More than 700 Dawoodi Bohras roll out mats

Demonstrating that Yoga cuts across all religions, hundreds of Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community members took part in a yoga event on Monday, which was held to mark the June 21 International Yoga Day.

More than 700 community members rolled out their mats at the Bohra Islamic Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi on Monday night. The event was organised under the patronage of the Indian Embassy. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri was also present to witness the grand event unfold.

Some yoga-tastic snippets for you

What's in a name?

Ever wondered how the word 'yoga' came about? It derived from the Sanskrit root 'yuj' meaning to yoke or join together. The actual meaning of Yoga is to join together; it unites the mind, body and spirit.

What's your dominant nostril?

Breathing is one of the main practices of yoga, but while doing your poses you will become aware of how much easier it is to breathe through one nostril than the other. But you'll find it hard to pinpoint your dominant nostril, as it changes every 20 minutes. Weird!

Goat yoga

Yes, it's a thing. This smile-inducing fitness trend with a twist is taking the US by storm. Basically, you just do your conventional yoga poses while hanging out with adorable goats. The friendly little bleaters wander around, and in some cases, walk all over you while you breath deep and relax.

The proceedings on the day were held under the guidance of Sultan ul-Bohra representative, Shabbir Bhaisaheb Najmuddin, and head of the world-wide Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community, Dr Syedna Aaliqadr Mufaddal Saifuddin Saheb.

More than 500 men participated in the programme. At the same time, a separate yoga session was also conducted for women folks of the community in the complex, which had some 200 participants.

The grand programme was conducted by experienced yoga instructors, under the direction of the embassy's first secretary (community affairs, economic and commerce) Dinesh Kumar.

In his address, Suri enlightened the community on the heritage and civilisation of India of which yoga is an important legacy. He explained the importance of yoga and how it has achieved international significance and popularity in recent years.

"Yoga leads to rejuvenation of mind and body, and impacts health and happiness of an individual," he stressed.

After an hour-long exercise, the community members thanked the ambassador for visiting the centre and the embassy for organising the event.

The community members - businessmen, traders and many white collar professionals - expressed happiness to have been part of such an exercise.

The community expressed their "deep sense of gratitude and salute to the country's leadership for their farsightedness, tolerance, happiness and welfare of all citizens".

Source: .khaleej Times