The International Day of Yoga was celebrated again this year at the Széchenyi István University in Győr. On this occasion, the Head of the Chancellery of the Embassy of India in Hungary, the motherland of yoga, Rajeev Kumar, welcomed the participants, for whom the Yoga in Everyday Life Association and the Amrita Sher-Gil Cultural Centre also held a class at the event.

The UN General Assembly declared 21 June as International Day of Yoga in 2015 to raise awareness about the positive effects of yoga on physical and mental health. Széchenyi István University attaches great importance to its close relationship with India, the home of yoga. From September, the institution will offer a four-semester double degree course in international economics and business with Integral University in the northeast of the subcontinent, where students from Győr will spend a semester in India and one semester in India, and receive diplomas from both universities. The Széchenyi István University also wants to build an Indian student community, which, in addition to excellent education and student services, requires the inclusion of Indian culture and gastronomy, including yoga and restaurants. It is for this reason that the International Day of Yoga was commemorated on the Győr campus, joining the initiative of the Embassy of India in Hungary this year.

“The word yoga means unity, which brings people together, and doing yoga together contributes to health, which is the most important thing in life. It's a very old tradition in India and this year we are celebrating International Day of Yoga for the tenth time. It's a pleasure to see how popular yoga has become internationally, including in Hungary,” said Rajeev Kumar, Head of the Chancellery of the Embassy, in his welcome address. He added that he was very grateful to the University for hosting the celebration of the International Day of Yoga in Győr, where yoga teacher Anita Révai-Bere held a joint practice session organised by the Amrita Sher-Gil Cultural Centre.

Rajeev Kumar, Head of the Chancellery of the Embassy of India in Hungary (Photo: András Adorján)

Before the Embassy's welcome speech, the audience could attend a class of Tünde Villám of the local Yoga in Everyday Life association. The instructor explained that yoga is a way of life that brings harmony to body, mind and soul. “I also recommend yoga to university students, as they have a lot of stress and difficulties in their everyday lives, and it can help them to learn and maintain their mental health through exercise, as well as through exercises that affect memory and consciousness,” she added.

The joint practice on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga took place again this year on the campus of Széchenyi István University in Győr (Photo: András Adorján)

The event was attended by a number of international students from Széchenyi István University, including Pavithra Hemachandra from Sri Lanka and his compatriot Uhanovitage Rushanthi Chandimala, who are pursuing their doctoral studies at the Albert Kázmér Faculty of the University in Mosonmagyaróvár. "We both wanted to try yoga, so the event really interested us. Today was a special experience, we enjoyed the exercises. It is good that the University offers such programmes," they said.

The event was attended by two Sri Lankan doctoral students of the University, Pavithra Hemachandra and Uhanovitage Rushanthi Chandimala (Photo: András Adorján)