International Yoga Day: 11 photos that depict the extreme side of yoga

Yoga is a mixture of three factors: diverse postures, breathing patterns and meditation. It can help purify the eight chakras (energy centres) in the body through regular and correct practice.

“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.”

– Maharishi Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. Of course, with time we have seen various quirky forms of yoga emerge such as Nude Yoga, Beer Yoga and Goat Yoga. And don’t forget Doga, which is yoga for dogs.

Now whether you practice yoga or not, you’d enjoy these breathtaking photographs of people in various yogic poses:

Man doing yoga (parsva bakasana) on a frozen lake. (Shutterstock)

Sjana Elise, one of the most popular yoga trainers on Instagram, doing yoga. (Shutterstock)

A man meditating on a narrow balk. (Shutterstock)

A couple doing acroyoga on the very edge of a cliff. (Shutterstock)

A man does yoga niralamba shirshasana, head stand pose without hands, on the beach in Varkala, Kerala. (Shutterstock)

Parivrtta janu sirsasana pose during the sunset (Shutterstock)

A woman practising yoga on a cliff. (Shutterstock)

An extremely flexible yoga practitioner on a rail track. (Shutterstock)

Someone looks motivated. (Shutterstock)

Namaste. Have a good day. (Shutterstock)

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