Enews chatted to three IYTA members who attended a morning of events to mark International Yoga Day at the KGV Recreation Centre in Sydney on 21 June.

The event, which was attended by a number of refugees – as part of Refugee Week, was organised by YogaHive and sponsored by IYTA, City of Sydney and Yoga for Nature. The activities included a yoga class, talks and a world food market.

Ali Shambrook:

“The indigenous smoking ceremony was really welcoming. There were speakers from the Indian Consulate and UN, which I found very interesting.

“Then we took part in an hour’s Hatha Yoga class before heading outside to the food market. I sat with some other IYTA members and had a Nepalese and Ethiopian lunch while enjoying the community atmosphere. The spirit of the day was really lovely and touched a lot of people…”

Amy Seal:

“I helped out with the other IYTA members greeting people as they arrived. It was a lovely day and well organised. There was a lot of opportunity to mingle and meet people from different walks of life. The food markets were beautiful and I had the Nepalese momo dumplings – which were delicious!”

Olivia Shanti:

“I thought it was great to connect with the refugees – I chatted with some women from Iran. I enjoyed the Aboriginal welcoming ceremony and learning about the Aboriginal culture. There was a great atmosphere – and it was lovely to connect with the other IYTA members.”

The International Day of Yoga proclaimed by the UN aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.

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