Previous record was held by Chinese women.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
More than 1600 pregnant women set a world record on the second International Yoga Day on Tuesday by practicing yoga in Rajkot, Gujarat. They broke the record set by China where about 900 pregnant women practiced yoga together, earlier this month.
The mass yoga was held at the Swaminarayan Temple premises. A trained instructor and a medical team were present at the venue, reported PTI.
“Yoga sends a strong message that it can be very useful and beneficial. We want pre-natal yoga to be introduced permanently for pregnant ladies. We have started it in Rajkot. We will provide this to 20,000 women. More than 140 private doctors and more than 80 government doctors are associated with this. I am hopeful this message would be beneficial to all,†District Collector Vikrant Pandey told reporters.
Around 1.25 crore people participated in the second international Yoga Day celebrations held across Gujarat. Around 40,000 venues were arranged across the state. Chief Minister Anandiben Patel participated in the celebrations along with many other VIPs and 30000 participants. The chief minister practiced yoga for about 40 minutes.
“Nearly 1.25 crore people today participated in this second edition of International Day of Yoga, celebrated at 40,000 different places across Gujarat. In Rajkot, 2,000 pregnant women set a world record by performing yoga while 8,000 children on this ground set a world record by making a human chain,” Patel said.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda participated in the event held at Nikol, Ahmedabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his yoga day wishes through a pre-recorded message.
“I am glad that people are now seeing yoga as not just a tool to get better health, but as an important part of daily life to achieve complete wellness. I am confident that the whole world will join this yoga movement and move in the direction of achieving wellness,” Modi said.