Yoga is above everything, integral part of life: Modi

Ranchi: Appealing to people to take yoga to all sections of society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said yoga is above everything, as he performed various asanas with around 40,000 enthusiasts at the Prabhat Tara ground here to mark the fifth International Day of Yoga.

Modi also urged people to make yoga an integral part of life.

"We should make efforts to take yoga from cities to villages and tribal areas. Yoga is above religion, caste, colour, gender and region, it is above everything," he told the gathering.

The main event for the yoga day was held at the Jharkhand capital.

"It (yoga) is constant and evolving for centuries. The essence of yoga has been stable and remained the same -- healthy body, stable mind, spirit of oneness. Yoga has provided a perfect blend of knowledge, karma and bhakti," the prime minister said.

Events to mark the day are being held across the globe and in India, several of them are being led by Union ministers, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.

Modi also said the



government has been working to make yoga a pillar of preventive healthcare.

Expressing concern that young people are becoming vulnerable to heart ailments, Modi said, "Yoga can play a huge role in tackling the issue and hence, this year's theme is 'Yoga for Heart'." 

"It is painful to read about alcoholism, substance abuse, diabetes and other things, adding yoga offers a solution to these problems," he added.

He stressed that for yoga to become popular, infrastructure for it must be strengthened and said the government was working towards it.

"Peace and harmony are related to yoga. People across the world must practice it," Modi said.

The prime minister had arrived here Thursday night.

On his way out of the venue, Modi shook hands with several participants, including school children, who reached out to the prime minister over barricades.

The International Day of Yoga is being celebrated annually on June 21 since 2015.