Hawaii’s 7 th Annual International Yoga Day Celebration in Honolulu
Los Angeles/May 28, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh
The Gandhi International Institute for Peace (GIIP) will hold its seventh Annual International Yoga Day event at Kapiolani Regional Park in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday, June 22, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. HST. This event is free to the public. The theme of this year’s event is Yoga for Health and Peace, a message we wish to send especially to those places experiencing turmoil around the world.
The program is being sponsored by Consulate General of India, San Francisco and City and County of Honolulu. The Honorable Mike Gabbard, Hawaii State Senator will be the guest of honor. Other presenters include Michele Santos, Amber Ricci, Mary Bastien, Professor Matthew S. LoPresti, Dr. Cliff DeVries, Nilanjan Sarkar and Leticia Sharp.
The yoga instructors will demonstrate some yoga asanas (postures). According to Indian sage Patanjali (the father of Yoga), “Asana is to be seated in a position which is firm but relaxed. Asana becomes firm and relaxed through control of natural tendencies of the body, and through meditation on the infinite.”
Kahu Dr. Kaleo Patterson and Veda Das will perform spiritual invocations. Indian classical dance, Bharatnatyam will be performed by Ms. Janani Lakshmanan and ensemble. Ms. Leticia Sharp will play crystal bowls for sound healing. Ms. Madana Sundari will moderate the program.
Dr. Raj Kumar founded this Peace Institute in 2001, which has promoted peace, educated youth about nonviolence and raised awareness about healthy living in Hawaii for over 19 years. The inspiration to host the Yoga Day came about when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which was originally introduced by India, recognizing June 21st of each year as the “International Day of Yoga” on December 11, 2014.
GIIP initiated House Bill (HB) 349 in the Hawaii Legislature in December 2018. The House and the Senate subsequently passed this Bill unanimously, and it was signed into law (Act 102 Hawaii Revised Statues 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 21st as “International Yoga Day” in Hawaii.
According to Dr. Raj Kumar who is author of the book on Yoga, titled “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 restraints in moral living which brings purity of mind and freedom from anger and jealousy and discipline in daily routines and activities. Yoga emphasizes achieving inner peace and peace within your family and community which help to attain world peace. Worldwide yoga statistics suggest that there are 300 million yoga practitioners globally and more than 36 million in U.S.A. alone. In Hawaii, there are approximately 215 yoga studios.
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