Here's how people around the world celebrated International Yoga Day
180 countries took part in the 5,000-year-old body and mind practice.
In case you couldn’t tell from your Instagram feed, today marks the third annual International Yoga Day which sees some 180 countries unite under the 5,000-year-old body and mind practice.
Established by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, the UN-approved celebration takes place annually on June 21 to coincide with the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Modi himself set the tone on Wednesday morning with a 20-minute practice among thousands of others in Lucknow, India.
“Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition,” Modi said in 2014 as he made his case to the UN for the global event.
“It embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and fulfilment, harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.”
Take a look at how people celebrated around the world…
Londoners gathered in a colourful display in Trafalgar Square.
A Hindu holy man took on a complex pose in Gauhati, India.
A group adopted the three-legged downward dog pose in Milan, Italy.
Tao Porchon Lynch, a 98-year-old yoga instructor, performed in Bangalore, India.
Hindu holy men struck the tree pose in Gauhati, India.
New York joined in with some Bikram yoga in Times Square.
Children joined the mass session in Seoul, South Korea.
In Kabul, Afghanistan, foreigners joined Afghans to mark the day at the Indian Embassy.
The cobra pose was seen in action in Yangon, Burma.
Dozens took part in a mass yoga class in Tel Aviv, Israel.
In times like these, an entire day dedicated to yoga sounds close to ideal.