Two-week Yogathon to promote ‘Health for Humanity’

27 July 2011

Two-week Yogathon to promote ‘Health for Humanity’

Yogathon New Zealand, a division of Hindu Council of New Zealand, is launching a nationwide ‘Health for Humanity’ Yogathon 2011 which aims to increase awareness about the science of yoga, and its techniques in achieving a healthy body, mind, and spirit in balance with each other.

The Yogathon launch will take place simultaneously at 10.00 am on Saturday, August 13, in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch. In addition to these cities, a number of organisations and Yoga schools from New Plymouth, Nelson and Dunedin have also shown interest.

During the two-week ‘Health for Humanity’ Yogathon from 13 to 27 August 2011, Yogathon New Zealand and participating organisations across the country aim to collectively perform 100,000 repetitions of ‘Surya Namaskar’ (Sun Salutation). A repetition of Surya Namaskar consists of a series of simple yoga postures in rhythmic movements, linked with simple breathing technique.

This is going to be first of its kind Yoga initiative for collective practise of Sun Salutations in New Zealand. Yogathons have been successfully organised in other parts of the world.

The science behind Yoga is based on the conception of koshas (layers/levels) of human personality consisting of the physical body, physiological structures and functions, and mental, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of human existence. The fundamental assertion in Yoga is that each of these koshas should be healthy in themselves and in combination to achieve a balanced, healthy and fulfilling life. This assertion is based in reality we observe in nature around us. Yoga techniques based on asanas (postures), pranayam (breathing techniques), and dhyana (meditation) are designed to address the health of each kosha and the totality of personality. Indeed, the Sanskrit word Yoga implies it.

The purpose of Yogathon is to promote yoga widely in a scientific perspective of health, to help introduce it as a part of school curriculum, encourage healthy living, and connect yoga schools and practitioners in New Zealand through participation in this planned annual event.

“This program is open to people of all ages, gender, and races. Dedicated coordinators from Yoga organisations like Art of Living New Zealand, Bikram School of Yoga, Anahata Yoga Retreat, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre - New Plymouth, Ultimate Ayurveda Ltd, Inz Ayurvedic & Yoga Centre, New Zealand Hindu Temple Society and others are a part of this event,” said Venkat Koppaka, National Coordinator, Yogathon New Zealand.

“The interest from Christchurch is humbling, where the human spirit continues to show it’s tenacity in the face of natural calamities,” said Dr Rajiv Chaturvedi, Public Relations and Media coordinator of Hindu Council of New Zealand.

Of the above, Art of Living Foundation has already pledged 30,000 Surya Namaskar repetitions towards the target of 100,000!

Yogathon organising committee invites various yoga centres, schools and tertiary institutes, social, cultural, and spiritual and community organisations, and individuals to register in this ‘Health for Humanity’ Yogathon. Participants can conduct Surya Namaskar repetitions from the comfort of their homes or as part of the regular group they practice with; in addition venues will be available in some cities where they can join in group practice with trainers.

‘Health for Humanity’ Yogathon is sponsored by New Zealand Lottery Grants Board and supported by Radio Tarana, Indian Weekender, Indianz Outlook, and Suhana Safar with Prabha Mishra on Access Radio Wellington, as media partners.

A list of centres where the opening ceremony will be held and local coordinators is provided below.

Opening Ceremony time:
Date: 13th August 2011, Saturday.
Time: 10 AM to 11 AM.

Venues:

Auckland: Mt Eden War Memorial Hall - 487 Dominion Rd, Balmoral
Henderson Intermediate School - 70 Lincoln Rd, West Auckland
Kawai Purapura, Wellpark Albany - 14 Mills Lane Albany, North Shore
Wetlands Room - Barry Curtis Park - Stancombe Rd, Flat Bush

Wellington: Randwick School, 59 Randwick Road, Moera, Lower Hutt.

Rotorua: Rotorua West Bowling Club, Kamahi Place

Hamilton: Celebrating Age Center - 30 Victoria St, Hamilton

Christchurch: To be announced.

To register for this unique nationwide event go to: http://yogathon-nz.org/registration

ENDS

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