Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 17 : People gathered in the early hours of Tuesday at Namo Ghat in Varanasi to perform yoga ahead of the 11th International Yoga Day on June 21. The peaceful session by the river saw many participants starting their day with stretches and breathing exercises.

Earlier on Monday, the district administration organised a yoga session at Chandra Shekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj. Participants performed various yoga poses.
Meanwhile, highlighting the health benefits of yoga, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani urged people to incorporate yoga into their daily routine. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking yoga to the global stage.
Speaker Devnani made the remarks while speaking to reporters after participating in a yoga rehearsal session at the Rajasthan Assembly on Monday ahead of the 11th International Day of Yoga.
"Yoga is very important for a healthy mind, body and soul...I thank PM Modi, Baba Ramdev and many other organisations for promoting Yoga...We should make Yoga a part of our everyday life," he said.
Preparations are gaining momentum across the country for the 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY), scheduled for June 21st.
Visakhapatnam, selected as the national venue for this year's celebrations, witnessed a comprehensive field inspection and high-level review meeting by senior officials from the Ministry of Ayush and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
The inspection at ground level, led by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, and K Vijayanand, Special Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, included senior officials such as Monalisa Dash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, District Collector M N Harendhira Prasad, and heads of key departments including Health, Urban Planning, Ayush, and VMRDA.
Their joint visit to the main sites--RK Beach, Rishikonda Beach, Andhra University, and GITAM University--underscored the scale and seriousness with which the event is being planned. These venues will not only host the main yoga demonstration but will also serve as centres for cultural, educational, and wellness activities, resonating with the Prime Minister's vision of yoga as a people-centric movement.
In December 2014, the United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by India to celebrate the International Day of Yoga on June 21, which is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Since 2015, the Prime Minister has led the International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations at various iconic locations, including Kartavya Path in Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Ranchi, Lucknow, Mysuru and even the United Nations Headquarters in New York.