ROME - On Thursday the Campidoglio was filled with colourful exercise mats, iced chai tea and yoga fanatics and gurus to celebrate World Yoga Day in Rome.

 Organised by the Indian Embassy in Rome, this is the fourth year that the event has been celebrated in Rome. It comes in the middle of Rome Yoga Week, which is taking place all across the city until the 29th of June. As the event happened to coincide with World Music Day, music and yoga were combined exquisitely atop the Capitoline hill, as the participants were treated to a concert of classical Indian vocal music after the solstice sun had set.

 Reenat Sandhu, the Ambassador for India in Rome, opened the event by talking about the powerful effect that the practice of yoga has on the wellbeing of the individual; “Yoga is a gift from ancient India, but today it is a way of life for millions of people all of the world. It is not just a series of movements, but it is the key for a healthy body and mind; scientifically-proven to help with concentration, good posture and stress reduction.”

 Before the group yoga session began, we heard from Italian singer Irene Grandi who is an advocate for the enormous benefits that yoga has on our mental and physical health. Sharing her own experience of how yoga transformed her life from being unbearably stressful to balanced and fulfilling, she chose to sing a few lines of John Lennon’s ‘Woman’; lyrics which for her capture how yoga changed her perspective in life: “Woman, I will try to express my inner feeling and thankfulness... for showing me the meaning of success, I love you.”

 As the sun started to set, candles were lit and ten Rome-based yoga teachers were invited to the stage to lead the hundreds who attended the event. After an hour of being guided peacefully by a teacher from the Yogananda Ashram yoga centre, the music part of the evening was to begin. The Mani Bianche choir sang first, and the evening was brought to a close by the beautiful classical sounds of Ritwak Sanyal, accompanied by the traditional Indian instruments rudra veena and a pakhawaj. They performed as part of the SummerMela festival which celebrates Indian culture in Italy. The festival goes on until the 3rd of July, and information on the different performances can be found at: https://summermela.find.org.in/

 To learn more about the upcoming events in Rome Yoga Week, go to: http://www.indianembassyrome.in/news_detail.php?id=265

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