Puri (Odisha), India: A horde of Japanese yoga enthusiasts, students, tourists led by a native introduced Beach Yoga on the golden coastal line of Puri – the city of temples in Odisha, last Saturday.
They thronged the beach in the early morning hours to start with a Surya Namaskar followed by other asanas in yogic postures pairing the soothing influence of ocean waves on the beach sand.
The beach yoga drive was led by Kunna Dash, a native of Puri and also an International Tourism Ambassador of Kyoto, Japan with the aim of combining spiritual cleanliness with beach cleanliness.
“Beach Clean with Beach Yoga when joined together, it signifies cleanliness in mind, body & intellect,” said Dash.
The occasion was “Beach Cleanup Drive” on the International Coastal Cleanup Day in four cities of Odisha including Puri by the administration on September 21. And the venue was Panthanivas beach adjacent to VIP road, Subhas Chandra Bose square.
“Commemorating with its far-reaching objective I introduced Beach Yoga here replicating the same as has long since been introduced in different beaches across Japan. More so it has become quite popular among the Japanese as well as the international community living there,” he added.
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Dash launched the drive in association with Om Yoga International Center, Puri and India-Japan Friendship Center, Japan along with some other organizations.
As claimed by the Puri administration, the mega coastal cleanliness drive under the banner of ‘Mo Beach Puri clean up’ initiative was largest coastal clean-up drive that aimed at sensitizing people about the importance of clean beaches. More than 10,000 people participated in the drive.
It also witnessed the participation of intellectuals and people from the film industry like Nandita Das and Vidyut Jammawal.
“However, cleanliness drives alone won’t help to maintain the beaches clean unless we associate such drives with initiatives like Beach Yoga. When people start doing yoga on beaches, the coastal lines would automatically remain cleaned. It will have multifaceted impacts and would also boost tourism and influx of foreign exchange to India,” said Dash.
According to yogapedia.com Beach Yoga is the practice of yoga in the relaxing setting of the beach, pairing the soothing influence of ocean waves with a calming yet energizing asana practice.
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“Many studies have shown the stress-reducing qualities of yoga practice, but more recent research confirms that spending time near a body of water reduces stress. It’s not just the sound of the crashing waves that melds nicely with a yoga practice. The smell of the beach, feel of the sand and sight of the seemingly endless water and sky all affect the brain in a way that creates a calming influence,” said says.
Puri has a coastal line running into 140kms out of the total coastal line of 480kms in Odisha.
While lauding the efforts of the Puri administration, Dash said it is an exemplary move by the district administration in its ‘hundred kilometers stretch beach-clean drive on Puri beach’ as it has gathered a momentum exhilarating mass applaud on the auspicious eve of the International Beach Clean Day.
Dash also announced, “We have decided to organize this beach yoga in different places along the stretch of Puri beach every day. Participation of tourists should open up a new avenue for Puri beach yoga tourism. From the next year, we put all our efforts together to make it International Puri Beach Yoga Festival.”
