International Yoga Day was observed in educational institutions, offices and social clubs across the state.
The students of Swami Vivekananda Centenary School took part in a programme this morning. The students presented different asanas, stretching and breathing exercises.
In Ballygunge Lake, morning walkers took part in collective yoga and meditation sessions. In New Town people of different ages took part in collective yoga.
It was Swami Vivekananda, who first talked about Yoga and meditation in the West after his success at the World Parliament of Religion, held at Chicago in 1893. The meditation classes conducted by him became very popular in both the United States and England.
Later, Paramahamsa Yogananda (1893-1952), author of Autobiography of a Yogi, which was published in 1946, made yoga popular in the USA. The book was a bestseller. Steve Jobs, who was an ardent follower of Paramahamsa bought copies of the book which was distributed among those present at his funeral meeting.
The National Medical Mission has introduced yoga and meditation for medical students to release stress and tension. The asanas and breathing exercises called pranayama have become popular in the West.
Bikram Chowdhury made yoga popular among the Hollywood stars in the 1980s.