The International Day of Yoga was marked yesterday with officials urging Kenyans to use yoga to enhance their physical, mental and spiritual status.
Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India.
The word yoga means to join or to unite, symbolising the union of body and consciousness.
Yoga is known for disease prevention, health promotion and management of lifestyle-related disorders.
Today, it is practiced in various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity.
On Sunday, Yoga International Day was commemorated at Premier School, Nairobi.
The day aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.
The theme for the day was "Yoga for Climate Action."
The event, which was organized by the High Commission of India in Nairobi, was presided over by Foreign Affairs CAS Ababu Namwamba and India High Commissioner Rahul Chhabra.
"I thank the government of India for spreading yoga awareness in the country," Namwamba said.
Namwamba said Yoga has further strengthened relationships between the two countries, sentiments that were echoed by Chhabra.
"I hope all participants will continue doing yoga to boost their health and well being,"Chhabra said.
Chhabra said Yoga is Indian's gift to humanity and it helps to unite the body, mind and the soul.
On September 27, 2014, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the world to adopt international day of Yoga.
This was during the 69th session of the UN assembly.
"Yoga is an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition. It embodies the unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature and a holistic approach to health and well being. Yoga is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with ourselves, the world and nature,"Modi said.
Modi said that by changing lifestyle and creating consciousness can help deal with climate change.
On December 11, 2014, the 193 members of UN assembly approved the proposal by consensus with a record 177 co-sponsoring countries resolving to establish June 21 as International Yoga day.
