Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday (21 June) in the heritage Indian city of Mysuru to practice yoga as the country celebrated the eighth International Yoga Day.

Narendra Modi, the nation’s prime minister, also joined the yoga session in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

The theme for this year’s day was “yoga for humanity.”

“Global challenges like climate change and international conflicts, yoga makes us conscious, competent and compassionate towards these challenges,” Modi said in a speech.

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