India’s answer to opera houses: Yoga parks

New Delhi: Fitness enthusiasts raving about the wonders upon the yoga mat, here is a good news. Soon, there will be “yoga parks or yoga udyans” in your city to make yoga accessible and help people connect to nature. In the run up to International Yoga Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested setting up of yoga parks where people can find inner peace in the lap of nature.

To promote yoga and not let it be just a “one day affair”, the PM in a recent meeting has suggested setting up yoga parks just as other countries have opera houses for opera aficionados and novices alike. The ministry of ayush has already started working on the PM’s suggestion. “The idea is to have an enduring impact on the health of the citizens. The PM wants yoga movement to go up and it should not remain just one-day affair. The yoga parks can be opened on one corner of the park with well ventilation, little boundary and by making available water supply for the enthusiasts. These centres can be started with some minimum yoga training,” sources said.

The idea gains significance as the United Nations General Assembly, after a call by the PM Modi in 2014, announced June 21 to be celebrated as International Yoga Day. To gain momentum, the PM has suggested segregated spaces be used in parks for yoga. The first International Yoga Day celebration was organised at Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015, in which representatives of more than 190 countries had participated. This time, preparations are in full swing at the Ramabai Ambedkar ground in Lucknow, which has been chosen as the venue for the event in June.

PM Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be present at the event. However, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev is unlikely to join the dias due to his prior engagements in Toronto, sources revealed.

The number countries participating in the event this time are also expected to go up. Around 55,000 people are expected to take part in the celebrations in Lucknow alone.

 “Other than students corporates like CII, FICCI, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry have agreed to participate in the event that will include a 45 minutes common yoga protocol as followed in earlier years,”sources added.