New Delhi: Passengers on-board a flight from Delhi to Guwahati on Thursday practiced Yoga ahead of International Yoga Day.


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Meanwhile, tens of thousands of volunteers took part in yoga and meditation at New Delhi`s central vista preparing to make a success of the first International Day of Yoga under the stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


Renowned yoga and meditation instructor Sadhguru, whose Isha foundation has trained 36,000 instructors who will lead yoga classes across the world on Sunday, said the global community`s willingness to embrace yoga has signalled a paradigm shift in mindsets.


"Leaders of nations have talked about how to win wars, occupy other lands and stuff. But rarely have they ever spoken, for the first time in one voice 177 countries, talking about the inner well-being of the human being. I feel it is momentous and it is, in a way, can be a game changer," Sadhguru told Reuters at his ashram on the outskirts of the national capital.


He said it was high time people began looking inwards for peace and prosperity of the body and soul, something yoga propagates, instead of material gains.Muslim cleric and member of the influential All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Khalid Rasheed, said the community is against the chanting of Hindu hymns on the International Day of Yoga.


"So what we have objected to is that the government must not associate any kind of religious ritual or any kind of Surya Namaskar and basically the politics that is being played and the type of comments and the type of statements that is being given by certain BJP MPs that are targeted against the Muslim community," Rasheed said.


Sadhguru said yoga is a means of keeping the mind and body healthy, without any religious connotation.


"The first step of yoga is the user`s manual: how to sit, how to breathe, how to manage this body, how to get the maximum out of this system. How to keep it an optimal level of function and experience every moment of your life. This is the science of yoga. Is it against any religion? It does not matter what you believe, what you don't believe, every human being has a right to be well. If he has a right to be well, yoga is a powerful tool," he said.