GOPIO Manhattan and Happy Life celebrate International Yoga Day  

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International Yoga Day was celebrated with an interactive and informative online workshop June 22, 2024. Organized jointly by the Manhattan Chapter of Global Organization for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Happy Life Yoga Speaker Emmy-nominated Filmmaker Tirlok Malik, Indian Panorama and Indian American Forum, the event had India’s Consul General Binaya Srikanta Pradhan as Chief Guest. The event drew a large crowd of viewers and participants from New York, other parts of the U.S. and India.

Congratulating both GOPIO and Malik, Consul General Pradhan said in his address that yoga is a holistic system combining both mind and body and outlined its benefits.

At this year’s workshop, Malik stressed the importance of living a happy and healthy life and practicing love for oneself through healthy and mindful choices for a strong mental health and peace. He demonstrated some yoga exercises along with chair yoga, punctuating it with laughter.

Malik has conducted more than 100 ‘No Mats Needed’ Happy Life Yoga workshops in the last five years. He has been collaborating with GOPIO for the past four years for Yoga Day celebrations.

Speaking at the event, Indu Jaiswal, Chair, Indian American Forum and a medical professional, said she believes one should, “Always have a positive outlook and believe in yourself.” Prof. Indrajit Singh Saluja, Editor-Publisher of The Indian Panorama, said that happiness is within and in realization that one’s own happiness should not cause unhappiness to others.

Tara Shajan, a medical professional, said he believes in revisiting happy memories, particularly from childhood. He also  suggested lowering our happiness threshold would bring more happiness. For Neeta Bhasin, founder of Times Square Diwali, prioritizing her own happiness has brought benefits, she said. Accepting everything as a gift of god, ‘prasad from god’ was the mantra of Neha Lohia, a filmmaker and spiritual enthusiast.

Parveen Chopra, founder of ALotusInTheMud.com, a wellness and spirituality webmag, said our happiness would flourish if we avert the danger that has not yet arrived. He advised regular exercise, yoga and meditation for better physical and mental health in later life. A short meditation workshop was conducted by Dr. Renee Mehra, Host of Zoom-in-with-Renee online show.

GOPIO International President Lal Motwani, AIA National President Gobind Munjal, ‘Vegan Ambassador’ Anil Narang and Deborah Fishman were other speakers.

GOPIO International Chairman and GOPIO Manhattan Advisor,  Dr. Thomas Abraham, spoke about GOPIO’s objectives and urged people to join GOPIO International.

President Shivenderr Sofat of GOPIO-Manhattan said the message of the day’s activities was universal. GOPIO-Manhattan Board member Sid Jain provided the technical service at the session, and secretary Bhavya Gupta gave the vote of thanks.