Ufa:Â He has flown with cranes, petted a polar bear and tranquilised a tiger, and now it seems Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to face the Downward Dog.
Putin has said that the Yoga “looks difficult” and that is why he has not tried it. He said this after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about yoga in a meeting with him in the the Russian city of Ufa.
As the two leaders met ahead of the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits, PM Modi thanked Vladimir Putin with regard to the celebrations of the International Day of Yoga on June 21 in Russia. The Prime Minister said it was held in all the cities across Russia.
Yoga will provide holistic healthcare to the world, PM Modi said.
In response, 62-year-old Vladimir Putin, who holds an 8th Dan black belt in Karate, said, “I don’t know how to do yoga. When you people do it, it looks difficult. That is why I have not tried it.”
“I’ve tried so many things, but I haven’t tried yoga, though it is certainly appealing,†Putin told Modi.
“I’ll see what I am able to do based on my physical aptitude,†he added. “When we see real yogi, it seems impossible to reach such perfection, and that’s what stops people,†he further said.
Thousands of yoga enthusiasts across the world took to the mats and stretched, bent and twisted their bodies in multiple complex postures as they marked the inaugural International Day of Yoga on June 21.
June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the UN General Assembly in December, 2014.
177 nations, out of 193 member states of the UN joined as co-sponsors, creating a new record for the highest number of co-sponsoring countries ever for an UNGA Resolution of such nature.
(With inputs from PTI)