Newbury celebrates International Yoga Day in Victoria Park for the second year running

For the second year running, several Newbury residents congregated in Victoria Park to mark International Yoga Day.

Organised by local Hindu group Bharati Shakha Newbury in association with Swasti Yoga and Newbury Town Council, the yoga day celebration took place on Saturday morning (June 17).

Around 70 participants placed their mats in front of the bandstand and took part in the collective session last weekend.

Newbury Mayor Nigel Foot was present on the morning and took part in the event alongside several other town councillors.

He said: “It was very nice to see the Newbury community, especially the youth, come together for this event and to also see this turning into an annual event.

“Yoga is a good form of exercise and one can do it inside the bedroom without the need for expensive gym equipment or worry about the weather outside.”

Beginning at 9am, the hour-long session was initially threatened by a bit of light rain. However the sky soon cleared and the sun shone throughout the rest of the morning.

Bharati Shakha Newbury member Sanjeev Agarwala said: “Yoga is the soul of Indian culture which enriches its heritage, ideology, and path of living.

“There have been many scripts about yoga written all over India that have been passed on from guru to shishya [student].

“Around 5,000 years ago, Sage Patanjali consolidated all the knowledge of Yoga into 195 sutras [aphorisms] that are used as a base for yoga even now.

“Yoga is for everyone and is not bound by faith or religion. It is the connection between body and mind.”

Mr Agarwala also said: “The event in Victoria Park has been very encouraging for all of us and we have made this an annual event on our calendar.”

In 2014, the United Nations proclaimed June 21 as International Yoga Day because of the practice’s universal appeal and its physical, mental and spiritual benefits.