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Wednesday 24 June, 2015

International Day of Yoga

Yoga needs to be demystified, says Vincent Meriton

The Indian High Commission in Seychelles and the ministry of Tourism and Culture jointly celebrated the International Day of Yoga, last Sunday. Over 500 people gathered at the
Stad Linite for a 33-minute yoga session that took place in 177 countries at the same local time.

N. Dennis

Mr. Panda unveiling the plaque during the event.

nternational Yoga Day was

celebrated for the first time
on Sunday and will hereafter be observed every year on
21 June. In Seychelles, the day
commenced with an open air
yoga session at 8:00 am with
exactly 506 participants including children. A yoga expert from
India, Megha Sonawane Mohite
accompanied by two local yoga
instructors, Robin Hanson and
Adriana Auguste anchored the
session. The objective is to encourage people to imbibe yoga as
the answer to modern day stress,
through this ancient yet quintessential heritage of India, said
Mrs. Mohite.
After the mass yoga session,
in a brief ceremony, the Indian
High Commissioner Sanjay Panda unveiled a plaque at the Indian High Commission by dedicating the Vivekananda Yoga Hall
to the people of Seychelles. The
event was followed by the viewing of Benoy K Behls photo exhibition that was inaugurated by
the Designated Minister Vincent
Meriton and the Tourism and
Culture Minister, Alain St. Ange.
Mr. Panda said that India and
Seychelles will always work together to bring a diversity of cultural events in Seychelles. Yoga

is an instrument of harmony and

inner peace for human beings.
Seychelles is a small country but
for a small country, we think big.
Lets hope that International
Yoga Day in Seychelles will become an event celebrated every
year, added Mr. Panda.
The yoga day wrapped up with
a seminar-cum-yoga demonstration session that was held at the
International Conference Centre
of Seychelles (ICCS). A panel
consisting of the Designated
Minister, Vincent Meriton, chief
executive officer (CEO) of National Sports Council, Giovanna
Rousseau, the Chairperson of
Seychelles Yoga Association, Andriana Auguste, the Managing
Homeopath of The Station Wellness Centre, Dr. Jyotsna Gundecha, Eco-Health Manager of Nature Seychelles, Robin Hanson
and Centre Coordinator of Seychelles Brahma Kumaris World
Spiritual University, Brother
Francis. The panel members discussed the benefits of yoga and
the consensus was that a healthy
mind is needed for the bodys
overall development.
It was noted that through improved diet, thought and behaviour, most mental and physical
ailments could be cured. Yoga

Mr. Meriton and Mr. St. Ange inaugurating the Benoy K Behl photo exhibition.

should be done under the guidance of a professional yoga instructor to enhance better understanding of the yoga postures,
said Mr. Hanson who highlighted the dangers of practising yoga
without a qualified instructor.
Speaking of the benefits of
yoga, Mr Hanson revealed that
the practice could even help
drug addicts deal with their dependence. Asked whether this is

Robin Hanson has practised yoga and meditation for 18 years and has been a yoga teacher for eight years.

something that the government

might decide to introduce in Seychelles, Minister Meriton said
the idea deserves to be investigated further. It was noted that
in some prisons in the UK and
even at some point in Mauritius,
meditation (Raja yoga) was used
with heroin addicts to treat their
addiction and help in rehabilitation.
Ms Rousseau also explained

that the Yoga Association in Seychelles was the brainchild of the

National Sports Council and that
she believed the benefits of yoga
has been well understood in Seychelles. Agreeing, Mr Meriton
nonetheless said that the concept
of yoga needed to be demystified.
Brother Francis explained the
difference between Hatha yoga
(the physical aspect of yoga) and
Raja yoga (meditation) practised

Delegates at the yoga seminar, last Sunday.

by the Brahma Kumaris. He said

the organisation he belonged to,
thought that purification has to
be done through the mind first.
Reacting to a member of the
audiences claim that yoga could
help heal the worlds biggest
challenges HIV and AIDS,
stress and cancer -, Robin
Hanson, green yoga instructor at Nature Seychelles, said
he disagreed that the above
mentioned problems were the
worlds greatest challenges. If
we dont rethink the way we live,
our relationship with the world
and with consumerism, Climate
Change will be the biggest problem the world will have to face,
he concluded.
The evening ended with a yoga
demonstration from the yoga
experts while the Chairperson of
Brahma Kumaris in Seychelles
offered a two-minute meditation ( journey within the self )
lesson to the audience.
Mr Panda appealed to Seychellois to make use of the yoga
classes offered for a small fee at
the Indian High Commission.
The photo exhibition will remain open to public including
the youth and school students
from 22 28 June between
10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Mehga Mohite has been practicing yoga for the past 17 years.