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SIMPSON BAY--The pumping sound of reggae music making its way up Simpson Bay Beach did not interfere with the quiet quite a large gathering of yoga amateurs and professionals sought on the first-ever International Yoga Day on Sunday afternoon.
Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice or discipline that originated in India.
Yoga practitioners got in the groove to bend, stretch and breathe as the music slowly faded into the background and they moved through the ancient exercise routine.
The waves lapped and sea gulls drifted above as St. Maarten/St. Martin residents and a sprinkling of visitors were led in yoga poses by Kapil Bhatia, member of event organiser Art of Living Foundation St. Maarten.
After a rigorous yet fun workout of sun salutations, striking the warrior pose, the cobra and the half moon, a pleasant shower of rain broke from the sky to cool off the yoga enthusiasts, among whom were former prime minister, now Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams and representatives of the business and civil society.
Yoga brought together thousands of people Sunday on Delhi's Rajpath, the nerve centre of power in India, at the ancient Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Times Square in the modern metropolis of New York City, and in tiny St. Maarten.
June 21 was declared International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014.
In suggesting June 21, which is the Summer Solstice, as the International Day of Yoga, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the date was the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and had special significance in many parts of the world.
