Yoga yet to fully reach poor, tribal people:Narendra Modi

Ranchi: Urging people to make yoga an integral part of their lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that it hadn't reached the poor people and tribal belts of the country as much as it should have. He also gave the motto "yoga for peace, harmony and progress".

Modi performed yoga, along with around 30,000 people, at Prabhat Tara grounds here on the occasion of the fifth International Yoga Day.

Addressing the participants, Modi said: "Modern yoga has not reached the poor and tribal people. We have to make yoga an integral part of their lives. Poor people suffer more from diseases and it makes them poorer... Yoga is a medium to come out from poverty."

He said in the changing world, "we have to take preventive measures for illness and focus on wellness".

"Yoga is discipline. Yoga is beyond age, rich, poor, caste, religion, region and boundaries. 'yoga sabka hai aur sab yoga ke hain' (yoga is of everyone, everyone is of yoga)," he said.

In the last five years, Modi said, yoga has been linked with preventive healthcare measures by the government. He insisted on adopting yoga for heart care.

Modi gave four 'P mantras' for healthy lives -- pani (Drinking water), poshan (nutrition), paryawaran (environment) and parishram (hard work).

"I urge you all to embarrass yoga and make it an integral part of your lives. Yoga is ancient and modern. It is constant and evolving. For centuries, the essence of Yoga has been the same - healthy body, stable mind, spirit of oneness. Yoga will make every individual better in thoughts, action and sprit," Modi said.

"Yoga has always been associated with peace and harmony. On the fifth International Yoga day, let our moto be -- yoga for peace, harmony and progress."

Modi also stressed on the need for research in yoga so that the world could be updated about benefits of Yoga.

The 45-minute session was conducted by M. Baswa Reddy, director of the New Delhi-based Morarji Desai National Yoga Institute.

After the session was over, the Prime Minister spent time with the participants, where children and youth even clicked selfies and shook hands with Modi.

Modi was accompanied by Jharkhand Governor Draupdi Murmu, Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Ayush Minister Sripad Naik, state Health Minister Ramchandra Kesari, along with other senior government officials.