SHILLONG:
The 9th International Day of Yoga 2023 was celebrated at Community Hall, NEHU Campus, Umshing, Shillong on June 21.
The programme was jointly organised by the Health & Family Welfare Department and National AYUSH Mission, Meghalaya.
Health & Family Welfare Department Minister, Dr Ampareen Lyngdoh graced the occasion as Chief Guest.
Delivering her inaugural address, Lyngdoh said that Yoga is an age-old practice and has been tested through the years. She highlighted the benefits of Yoga in uplifting not only the physical but also the mental health of people who practice it. She said that Yoga in recent years has been accepted across the world and stressed that Yoga helps in keeping control of oneself without any drawbacks which we cannot achieve through other forms of medication.
She also said that the government is committed to propagate the practice of Yoga because of its wide-ranging benefits. She encouraged every citizen of the state and also urged the nurses present in the programme to practice Yoga in order to cope with their stressful duties and also suggested that there should be a dedicated room and Yoga mats in every hospital of the state to enable the nurses and doctors to practice yoga in their place of work.
During the programme, the Chief Guest also launched the YSLife initiative which stands for Yoga Simplified for Daily Life. The initiative intends to demystify and popularize Yoga amongst the masses and also significant in light of increasing incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases amongst the residents of the state.
Following the inaugural function, a mass Yoga demonstration on Common Yoga Protocol was also held in which nurses from Nursing School of Shillong Civil Hospital and Ganesh Das Hospital took part, the minister and other dignitaries also engaged themselves in various Yoga postures.
The programme was also attended by Dr Joram Beda, Commissioner & Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department, R M Kurbah, Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills District among others.