New Delhi. Tens of thousands of people across India gathered in public parks and on sandy beaches Saturday to celebrate the 11th International Day of Yoga.

Mass yoga sessions were held across many Indian states, with crowds attempting various poses and practicing breathing exercises. Indian military personnel joined in from remote and extreme locations, including the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas and aboard naval ships anchored in the Bay of Bengal.

Similar events were planned in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

“I feel that yoga keeps us spiritually and mentally fit and helps us manage stress. That’s why people should dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to yoga to stay healthy,” said Rajiv Ranjan, a participant at an event in New Delhi.

Yoga is among India’s most influential cultural exports after Bollywood. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has also become a tool of diplomacy, part of India’s broader push for cultural soft power on the global stage.

Modi successfully lobbied the United Nations to declare June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in 2014. This year’s theme was “Yoga for One Earth, One Health.”

On Saturday, Modi performed yoga alongside a large crowd on the beach in Visakhapatnam, a coastal city in southern India. Amid a checkerboard of yoga mats covering the sand, Modi took his place and participated in breathing exercises, backbends, and other poses.

“Yoga leads us on a journey toward oneness with the world,” he said. “Let this Yoga Day mark the beginning of Yoga for Humanity 2.0, where inner peace becomes global policy.”

Modi’s promotion of yoga has been widely echoed by government ministers, officials, and military personnel, many of whom posted photos of themselves in yoga poses on social media.

In the Indian capital, scores of people from all age groups and walks of life gathered at the sprawling Lodhi Gardens, following instructions from a yoga teacher on stage.

“Yoga for me is about balancing the inner world and the outer world,” said Siddharth Maheshwari, a startup manager attending the event.

In Malaysia, more than a thousand people, from seasoned yoga enthusiasts to first-timers, took part in a session at the Batu Caves, a Hindu pilgrimage site near Kuala Lumpur. Participants of all ages, including children, practiced yoga in front of a giant golden statue of a Hindu deity and the rainbow-colored staircase leading to the cave temple.

The event was organized by the Indian High Commission in Malaysia.

“It has been really good and relaxing for the mind, body, and soul,” said participant Lee Ann.

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