International Yoga Day: PM Modi leads celebrations at UN Headquarters in New York

After the event and engagements in New York, PM Narendra Modi departed for Washington DC.

PM is on a State visit to the USA at the invitation of US President Joseph Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden. 

After Yoga Day event in New York, Richard Gere said, "It is a lovely message. He (PM Modi) is a product of Indian culture and comes from a vast place like Indian culture does. This message of universal brotherhood and sisterhood is the one we want to hear again and again." 

Guinness world record for most nationalities in a Yoga session created at the Yoga Day event led by PM Modi. 

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi released a video message on Yoga Day.

She says, "The unprecedented violence that has devastated the lives of people in your state (Manipur) and uprooted thousands has left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation. Our choice to embark on the path of healing will shape the kind of future that our children will inherit." 

PM Modi said, "Let us use the power of Yoga not only to be healthy, happy but also to be kind to ourselves and to each other. Let us use the power of Yoga to build bridges of friendship, a peaceful world and a cleaner, greener and sustainable future. Let us join hands together to realise the goal of One Earth, One Family, One Future." 

He also said that Yoga is a way of life, a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is a way to mindfulness in thoughts and actions and a way to live in harmony with self, with others and with nature. 

"Last year the entire world came together to support India's proposal to celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets...It is wonderful to see the entire world come together again for Yoga," PM Modi said. 

PM Modi said that Yoga comes from India and it is a very old tradition. he also mentioned that Yoga is free from copyrights, patents and free from royalty payments.

"Yoga is adaptable to your age, gender and fitness level. Yoga is portable and is truly universal," PM Modi added. 

PM Modi said, "We've gathered here at the meeting point of entire humanity. I am delighted to see you all and thank you all for coming. I am told that almost every nationality is represented here today. Yoga means to unite, so you are coming together is an expression of another form of Yoga." 

Hollywood star Richard Gere also arrived at the UN headquarter to take part in the Yoga Day event.

He said, "It is a very nice feeling here today." 

Award-winning International Singer Mary Millben was present at the venue where PM Modi lead Yoga Day will lead the celebrations. 

Millben said, "It's such a great morning. And what a wonderful honour to be a part of this great day with the Prime Minister celebrating his visit to the United States and certainly all of the wonderful work that he is doing across the world... We're going to have a great week." 

PM Modi reaches the headquarters of the United Nations and was seen walking through the park. 

He paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi ahead of the Yoga event here that will be led by him. 

Yoga helps in promoting mindfulness and relaxation during stress and anxiety and also supports physical well-being at all stages of life. 

The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated across the world annually on June 21 since 2015, after its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. 

This is the 9th annual International Yoga Day. 

HE Mr Csaba Korosi
A Hungarian diplomat currently serving as President of the 77th
United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Eric Adams
American politician and former police officer, serving as the 110th mayor of New York City

HE Ms Amina J Mohammed
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

Mr Richard Gere
Famous Hollywood actor; He is an advocate for human rights in Tibet; He is a co-founder of the Tibet House, US and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet.

Mr Vala Afshar
He is Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce, and shares motivational stories / immigrant successes / tech in society stories.

Mr Jay Shetty 
Award-Winning Storyteller, Podcaster, and former monk

Mr Vikas Khanna
Award winning Indian chef and restaurateur; Host of the TV Show MasterChef India. 

Mr Mike Hayes
COO, VM Ware (Cloud computing tech major) based in Silicon Valley. Highly Decorated former US Navy SEAL Commander, has served as a White House Fellow, and as Director, National Security Council.

Mr Britt Kelly Slabinski
Highly decorated US Navy SEAL officer, has won several distinguished military honours for his services in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, Consultant at LeadWright Enterprise

Mr Francisco D’Souza
Founder & CEO, Recognize (private equity). Son of IFS officer P.P. D'Souza; ex-CEO of Cognizant, now runs a venture capital fund in the US.

Ms Colleen Saidman Yee
Celebrated Yoga teacher. New York Times christened her “The First Lady of Yoga.

Mr Rodney Yee
Celebrated Yoga instructor,presently actively involved into integrating Yoga with Western medical paradigm. He has written two books, “Yoga: the Poetry of the Body” and “Moving Toward Balance: 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee”

Ms Deidra Demens
She runs a popular Yoga studio in New York City. She combines Yoga with theatre.

Mr Christopher Tompkins
He is a scholar of South and Southeast Asian Studies at Berkeley University, California, with an emphasis on the roots and evolution of Yoga in the tradition of Tantrik Śaivism

Ms Victoria Gibbs
Celebrated Yoga teacher and meditation coach. She is a 3-time New York regional champion of Yoga.

Ms Jahnavi Harrison
Also known by her spiritual name, Jahnavi Jivana dasi, is a British musician. Known for her mantra meditation music (kirtan). She regularly appears as a presenter on BBC Radio.

Mr Kenneth Lee
Community Health Chaplain at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. He is the husband of Ms. Jahnavi Harrison.

Mr Travis Mills
Travis Mills is a war veteran who lost all four limbs in Afghanistan; He promotes yoga, meditation, and wellness to overcome adversity

Mr Jeffrey D Long
Professor of religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College,
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania,

Ms Seema Mody
She is currently global markets reporter for CNBC with focus on foreign policy and Wall Street.

Ms Zain Asher
Prime Time news anchor at CNN popularly known for global news show ‘One World with Zain Asher’ .

Mr Ricky Kej
Three-times Grammy Award-winning, three-times Grammy
nominated Indian music composer and environmentalist. 

Ms Falguni Shah
American singer whose music blends ancient classical Indian
melodies with contemporary western sounds

Ms Mary Millben
American singer and actress. 

India and the world are celebrating International Yoga Day as millions of people across the globe breathed in and out, stretched for the skies, and performed asanas. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the United States for a State visit, shared a video message, in which, he said that India has always nurtured traditions that unite, adopt and embrace. 

Modi said, "We have to eliminate our contradictions, blockages and resistances through yoga. We have to present the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' as an example to the world." 

Later in the day, PM Modi will lead celebrations at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. 

"The coming together of more than 180 countries on India's call is historic and unprecedented," he said, referring to the proposal for the International Day of Yoga that was moved in the UN General Assembly in 2014.