Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today declared open the two-day All India Yoga Sports Championship cum Festival Kashmir 2015 at Sher-i-Kashmir Indoor Sports Complex (SKISC) here.
12 teams comprising 209 youth (boys and girls) from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Utterakhand, Punjab and hosts Jammu and Kashmir are participating in the championship, organised by the Yoga Society of Kashmir under the auspices of J&K Sports Council, an official spokesman said.
Addressing the gathering, the Governor complimented the organisers for this initiative and said it would go a long way in providing an opportunity to the local population, particularly the youth, to become aware of the benefits of the centuries old practice of Yoga.
"The importance of Yoga has been noted world-wide after the December 2014 Session of United Nations General Assembly declared 21st June as the International Yoga Day at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Recognising the importance of Yoga the UN had unanimously adopted a Resolution, moved by India, and recognised the need to celebrate an International Yoga Day to spread awareness about the benefits of Yogam," he said.
Vohra stressed the usefulness of Yoga Camps and Competitions being organised in each of the three regions, every year, to promote the practice of Yoga amongst the people.
He said that there was no dearth of talent in the children of Jammu and Kashmir and hoped that they would be able to showcase their yoga skills at the national and international level.
The participants displayed their yoga 'Kriyas and Aasnas' and explained their benefits which were highly applauded by the audience, the spokesman said.
