ZEE is a forerunner when it comes to showcasing Indian practices and traditions worldwide and this year saw the Network support the first ever International Yoga Day (IYD), celebrated the world over on the summer solstice, Sunday 21 June.
International Yoga Day saw a record number of people of all backgrounds take part in some form of yoga. Alexandra Palace hosted the UK’s biggest event, with a free celebration in their beautiful grounds – a full day of completely free Yoga and meditation with some of the country’s leading teachers. The event saw over 7,000 people take part – a record in the UK for any yoga event.
Eager crowds did sun salutations from sunrise to sunset and were treated to plenty of Yoga activities and classes throughout the day such as Kundalini Yoga, Shamanic Yoga, Preksha Meditation, Power Vinyasa, Scaravelli Yoga, Patanjali Yoga, Boxing Yoga, Chi Kri Hip Hop Yoga to name a few.
Along with the celebrations at Alexandra Palace, and also at the Southbank Centre, ZEE lined up a host of activities across its channels to promote the age old practice of Yoga. Zee Companion, the Live chat show on Zee TV dedicated an entire week to promote Yoga with various Yoga experts on the show to demonstrate the practice, interact with viewers and answer their queries about Yoga. A line up of Yoga shows on Zing and &TV also proved to be very popular amongst the audiences.
“With over 80 different workshops we thought it would be great if people, young and old from all creeds and religions could join together to become one – that is exactly what yoga means and that is what happened. When the United Nations declared 21 June as IYD, after Indian Prime Minster Mr. Narendra Modi’s initiative, the Yoga fraternity got together to meet at the House of Parliament in January this year. There were around 50 places in the UK where yoga took place as part of the celebration of IYD. It is amazing how quickly the community, including ZEE, got behind this idea in this country just as they have around the world,” said Ravi Bhanot, Chair UN International Yoga Day Alexandra Palace London.
Commenting on the importance of International Yoga Day, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman – ZEE & Essel Group said, “The ancient Indian practice of Yoga nurtures the mind, working through the medium of the body. Yoga enhances the body and soul with additional strength, zeal and beauty. It is a beautiful act of nurturing the divinity within you. I strongly believe that it is a gift to all of us, and it is essential that we work towards making it a mass movement globally. I am confident that the International Yoga Day which our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has initiated will have a strong impact on humanity, maybe not immediately but definitely in the next five to ten years.”
Catch the highlights of the full range of activities celebrated on IYD on Zee TV’s local community show Out & About this Saturday 27 June at 6pm, repeated on Sunday 28 June at 11am.