PM Modi leads over 37K people to mark International Yoga Day

A yoga enthusiast himself, the Prime Minister surprised everyone as he joined over 37,000 people, including leaders, officials, soldiers and students, in a yoga demonstration at the historic Rajpath on Sunday morning.

"We are not celebrating a day but we are training the human mind to begin a new era of peace and harmony," PM Modi said.

The 30-minute mega event began around 7 am at the Rajpath which was dotted with white as participants sat on their mats for the yoga demonstration.

It seeks to make a tension-free world and spread the message of 'Sadbhavana' (harmony), the Prime Minister said, adding that yoga is "more than only physical fitness". (In pic) Participants perform yoga during a camp to mark the International Day of Yoga, in New Delhi, India, June 21, 2015.

PM Modi did all the 35 asanas listed in the Common Yoga Protocol that were performed on Sunday. A group of yoga experts performed the yoga exercises on a stage, which was beamed to the crowd via around 25 large screens, with instructions in Hindi and English.

Modi said that as mankind advances in various spheres, individual human beings must progress too and yoga was the answer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is surrounded by children after attending the yoga camp on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs yoga, along with, participants during a camp to mark the International Day of Yoga, in New Delhi on June 21, 2015.

"Did anyone imagine this Rajpath will become Yogpath? "We are not celebrating a day but we are training the human mind to begin a new era of peace and harmony," Modi said, adding that it was a programme for human welfare and to spread the message of goodwill.

Maintaining that the asanas are just a beginning of the larger picture of yoga, PM compared it with the fine tuning of various musical instruments at the beginning of a show.

Even bad weather could not deter the spirit of people who came in large numbers to attend the inaugural Yoga Day at Rajpath, New Delhi.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, too, joined others in performing yoga in Lucknow, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015.