- November 26, 2024
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The Casement's north lawn will once again be filled with yoga mats and the sound of laughter as it continues to be the home base for International Yoga Day in Ormond Beach.
Celebrated worldwide by 175 countries at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 21, International Yoga Day was first proposed to the United Nations in 2014 by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was established in 2015, though Ormond Beach did not begin to participate until the following year.
International Yoga Day is locally organized by Ormond Beach residents Madhu Parikh, a retired plastic surgeon, and his wife Hansa, a retired OB-GYN. The event will feature international guest Guru Devaraj, and attendees will receive a free T-shirt and Starbucks coffee. Parikh said about 350 people have attended the last two events.
For Parikh, yoga brings both physical and mental benefits to the body.
“Yoga means merging of mind, body and spirit," Parikh said. "It all merged together makes you a complete, healthy person.”
If one is spiritually healthy, Parikh added, then they can do anything.
Jo Marine, a certified yoga instructor, will be leading physical, or Hatha, yoga during the event. She said yoga is appropriate for people of all ages.
“People can also share the experience of yoga together, including the physical and the laughing yoga — have fun together,” Marine said.
Parikh will also be leading some laughing yoga sessions during the event. It is a type of yoga he is passionate about, and he said it reduces stress, anxiety and violent tendencies. It has to do with controlling the thoughts that push you to act, Parikh explained.
“If you keep on laughing all the time, you don’t get negative thoughts," Parikh said.
