On the occasion of the 5th International Day of Yoga, mass yoga demonstration programmes were held at various places in the national capital. 

President Ram Nath Kovind participated in the Yoga day event organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kovind said, yoga is India’s gift to humanity and it holds the key to healthy living and to that fine balance between mind and body.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu participated in the Yoga Day celebrations organised by Brahma Kumaris at Red Fort.

Mr Naidu said Yoga is now widely recognized as a means to achieve and maintain physical fitness and health. He said, Yoga is not just a form of physical exercise to be practised for a few minutes every day but it is a holistic discipline which leads to a healthy state of mind, robust body and complete well-being of an individual.

Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla practised Yoga along with MPs in the Parliament House complex. The main event in the city was held at Rajpath, where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Rameshwar Teli, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant and Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang practised Yoga with over 15 thousand people. 

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that yoga spreads the message of humanity and harmony and it can not be linked with any religion. He said, yoga is integrating the world and it has now become the lifestyle of people.

Later speaking to media,  Information and Broadcasting Minister  Mr Prakash Javadekar said, Yoga has become a mass movement all over the world. He said yoga should be part of life as it brings wellness, prosperity and peace.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar participated in the International Day of Yoga event with the diplomatic corps and his Ministry officials at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi. IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal attended Yoga Day Celebrations at Lodhi Gardens. 

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan participated in the Yoga Day programme at Talkatora Garden and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi practised yoga at Patel Nagar. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju attended the event at Najafgarh.  

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot attended Yoga day event at Sangam Vihar while Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani practised Yoga at Bijwasan.  

Human Resource Development    Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank joined Yoga Day programme at Burari, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at Civil Lines, Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh at Vikaspuri, Skill Development Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey at Hari Nagar and  Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh at North Block lawns and Karolbagh.  

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs  Arjun Ram Meghwal participated in the Yoga Day event at Peeragarhi, Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo at Karawal Nagar, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy at R K Puram, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry Dr Sanjeev Balyan at Narela, Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi at Paschim Vihar, Minister of Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya at Nehru Park and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti at West Jyoti Nagar.

BJP working president J P Nadda led the Yoga Session at Deendayal Upadhaya Park at ITO in New Delhi. Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh practised Yoga at Chanakya Bagh while Soldiers of Indian Army practised yoga at Delhi Cantt. Around two thousand Delhi Police personnel took part in the yoga session at the Thyagraj sports complex.

Mass Yoga Demonstration Programme was also held at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where doctors led by Director Randeep Guleria practised Yoga.

Some of the participants in the Yoga Day event at Rajpath spoke to us about their experiences and benefits of Yoga.