BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Atlanta, GA, July 1, 2021: As COID-19 continues to upend lives of people globally, the relevance of Yoga, which bears impact and physical and mental dimensions of the pandemic, becomes more pronounced than ever. On June 20, 2021, Greater Atlanta Telangana Society (GATes) organized the “108 Surya Namaskars” Yoga event to celebrate International Yoga Day and to bring awareness to the people of Atlanta about benefits of Yoga at Sharan Park Community Hall, Cumming Georgia. People from other cities and countries joined the event virtually to learn and enjoy the benefits Yoga.
“COVID-19 Pandemic distressed people all over the world and emphasized the necessity for good health and immunity for a better world,” said Kishan Tallapally, President GATeS.
“GATeS organization has been conducting virtual Yoga sessions for almost three months every weekend to educate the importance of Yoga and Surya Namaskars under the able guidance of enthusiastic and energetic yoga guru Praveen Maripelly from Yoganikethan, India,” said Tallapally. Maripelly is a yoga propagandist who has performed 108 Surya Namaskar on 13 mountains in 7 countries – India, Nepal, France, Germany, Armenia, Austria and the United States. Maripelly’s unique achievement includes performing 108 Surya Namaskars on top of the Everest base camp mountain at 6150 meters height, -15d temperature with less oxygen.
At Sharon Park Community Center more than 50 Yoga enthusiasts participated at the event physically, while about 150 joined in virtually. While some were apprehensive about completing 108 Surya Namaskars, together as a group, they were able to complete all 108 Namaskars, noted Tallapally.
Tallapally, Vice President Sunil Gotoor, Secretary Janardhan Pannela, BOD members Naveen Battini and Anitha Nellutla coordinated the event and all the participants appreciated GATeS for organizing the event and requested to do more such events. “As always, all events are successful with the presence of wonderful people and GATeS conveys thanks to all for coming and making the event a big success,” said Tallypally.
Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. ‘Yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit, meaning to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness. Recognizing its universal appeal, on 11 December 2014, the United Nations proclaimed 21 June as the International Day of Yoga with the aim to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.
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