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From Siachen to South China Sea: Some really inspiring yoga

June 21, 2015 11:02 IST

Amid snow-capped mountains and on board warships, India's armed forces demonstrated their impressive yoga skills. Let's take a bow!     

Indian Army soldiers perform yoga at Drass. Photograph: ‏@SpokespersonMoD/Twitter

From ice-capped Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, to the warships in the contentious South China Sea, Indian armed forces on Sunday joined the International Yoga Day celebrations.

Complete coverage: Yoga Day, 2015

Top defence officers led by Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy's Admiral R K Dhowan were present at the Rajpath doing yoga where Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a mega event to mark the day.

Indian naval officers and men celebrating the First International Day of Yoga at Kuanta, Malaysia. Photograph: ‏@SpokespersonMoD/Twitter

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in Meerut for the yoga day celebrations. But perhaps the show-stealer were the soldiers doing yoga in full gear on the Siachen Glacier at a height of 18,800 feet above sea level.

Indian Army practises yoga in the Rann of Kutch.

Dressed in their special weather clothing, the soldiers practised yoga while sitting on mats placed over the snow.

It's yoga time on board INS Vikramaditya, at Karwar. Photograph: ‏@SpokespersonMoD/Twitter

About 7 am, the temperature at Siachen was -4 degree Celsius. Yoga sessions were also carried out by the army in various units across the country including Kargil, Ladakh.

Not to be left behind, the navy held yoga sessions across its installations and on Indian Navy ships deployed overseas in South China Sea.

Indian Navy officers do yoga on the expansive deck of INS Viraat. Photograph: ‏@SpokespersonMoD/Twitter

INS Ranvir, Satpura, Kamorta and Shakti celebrated the International Yoga Day in the South China region with the theme 'Across the Oceans'. The Indian Air Force too carried out yoga sessions across the country which included not just the airmen but also their families.

India led 191 nations to mark the International Yoga Day, highlighted by a mega event here on Rajpath where armed forces personnel, National Cadet Corps cadets and government officials were among the participants.

Indian Army chief Dalbir Singh, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy's Admiral R K Dhowan join the yoga session at Rajpath in New Delhi. Photograph: ‏@SpokespersonMoD/Twitter

The UN General Assembly had in December last year adopted an India-led resolution, supported by over 175 UN member states, declaring June 21 as International Day of Yoga, recognising that "Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being". The day is being observed in over 251 cities in 191 countries across the world.

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