Bulgaria
June 21, 2015 (All day)

50 million people around the world, from 132 different countries, celebrated the first ever International Yoga Day with the Art of Living Foundation. The day was celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm, from India, New York all the way to Australia, yoga enthusiasts created a wave of unity and harmony and shared the message of the universal ancient knowledge of yoga.

The founder of the Art of Living Foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, presided over the UN celebrations of International Yoga Day as the keynote speaker at the UN headquarters in New York. He was accompanied by the Indian Minister of External Affairs and the UN Secretary-General. Later in the day, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar delivered a lecture to 5,500 New Yorkers at Lincoln Center on the topic: "Yoga - A New Dimension."

Today, yoga has brought the world together in a spirit of unity that we have never seen before. 7,000 teachers and volunteers of the Art of Living Foundation joined the Prime Minister of India at Hussainiwala to demonstrate that yoga is indeed a unique and universal science.

Today, volunteers from 132 countries around the world celebrated the first ever International Yoga Day with great passion and enthusiasm. In Paris, they even practiced yoga on boats along the Seine River. In Nepal, the iconic Pashupatinath temple became a focal point for all yoga enthusiasts. China also joined the celebration with over 500 students studying yoga at Peking University. Many more countries such as Russia, South America, the UAE, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Kuwait, Jordan and Sri Lanka contributed with their enthusiasm and participation to start a wonderful and long-standing tradition – namely the celebration of International Yoga Day.

"Yoga is something that can unite people from all over the world, entire nations, despite religious divisions. Everyone can join in and feel the spirit of togetherness through yoga. Yoga is a state of mind in which you can feel a sense of belonging and responsibility for the entire planet, a sense of connectedness and harmony. This is something that can unite and bring solace to people all over the world. What is needed is a humanity that can flourish when people are free from stress, tension and depression," shared the founder of The Art of Living - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who has been working to spread yoga for 35 years.