Yoga beyond religion and unites people, says PM Modi

Ranchi/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi led International Yoga Day celebrations and performed asanas at a ground in Ranchi on Friday along with 40,000 others while other BJP leaders, Union ministers and yoga enthusiasts did the same in other cities across the country.

Before starting with the asanas, the Prime Minister addressed the nation on the 5th International Day of Yoga and said that yoga is above all and unites people irrespective of religion, caste, creed and society.

Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and others also held different Yoga Day events in Delhi and other cities at the same time as Modi was performing in Ranchi.

The Prime Minister said the government has been working to make yoga a pillar of preventive healthcare. Expressing concern that young people are becoming vulnerable to heart ailments, he said, "Yoga can play a huge role in tackling the issue and hence, this year's theme is 'Yoga for Heart'."

Modi then appealed to the people to take yoga to all sections of society.

"We should make efforts to take yoga from cities to villages, tribal areas. Yoga is above region, above faith, above everything," Modi told the gathering. He also stressed that for yoga to become popular, infrastructure for it must be strengthened and said the government was working towards it.

Urging people to make yoga a part of daily life, Modi said, "Peace and harmony are related to yoga. People across the world must practice it."

The Prime Minister had arrived in Ranchi on Thursday night to participate in the main event on the International Yoga Day. Since 2015, the International Day of Yoga is celebrated annually on June 21.