Take a mat.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this Wednesday in the North Lawn area outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. Modi, who stopped at the UN en route to Washington, where he will be tasted, dined and bilaterally hosted by President Joe Biden’s White House as part of a state visit, showed off his yoga technique to the alongside diplomats, policy makers, members of the Native American community and various aspiring UN types seeking to combine body, mind, spirit and soul in the pursuit of health, balance and well-being.
Before getting down on all fours for a few tadasana (mountain pose), malasana (garland pose) and other standing, balancing and seated poses, Modi said a few words. Shortly after becoming India’s leader, in 2014 Modi convinced the UN to pass a resolution declaring June 21 as International Yoga Day.
“Namaste,” Modi said as he started his speech.
“Yoga is free from copyrights, patents, and royalty payments. Yoga is adaptable to your age, gender, and fitness level. Yoga is portable and is truly universal,” he said. he said looking across a small sea of yellow rugs.
A large video screen displayed images of Indian heritage and culture.
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Shortly before, Modi had placed flowers on a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, the famous Indian lawyer and supporter of nonviolent resistance. It was a gift from India and is permanently located in the North Lawn area after it was installed in December last year under India’s presidency of the UN Security Council.
Modi’s message: let’s be kind to ourselves
“Let us use the power of yoga, not only to be healthy, happy, but to be kind to ourselves and to each other,” Modi said, from a scene that held several high diplomats in its wings. rank of the UN as well as the mayor of New York. Eric Adams, Hollywood actor Richard Gere and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN “Let’s use the power of yoga to build bridges of friendship and a cleaner, greener future and sustainable.”
Modi, like many other attendees, was dressed for the occasion.
He wore a loose white t-shirt and pants. Adams wore a suit and tie. While the latter is inclined towards yoga, he wasn’t traditionally dressed for it, although he didn’t seem to join the other revelers in the communal stretches.
Still, Adams gave a good line in a yoga-tinged political speech.
“New York City is America’s largest and most important city. As I stand before you as mayor of this city, I share with you in a clear and universal tone that we are only focused no longer just about the physical body, but about the anatomy of our mind. But there is a greater challenge for all of us. What we do on the mat and practicing yoga must become what we do on the street and in our countries. We cannot become universally connected through the yellow carpets we lay on but disconnected as we move through our communities,” he said.
“Using the spirit and emotions of yoga, to challenge and fight against war, to fight against gender oppression, to fight against violence, to fight against the lack of clean water, to fight against food insecurity.”
Using yoga to distract from a poor human rights record?
Some of Modi’s critics have accused him of using yoga to distract from his poor human rights record and pursuing a form of Hindu nationalism that has grossly penalized India’s minority groups. , its Muslims in particular.
He presented himself as an ascetic, a pious man of the people who spends his free time in meditation. (A carefully constructed election campaign photo from 2019 depicts Modi in a saffron robe, sitting cross-legged with his back to the wall of a cave framed by the Himalayan mountain range.)
In Washington, Modi will get down to business: China, arms, Ukraine, trade, all that.
In fact, while Modi was in New York City on a yellow carpet exploring domestic peace, the US Department of Defense simultaneously released a two-page factsheet on the “India-States Defense Acceleration Ecosystem.” -USA” or “INDUS-X”. The document details how “with the support of our governments, closer cooperation between our private sectors and our research institutes will catalyze innovation within our defense industrial bases.”
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Head down, eyes closed, phones off or at least to one side, few in the crowd probably noticed.
“Exhale, roll your chin over your right shoulder. Look all the way to the right. Feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Inhale. Come back to center,” Annelies Richmond, a former professional ballerina who led the group. yoga session on the instructed north lawn area. “Smile. Exhale, roll your chin over the left shoulder. Feel the stretch in the right side of the neck. Good. Inhale. Come back to center and exhale. Good. Relax.”