PM Modi leads by example at International Yoga Day event

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today surprised many as he joined thousands of participants at Rajpath to practise yoga on the first International Yoga Day.

An avid yoga practitioner, Modi was not scheduled to perform the ' asanas' but he climbed down from the podium after his address to join the over 35,000 participants, including students and officials, in the mass demonstration.

Attired in a white shirt and trousers and a tricolour scraf, 64-year-old Modi did most of the 21 'asanas' along with thousands of participants as part of the common yoga protocol, following the instructions in Hindi and English and images on screens.

The Prime Minister, who had mooted the proposal to celebrate International Yoga Day during his first address to the UN General Assembly in September last year, had been tweeting various asanas daily in the run up to the International Yoga Day.

"Greetings to people around the world on first International Day of Yoga!

"Lets pledge to make yoga an integral part of our daily lives," he said on Twitter today minutes before the mega event at Rajpath.

Modi was expected to only address the event as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had on June 9 said that "he (Modi) will grace the occasion and address the gathering but he will not perform yoga".

But after finishing his address, Modi today went near the participants and after removing his glasses sat on a yoga mat in the front.

The Prime Minister was seen wiping sweat with his stole as he practiced various asanas-- Pad-hastasana, Ardha-chakra asana, Trikonasana, Dandasana, Ardha-Ustrasana, Vajrasan, Shashankasana and Vakraasana.

Modi also interacted with the children after the yoga exercises.

The yoga celebrations are being held in the national capital after the United Nations had in December last year declared June 21 as International Yoga Day, with 177 countries voting in favour.