns, since it was their summer break.
Yoga reduces PGI
doctors’ health risk
PGI’s ‘CCRYN-Centre for Mind Body Intervention through Yoga’ gathered more than 150 healthcare workers for the event. The elite hospital has daily 5-minute yoga break at 11am conducted by nodal officers. This event was livestreamed on Yoga Day. “The PGI also holds 30-minute yoga sessions called SMET (self-management of excessive tension), DRT (deep relaxation technique), MSRT (mind sound resonance technique), and QRT (quick relaxation technique),” said yoga research officer Dr Monika Gautam.
These scientifically validated yoga protocols reduce the risk of lifestyle disorders emerging from the doctors’ hectic routine and compassion fatigue. These have helped the medical students and doctors improve their physical and mental health. Harvard’s yoga professor Dr Sara Lazar spoke on ‘Yoga and the brain’, describing how meditation reduces stress and anxiety, improves cognition, and stems dementia.
600 bend it at GMCH
At Government Medical College and Hospital, Setor 32, the Yoga Day event was in Block-E at Levels 1 and VII, where more than 600 students and members of the staff performed asanas and honoured the winners of a poster-making contest. The Government Rehabilitation Institute for Intellectual Disabilities (GRIID) gathered more than 100 students from special school and college for the session under yoga trainer Dr Anish Garg. Research assistant Vandana also guided the students. Another group of 50 from the special school and college went to the Rock Garden event.
PEC does inner
engineering
Punjab Engineering College’s yoga session was in the new Centenary Hall with more than 100 participants, who did yoga for flexibility, stress management, and boosting their mental power. DSA D R. Prajapati, ADSA (sport) Sarabjit Singh, and chairman (estate) Rakesh Kumar were present.
DPS leads 33-school event at Leisure Valley
Delhi Public School followed the school education department and central education ministry’s instructions to join the Yoga Day celebrations for which Chandigarh was one of the 75 Indian venues. This year’s theme was ‘Yoga for Humanity’. The DPS event was organized at the Leisure Valley with 300 students from 33 private and government schools joined by their teachers and other staff. The session began with a motivational song and dance presentation followed by warmup, stretching, and a series of asanas. Delhi Public School principal Reema Dewan said the essence of yoga was balance, not only of the body but also of the mind and the spirit. Cong at landfill
The Chandigarh Congress workers did their Yoga Day exercises at the Dadumajra dumping ground. Chandigarh Congress president H S Lucky said the landfill had become an eyesore because garbage processing had failed to match the palce of daily inflow. He said: “The Congress had promised during the MC elections that if it managed to form its mayor, it will put an end to all the dumping at Dadumajra.
PANCHKULA
177 countries adopted yoga, says Gupta
Haryana assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta was chief guest for the Panchkula administration’s Yoga Day event at the Sector 5 parade ground. Deputy commissioner Mahavir Kaushik, mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, and deputy commissioner of police Surinder Pal Singh were present with officials, schoolchildren, and personnel from the ITBP, CRPF, Army, and police, along with players. Gupta said: “Today, 177 countries have adopted yoga and held related events in their cities.”
Hry DGP does yoga with cops
Haryana DGP P K Agrawal practiced guided asanas with the other cops at the state’s Police Officers’ Institute.
