On Wednesday, June 21, Israel will celebrate the Third International Yoga Day with the largest yoga event in Israel, at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, from 4 to 11 PM.
This year, Yoga Day will also celebrate India and Israel’s 25 years of diplomatic relations: 1500 yoga mats will be quilted together into a giant depiction of the city’s dreams, and thousands will partake in multiple forms of yoga, led by Dr. Rohit Sabharwal, a renowned yoga teacher from the Art of Living Yoga stream.
An official ceremony at 8 PM will include a message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian music and dance.
At 4 PM, the largest artwork ever created out of yoga mats will be revealed, visualizing the future of Israel in 30 years, with emphasis on the environment, the culture, and co-existence – led by DreaMe Diaries author and founder and CEO of Dreame Sharonna Karni Cohen, who has collected hundreds of dreams from hundreds of people in Tel Aviv.
Sharonna recruited artist Amit Trainin and two junior artists who transformed these dreams into one artwork visualizing the future. This was scanned and sliced into 1500 pieces and printed onto yoga mats, which will be quilted together on Wednesday morning.
Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi will visit Israel in the coming weeks, the first such visit by an India PM. Modi, in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, proposed the celebration of International Yoga Day, and June 21 has since been declared by the UN as the International Yoga Day.
Prime Minister Modi stated at the time that “Yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and fulfillment, harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature.”
The event is free of charge, including the Yoga sessions, which will cater to every level of proficiency.