Hawaii’s 6th Annual International Yoga Day Celebration
Los Angeles/May 30, 2024
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh
Gandhi International Institute for Peace (GIIP) is organizing its 6th annual International Yoga Day event at the MOA Wellness Center located on 600 Queen Street, Suite C 2 in Honolulu, Hawaii on Friday, June 21, 2024 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM HST. The event is free to the public. The theme of this year’s event is Yoga for inner Peace and World Peace, keeping in mind various turmoils going on around the world.
Hawaii State senator, Honorable Mike Gabbard and Ka’ili Trask O’Connell, Executive Director at Mayor’s Office of Culture & the Arts be the guests of honor. Other presenters include Dr. Raj Kumar, Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar and Yogi Ramesh Pandey from California, Dr. Soraya Faris Applegate, Michele Santos from Sun Yoga, Amber Ricci, Cliff Devries, Richard Hennessey, Nilanjan Sarkar and Kusha Devi Dasi. Kahu Kaleo Patterson and Veda Das will perform spiritual invocation. The yoga Instructors will demonstrate some yoga asanas (postures). According to sage Patanjali (father of Yoga), II, Sutras 46-47 “Asana is to be seated in a position which is firm but relaxed. Asana becomes firm and relaxed through control of the natural tendencies of the body, and through meditation on the infinite.”
Ms. Leticia Sharp will play crystal bowls for sound healing. Ms. Madana Sundari will moderate the program.
Dr. Raj Kumar founded GIIP which has been promoting peace, educating youth about nonviolence and raising awareness about healthy living in Hawaii for over 18 years. The journey about hosting the yoga day started when The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which was introduced by India, recognizing June 21 each year as “International Day of Yoga” on December 11, 2014.
Here in Hawaii, GIIP initiated House Bill HB 349 in Hawaii Legislature in December 2018. The House and the Senate passed this Bill unanimously and it was signed into Act 102 (Hawaii Revised Statue 8-31-2019) by former Hawaii Governor, Honorable David Y. Ige on June 21, 2019 making Hawaii the first state in the nation to officially recognize June 21 as “International Yoga Day”.
According to Dr. Raj Kumar who is the author of the book on Yoga and Ayurveda. “The Secrets of Health and Healing”, Yoga means union of the soul with the divine. It is a gift from ancient Indian philosophers and practitioners. Yoga is a way of life. It defines the restraints (moral living, which brings purity of mind, freedom from anger and jealousy) and discipline in daily routines and activities. Yoga emphasizes achieving inner peace, peace within your family and community and hence attaining World peace. Worldwide yoga statistics suggest that there are 300 million yoga practitioners around the world and more than 36 million in the U.S. alone. Here in Hawaii, there are approximately 215 yoga studios.
To sign up for the free event, please visit GIIP’s website www.gandhianpeace.org GIIP is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are welcome.
|
