The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The first International Day of Yoga will be celebrated on 21st June at the multi-purpose hall of Royal Institute of Management (RIM) in Thimphu. At the press conference held on 18th, India’s Ambassador to Bhutan, Gautam Bambawale, announced with delight that the embassy and the RIM were collaborating together to organize the Mega Yoga Session. He also thanked the Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay for having kindly consented to be the chief guest of the event.
A large group of yoga enthusiasts and practitioners from Youth organizations, the Royal Bhutan Police, civil servants and members of civil society will join the yoga session on Sunday, which is expected to last for about 30 minutes. High school students from different schools in the capital including Dechencholing Higher Secondary School, Nima Higher Secondary School, Lungtenzampa Middle Secondary School and Druk School, as well as representatives and students from RIM and the Royal Thimphu College are among the anticipated attendants. “We anticipate the presence of 500 participants at the session,” the Ambassador said. The participants of the mega yoga session include high school students from different schools in Thimphu, The ambassador emphasized there were many benefits of Yoga, not just it’s good for health but it can also help to enhance concentration. Yoga is favorable for people of all age including children.
An instructor at the Nehru Wangchuck Cultural Centre’s (NWCC) Department of Yoga, Dr. K.S. Shaiju, said that there are more than 70 attendants at classes during working days. Attendants range from company workers to housewives and many students come to practice Yoga during the school holiday season. Bhutan’s public showed high interest towards yoga, he added.
Last year, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, suggested to the United Nations’ (UN) General Assembly that 21st June should be observed as the international day of yoga, and the proposal was adopted in December 2014. According to India’s Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, there will be celebrations in 192 countries out of 193 UN member countries, except in Yemen where the ongoing conflict causes serious damages to civilian life.
