E-Paper
Who is Annelies Richmond - yoga teacher who led historic UN HQ session?
Annelies Richmond led the yoga lesson at the United Nations headquarters, organised to mark 9th International Yoga Day celebration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led 9th International Yoga Day event at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States on Wednesday. At the event, 180 countries were represented by participants who came together for a unique yoga session that was led by the Art of Living Foundation. Annelies Richmond, the organisation's director in the US, led the session, which was held on the expansive North Lawn of the intergovernmental organisation. (Follow International Day of Yoga celebrations LIVE updates here)
The event also created the Guinness World Record for witnessing the highest number of nationalities participating in a yoga session.
Who is Annelies Richmond: 5 points
1)Brooklyn-based Richmond is the director of the Art of Living Foundation in the US and has been associated with the organisation since 2004, as per her LinkedIn profile. She was elevated to the position of director in 2013 and is an expert in breathwork, yoga, and meditation.
Also Read: 'Yoga has Indian roots…a way of life': PM Modi at UN HQ. Top quotes
2)In a video shared on her Instagram, Richmond said she did all her yoga, meditation training in India under Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living foundation.
3)Richmond is also the director of SKY Campus Happiness, a US-based program that works towards mental well-being, as per its website. Prior to joining the organisation, Richmond also worked as a professional dancer till 2005.
4)In addition to her roles as a public speaker and leadership coach, she mentions on her Instagram that she is ballerina. She has trained over 1,000 meditation and leadership teachers in five countries, according to a post on her Facebook.
5)Prior to the UN's Yoga Day event, she expressed her gratitude to PM Modi for “India's pioneering leadership in the field of yoga”, and said “it is a great honour to be leading the Yoga session for PM on the occasion of International Day of Yoga."
