Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s yoga guru H R Nagendra will lead the International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations at the iconic Times Square in New York
on June 21. Ahead of the IDY celebrations, Nagendra will also inaugurate a special Yoga and wellness retreat at Monticello, New York, from June 12 to 14. The retreat will feature yoga sessions, meditation, lectures on stress management, healthy aging, holistic wellness, and interactive discussions with community leaders, physicians, and wellness professionals. The retreat is being organised by the Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA), BRUHUD NY Seniors, and Jaipur Foot USA. It will be attended by Nagendra, a Padma Shri awardee and president of the Bengaluru-based Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhan Samsthana (S-VYASA) University, and N K Manjunath, vice chancellor of the university. Nagendra will also be the chief guest at the International Day of Yoga celebrations at Times Square on June 21, organised by the Consulate General of India in New York. “I am delighted to visit New York for the International Day of Yoga celebrations. I am honored to join the Times Square Yoga event at the invitation of the Consulate General of India, New York,” Nagendra said in a statement. “Yoga is India’s timeless gift to humanity. The global recognition of yoga received a historic boost through the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose initiative at the United Nations led to the declaration of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga,” Prem Bhandari, President of RANA, said. The theme for this year's IDY is ‘Yoga for Healthy Aging,’ which seeks to position yoga as a tool for promoting longevity, mobility, and preventive healthcare. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 11, 2014, declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. The first International Day of Yoga was celebrated on June 21, 2015. Since then, millions of people around the globe have celebrated this day each year.
