The college of physical education and sports sciences for women, in cooperation and coordination with the Adam Organization for Human Development and the representatives of Iraq at the Embassy of India, has organized the 8th World Yoga Festival under the slogan “Yoga for Harmony and Peace”, in the presence of the Indian Ambassador to Iraq Prashant Besai, and the Indian yoga teacher Dheeraj Prakash Joshi. The aim of this event was to spread the philosophy of yoga, peace, tolerance and human harmony among all communities.
The festival began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and dedicating Surah Al-Fatiha in honor of the souls of our righteous martyrs. Then His Excellency the Ambassador of India delivered a speech expressing his gratitude to the deanship of the college for the establishment of this peaceful festival, which seeks to strengthen the bonds of cooperation and fruitful relations between the two parties, also stressing that Yoga is one of the spiritual sports aimed at uniting man with the spirit, especially the cosmic spirit, since athletic activities are considered as areas of gathering people of various religions. The dean of the college of physical education for women, Dr. Fatima Abd Maleh, also delivered a speech, welcoming the guests and pointing out the importance of Yoga for the human beings that help then to enjoy good health, as well as achieving balance between mind and body towards attaining harmony between human relations, namely when practicing Surya Namaskar, usually known as (sun salutation) used for incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas or body postures. The festival also included yoga performances by Dr. Mustafa Kazem, Dr. Mahmoud Mustafa and the Indian expert Dheeraj Prakash with the participation of a group of Iraqi children and our undergraduate students, concluding with the distribution of shields and books of thanks and appreciation between the two sides and wishing success and more progress in the service of our beloved Iraq.
