In a bid to promote yoga in
Nigeria and to reveal the impact of yoga on specific health conditions,
including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, and
anxiety, Indians health workers in Nigeria have joined the rest of the
world to celebrate first edition of its Indo-Naija Yoga Fest.
Held at Indian Embassy compound
in Lagos, the event, which focused on Family yoga and impact of yoga on
body, mind and spirit which is beyond religion.
The event featured a Yoga
Competition judged by way of performance to reach final stage of Asana, perfect
posture of Asana, exhibition of Asana Method, time stayed in Asana and
returning to original posture.
During the competition and
presentation sessions, the organisers shared their success story and how
Yoga has been shown to have immediate psychological effects: decreasing
anxiety and increasing feelings of emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
The Yoga demonstration started
with lightening of ceremonial lamp and prayer for world health &
prosperity.
There was also special Yoga
demonstration session facilitated by Nigerian based Yoga groups called Medoka
Yoga Well-being Initiative and Light-years Entertainments.
Speaking at the event, The
President, Emprowess Life Skills and Indo-Naija Yoga Fest, Mr. Sanjayvipul
Srivastava said "We decided to celebrate Christmas by reintroducing
Yoga to Nigerians because it offers an effective method of managing and
reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, and numerous studies demonstrate the
efficacy of yoga on mood-related disorders".
Nigerians are embracing Yoga as a
form of mind-body exercise. It has become an increasingly widespread therapy
used to maintain wellness, alleviate a range of health problems and ailments,
said a Nigerian Yoga enthusiast, Precious Oroye.
In the first group or the
competition, Anoushaka Srivastava became 2nd runner up, Megha Dokania became
1st runner up while Ms. Saloni Khule became the Winner of the Yoga
Competition in the First group. The second group started with a beautiful
performance by Madoka Yoga Well being Initiative and a family group comprising
of Rajendra Srinivas, Ramyashree Rajendra and Shreekasa Rajendra.
The second group with certificate
of participants, Mr. Mukesh Kimar became 2nd runner up, Rajendra Family became
1st Runner up while Mr. Kachi from Abia State Nigeria became Winner of the competition
in the second group.
There was also an award
presentation given to outstanding Yoga enthusiasts and committed members of
Afro Asian Development Community as well as sponsors of the event.
The event was spiced up with
bouncing castles, games for kids and adults that came for Yoga event.
The fest was attended by Indian
counsellor who also represented His Excellency High Commissioner of India in
Lagos B.N Reddy, Mr. Rakesh Sharma emphasized that now the modern science
has started accepting Yoga and even United Nations has started observing 21st
June as International Yoga day.
He said, "We want all
nationals in Nigeria to benefit from this and start Practicing Yoga for Peace,
harmony and prosperity.
Mr. Pravin Kumar, the General
Secretary of Indo-Naija Yoga Fest 2017 also said, “the event was a great
success and I am happy that Nigerians not only welcomed but conceived our
thought on Yoga. Which was the sole purpose of the event.”
Mr. Bimad Raj Sharan Sinha
explained the importance of Yoga, its combination of mind body and soul and
hence a way of holistic living which is the need of the humanity.
The Yoga training segment was
well received by the guests, who expressed their satisfaction with the depth of
information shared. The session included practical demonstrations on how to
kick-start and develop a successful Yoga demonstration.
A guest at the event who
witnessed the Yoga demonstration Engineer Adeniyi Ijilusi said, the maiden
edition of the Fest was attended by about 400 Nigerians alongside with 15 other
nationalities living in Lagos including diplomats of various countries.
The program ended with the
promise of # Practice Yoga Regular # Practice Yoga with Family
#YogaFestNigeria.
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