JOHANNESBURG, June 23: Thousands of South Africans gathered at two separate venues here and joined in a mass yoga session, marking the International Yoga Day celebrations.
Although IDY is officially celebrated on June 21, the event here was hosted on the weekend to make it convenient for people to attend.
The two big events were held at the iconic Wanderers Cricket Stadium and a university campus in the sprawling mainly Black African township of Soweto, respectively.
At the Wanderers, Consul-General Dr K J Srinivasa said yoga has become a global event and people were adopting the ancient Indian spiritual practice with great enthusiasm.
“In South Africa, IDY has turned into an International Month of Yoga rather than just a day of yoga,” he said.
“Since the beginning of June, schools and community organisations across the country have been hosting yoga events, most of them coordinated by staff from the four Indian missions here, and this will continue over the next week at various venues,” the diplomat added.
Srinivasa said they are also focussing on environmental awareness and climate change this year as part of IDY.
In Soweto, IDY has been celebrated since 2016 by the Art of Living Foundation and its sister organisation, the International Association for Human Values, founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
With the focus being on youth this year, the University of Johannesburg partnered with these organisations.
IDY in Soweto included interactive drumming, praise singing and a performance by the Alpha Ministries choir.
Gauteng Provincial Minister for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Mbali Hlophe, who joined IDY in Soweto, said yoga is not just an exercise but a mental experience to calm the mind.
“In a country with a high rate of violent crimes, yoga is important to calm the mind and help people to control their emotions and importantly take better decisions,” Hlophe said. (PTI)
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