Minister of Culture & Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel said that the Indian way of lifestyle and yoga should be the way forward.

"Being healthy should be part of our lifestyle. Only a healthy person can help others when necessary. We should build our immunity and health in such a way that no viruses or negativity could harm us. Medicines should not be the answer to a hale and hearty life," he added.

Addressing the webinar 'Namaste Yoga: Healthy Youth for Healthy Nation', organized by FICCI, jointly with the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, Patel said, "From South to North and East to West, yoga has become one of the unifying forces of India."

He said, "The 6th International Day of Yoga is on 21st June. I would like to thank PM Narendra Modi for the work done by him towards making yoga popular throughout the world. I am pleased to see young Members of Parliament talking about yoga and its benefits."

Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India said, "The practice of yoga was started over 5,000 years ago in India. Yoga is the science behind leading a happy and healthy life, hence, its practice should be included in our daily life."

He added, "Yoga means uniting the body, mind and spirit into one integral whole. Yoga brings together physical and mental discipline for achieving a peaceful body and mind and helps in managing stress and anxiety. It also helps in increasing flexibility and muscle strength while improving respiration, energy and vitality in the body."

Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament, Bangalore South said, "Yoga has always been an important aspect of my life and my parents have been practising yoga every single day of their lives. I have experienced first-hand benefits of yoga as my parents' health and efficiency at this age is exemplary."

Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Member of Parliament, Ladakh said, "We in Ladakh are planning to virtually celebrate the 6th International Day of Yoga on 21st June 2020."

He added, "Yoga unites individuals, families, society, country and the world. It should be made available to everyone as an indispensable asset to maintain a healthy body and mind. Yoga is a one in all solution for people of Ladakh, who have to remain extremely fit and healthy due to the terrain and now especially in such pandemic times."

Nisith Pramanik, Member of Parliament, Cooch Behar said, "Yoga has become an essential part of my life. With my workers, I practice yoga on a daily basis as it seems to be the only answer available to fight such pandemics. Practising Yoga and Pranayamswill help boost our immunity and strengthen our respiratory system to fight the current COVID-19 situation and many other illnesses."

Highlighting the importance of yoga, Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, "Namaste, in this time of COVID-19, has become not just an Indian but an international symbol of maintaining physical distance and staying safe. Namaste when combined with yoga, which is a way of life and part of our culture and heritage becomes one of our weapons to fight against the invisible virus."

She added, "The webinar in the given time is the most appropriate topic for discussion because if we can train our youth, then we can create role models to empower our youth with this ancient yet powerful tool to beat the healthcare crisis."

Sapna Vyas, Weight Management Specialist said, "Regular exercises or workouts help you stay fit and focused, but with yoga you can take a journey within. Dhyan, Asana and Pranayams help us stay focused on the present and removes doubts and stress of the past and future from our minds."

She added, "Practising yoga in current times is crucial to have a healthy mind in a healthy body, thereby keeping us positive and boosting our immunity. It is due to COVID-19 that many people are trying yoga and are able to see the benefits of yoga."