Over 1 crore perform Surya Namaskar on Makar Sankranti

New Delhi: On the occasion of Makar Sankranti on January 14, the Ministry of AYUSH organised the global Surya Namaskar Demonstration programme under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations and saw more than one crore people perform the asana.

Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal himself performed Surya Namaskar in Assam in a program organized under the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Surya Namaskar was telecasted 13 times live on DD National from 7 am to 7.30 am. Yoga teachers and gurus from across the country and abroad also participated in this program.

In a virtual press meet on Wednesday, Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal had said that the Surya Namaskar demonstration on Makar Sankranti is more relevant in the current resurgence of Covid-19.

“It is a proven fact that Surya Namaskar builds up vitality and immunity and therefore is able to keep the coronavirus at bay. We have set a target of 75 lakh people participating in the programme, but seeing registration and our preparedness, I am hopeful of crossing the limit of one crore,” he said. “The Ministry of Ayush has launched this programme under the direction and guidance of Prime Minister Narender Modi,” Sonowal said.

“On the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti and during the celebrations of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of AYUSH is hosting the first-ever global Surya Namaskar demonstration programme where about 10 million people will participate,” the ministry said in a statement Thursday.