Tens of thousands of people stood on one leg, hands outstretched to the sky in unison, in the Indian capital on Sunday to mark the first International Day of yoga, part of the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi promote the country’s traditions .
“There will be no part of the world will be touched by the yoga today,” said Mr. Modi before taking his place in a yoga mat in front of a group of government officials, police, school and others in the heart of New Delhi.
Since his election last year, Mr. Modi, a politician with roots in Hindu nationalism, has sought long Indian customs to inject more patriotism in domestic politics and give impetus to cultural diplomacy country outside while India aims to raise global profile.
On Sunday, 35,000 people participated in the public demonstration of yoga at sunrise on the center of Delhi. In December, the United Nations declared the International Day of yoga, at the request of India: Mr. Modi used his first speech at the UN in September to call for it.
The Indian government said that diplomatic missions had organized parties yoga-day in 191 countries.
“Our goal is to keep the tradition,” said Iswara N. Acharya, director of the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy in New Delhi, a research center that studies the effect of yoga, breathing and meditation on the human body .
Nowhere was this clearer than in emphasis premiere in traditional healing. The government has doubled spending on traditional yoga and Ayurvedic medicine and homeopathy.
A considerable part of the increased budget will build teaching hospitals to seek treat everything from diabetes to malaria with traditional remedies and yoga research centers. Mr. Acharya said he hopes the money will “revive the ancient practices to the world.”
Such parallel health systems are not uncommon in Asia. In China and South Korea, there is a traditional medicine with modern health care.
