On the 23rd of June 2019, about 250 people showed up bright and early on a Sunday morning to a downtown Brampton park to mark the fifth international yoga day celebrations. The program was jointly organized by the Art of Living foundation that conducts programs for stress-free living all over the world, the City of Brampton and the Consulate General of India, Toronto.
There were multiple yoga related activities all morning that the audience eagerly participated in such as Laughter yoga, Yoga asanas that was led by Chandani Shan, a senior yoga teacher, and even yoga that was led by young children. There were free healthy snacks that were served after the morning of Yoga, and in keeping with the theme of being environmentally conscious, no styrofoam plates or cups, or plastic bottles were used and everyone was urged to reuse and recycle.
The dignitaries who graced the occasion and spoke to the audience about Yoga day were the first citizen of Brampton, Mr Patrick Brown; the consul general of India Toronto Shri Dinesh Bhatia, and key members of the Art of Living, Bhavik Parikh, Maninder Dhillon, Ashutosh Sanghvi, and Preeti Suri, who was the MC for the event. Mayor Patrick Brown spoke to the audience about bringing the awareness and benefits of Yoga to more members of the community and pledged ongoing support. Shri Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India, Toronto, mentioned how Yoga, which represents the union of mind, body and soul through its practices of breathing and yoga asanas that originated in india hundreds of years ago, is now being practiced globally and reaching more people than ever before.
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