Beijing: Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts across China spread out their mats on Saturday to show off their passion and skills in India's ancient physical and spiritual practice on the 10th International Yoga Day, despite cooling bilateral relations since the standoff. 2020 military in eastern Ladakh.
Year after year, the number of yoga practitioners participating in official and unofficial International Yoga Day events in different cities is growing, especially young people, officials say.
More than 1,000 yoga enthusiasts participated in a two-hour long program held at the Indian Embassy in Beijing on Saturday. The event was held a day after International Yoga Day in the United States to coincide with the weekend holiday.India's ambassador to China, Pradeep Kumar Rawat, his wife Shruti Rawat and deputy ambassador Abhishek Shukla, In addition to embassy officials, they joined the crowd of yoga practitioners at the special event held in the former embassy premises.
The event had many different aspects of Indian health and wellness traditions. While Master Lokesh Sharma, Professor of Indian Culture at the embassy, led the common yoga protocol, there were also special sessions on meditation by renowned Professor Dr R S Bhogal, meditation expert from the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in Pune.
The event was held in collaboration with four institutes - YogiYoga, We Yoga, Om Shiva Yoga and Hemanth Yoga. The session also had challenges for the participants as enthusiasts tried out 'Ashtavakrasana' (eight angle pose) and the winner was awarded at the end of the event, T S Vivekanand, first secretary of the Indian Embassy in charge of culture. he said.
The participants enthusiastically participated in the common yoga protocol, a standardized yoga practice that includes all aspects of yoga and is suitable for adoption by all age groups, he said. An advanced yoga session and a yoga challenge were also organized for regular yoga practitioners, Vivekanand said.
The event included a moving kirtan performance by NK Singh and a captivating kathak performance by Sohini Karanth, integrating the elements of yoga and meditation. Huge yoga events were also held at the Indian consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as the eastern city of Yiwu, the global commodities market where hundreds of Indian businessmen reside who export billions of dollars of Chinese goods to India.
Vivekanand said there is more attraction from Chinese participants in yoga events organized by the embassy.
While last year more than 270 people participated in the International Yoga Day, this year almost 1,000 participated. Similarly, in the Vasant Mela event held by the embassy in March this year, more than 4,500 people participated, which highlighted the growing interest in Indian culture, food and yoga.
Officials consider the increasing number of events despite bilateral tensions over the standoff in eastern Ladakh in the last four years as an encouraging sign.
For their part, veteran yoga teachers in China say that there is a qualitative difference in the popularity of yoga in China compared to other countries. The unique characteristic of yoga culture in China is its popularity among young people between 20 and 25 years, said Mohan Bhandari, research director at the YogiYoga Institute.
Young people practice yoga in large numbers compared to other countries where many people start taking interest in the Indian physical and spiritual practice after the age of 30 and above.
Bhandari, a native of Rishikesh in India, founded the YogiYoga Institute several years ago with his Chinese wife Yin Yan. The institute has centers in several Chinese cities and conducts training programs, including yoga healing.
Young people who have taken up yoga are already introducing the practice to their children in China, as a result of which the next generation of yoga teachers will come from China, Bhandari said.
Yin Yan, founding president of YogiYoga, says yoga will continue to develop in China due to people's needs and its growing popularity in social life, the workplace and family. However, despite its growing popularity, Yoga institutes suffered major setbacks during the COVID outbreak as hundreds of them closed.
This also caused dozens of Indian yoga teachers working in China to return to India. Bhandari says the yoga industry in China is slowly recovering and the enthusiasm of the Chinese people will continue to contribute to its growth.
Year after year, the number of yoga practitioners participating in official and unofficial International Yoga Day events in different cities is growing, especially young people, officials say.
More than 1,000 yoga enthusiasts participated in a two-hour long program held at the Indian Embassy in Beijing on Saturday. The event was held a day after International Yoga Day in the United States to coincide with the weekend holiday.India's ambassador to China, Pradeep Kumar Rawat, his wife Shruti Rawat and deputy ambassador Abhishek Shukla, In addition to embassy officials, they joined the crowd of yoga practitioners at the special event held in the former embassy premises.
The event had many different aspects of Indian health and wellness traditions. While Master Lokesh Sharma, Professor of Indian Culture at the embassy, led the common yoga protocol, there were also special sessions on meditation by renowned Professor Dr R S Bhogal, meditation expert from the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in Pune.
The event was held in collaboration with four institutes - YogiYoga, We Yoga, Om Shiva Yoga and Hemanth Yoga. The session also had challenges for the participants as enthusiasts tried out 'Ashtavakrasana' (eight angle pose) and the winner was awarded at the end of the event, T S Vivekanand, first secretary of the Indian Embassy in charge of culture. he said.
The participants enthusiastically participated in the common yoga protocol, a standardized yoga practice that includes all aspects of yoga and is suitable for adoption by all age groups, he said. An advanced yoga session and a yoga challenge were also organized for regular yoga practitioners, Vivekanand said.
The event included a moving kirtan performance by NK Singh and a captivating kathak performance by Sohini Karanth, integrating the elements of yoga and meditation. Huge yoga events were also held at the Indian consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as the eastern city of Yiwu, the global commodities market where hundreds of Indian businessmen reside who export billions of dollars of Chinese goods to India.
Vivekanand said there is more attraction from Chinese participants in yoga events organized by the embassy.
While last year more than 270 people participated in the International Yoga Day, this year almost 1,000 participated. Similarly, in the Vasant Mela event held by the embassy in March this year, more than 4,500 people participated, which highlighted the growing interest in Indian culture, food and yoga.
Officials consider the increasing number of events despite bilateral tensions over the standoff in eastern Ladakh in the last four years as an encouraging sign.
For their part, veteran yoga teachers in China say that there is a qualitative difference in the popularity of yoga in China compared to other countries. The unique characteristic of yoga culture in China is its popularity among young people between 20 and 25 years, said Mohan Bhandari, research director at the YogiYoga Institute.
Young people practice yoga in large numbers compared to other countries where many people start taking interest in the Indian physical and spiritual practice after the age of 30 and above.
Bhandari, a native of Rishikesh in India, founded the YogiYoga Institute several years ago with his Chinese wife Yin Yan. The institute has centers in several Chinese cities and conducts training programs, including yoga healing.
Young people who have taken up yoga are already introducing the practice to their children in China, as a result of which the next generation of yoga teachers will come from China, Bhandari said.
Yin Yan, founding president of YogiYoga, says yoga will continue to develop in China due to people's needs and its growing popularity in social life, the workplace and family. However, despite its growing popularity, Yoga institutes suffered major setbacks during the COVID outbreak as hundreds of them closed.
This also caused dozens of Indian yoga teachers working in China to return to India. Bhandari says the yoga industry in China is slowly recovering and the enthusiasm of the Chinese people will continue to contribute to its growth.
