International Yoga Day 2019: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla leads yoga day celebrations at Parliament

Along with staffers, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, BJP MPs Locket Chatterjee, Poonamben Maadam were among those who participated in the celebrations at the Parliament premises.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, dressed in a white track suit, led yoga day celebrations at Parliament premises on Friday. Along with staffers, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, BJP MPs Locket Chatterjee, Poonamben Maadam and Bhupendra Yadav, and former aviation minister Suresh Prabhu were among those who participated in the celebrations at the Parliament premises, according to news agency PTI.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla performs Yoga during the 5th International Day of Yoga at Parliament, in New Delhi. (PTI)

More than 400 people participated in the event which was conducted by two trainers from 7 am to 8 am.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country-wide celebrations in Ranchi where around 40,000 enthusiasts stretched an extra muscle in various yogic exercises at the Prabhat Tara ground.

The idea of International Day of Yoga was first proposed by Prime Minister Modi during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 27 September 2014. The first International Day of Yoga was observed all over the world on June 21, 2015, when over 30,000 people including Prime Minister Modi performed yoga at the Rajpath in New Delhi.

In Delhi, the celebrations played out at several venues -- from the sprawling Rajpath and the lawns of Red Fort to municipal parks, hospitals, gardens and offices with thousands of enthusiasts performing asanas. News agency ANI said Union minister Smriti Irani participated at an event in Dwarka with scores of other women. Irani had earlier this week vowed to practice yoga every day and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his idea of celebrating it every year.

International Day of Yoga 2019: Get Live updates and latest news of PM Modi in Ranchi on Yoga day