Opening remarks by CG Shanghai on the occasion on 5th International Day of Yoga at Jade Buddha Temple

[at 0830 hrs on 8 June 2019]

印度驻沪总领事在玉佛寺第五届国际瑜伽日活动致辞

2019年6月8日上午8点30

Chief Abbot Juexing, Yoga lovers, Distinguished Guests, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,

尊敬的觉醒方丈、各位瑜伽爱好者、各位来宾、朋友、女生们、先生们：

Namaskar, Dajia Hao, Good morning to all you………….

大家上午好！

We are extremely pleased to be at Jade Buddha Temple, a place for peace, harmony and self-realization, to celebrate the 5^th International Day of Yoga. You will be happy to know that this year’s curtain raiser event was held on 18 May, the auspicious day marking Buddha Purnima.

今天能在玉佛寺这个祥和宝地举办第五届国际瑜伽日系列活动，我们深感荣幸。今年5月18日，我们举办了国际瑜伽日的开幕活动，而那天恰逢佛祖诞生之日，实在是一大幸事。

Five years ago, 177 countries supported the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recognizing the important role Yoga can play in bringing peace and prosperity in the world. This led to proclamation of 21 June as the International Day of Yoga.

5年前，177个国家响应印度总理莫迪在联合国的倡议，将每年6月21日定为“国际瑜伽日”，体现了世界人民认可瑜伽能为世界带来和平与繁荣。

Yoga, an ancient discipline and an invaluable cultural heritage from India, is a vision for a harmonious future for humanity and transgresses gender, age, class and socio-economic diversity.

瑜伽是印度古老文明的瑰宝，其精神在于实现人类自身的和谐，无论任何年龄、性别、阶级和地位的人都能练习瑜伽。

There is a misconception in China that Yoga is for females and it is meant for physical fitness. But this is not the true assessment and appreciation of Yoga. Therefore, this year we have decided to address this issue in holistic manner and pay greater attention towards benefits which Yoga offers in addressing mental health issues.

在中国，人们认为瑜伽是一种阴柔的、适合女性的体育锻炼项目。这实在是对瑜伽的片面理解。因此，今年我们决定通过国际瑜伽日活动让大众对瑜伽有全面的理解，让大家认识到瑜伽对精神健康也有重要作用。

Mental health condition is one of the leading reasons for poor health outcomes; it is taking epidemic proportions in both developed and developing countries. It is well said that ‘there can be no health without mental health’.

精神健康问题严重影响人的健康，无论是在发达国家还是发展中国家都十分普遍。俗话说，“没有精神健康，何谈全面健康”。

The prevalence of mental health conditions and associated disability is widespread; scientific studies suggest that around 10% of global population is suffering from some or the other conditions of mental health conditions which reduces the longevity up-to 5 years, enhances suffering; and becoming one of the leading causes of disability. Therefore, we thought of propagating the benefits which ‘Yoga-associated breathing exercises and meditation’ to address the mental health issues for this year events.

精神健康疾病以及与之相关的伤害正在肆虐全球；科学研究表明，全球有约10%的人正在遭受精神疾病的折磨，这使得他们的平均年龄减少了5岁，同时给他们带来了极大的痛苦，最终导致残疾。正因如此，今年我们借国际瑜伽日活动向大家倡导通过“瑜伽呼吸法和冥想”愈合精神疾病。

Evidence based research suggests that ‘Yoga-breathing exercises and meditation’ prepare the body as well as mind to cope up with stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficiency hyper activity disorder; calms the stress response systems and modulate the thalamic generators; which results in controlling stress and emotions and thus lead towards body-mind balance and overall happiness. Scientific study also suggests that yoga is useful tool for reducing stress and anxiety in old age populations.

大量事实研究表明，“瑜伽呼吸法和冥想”有助于缓解压力、愈合创伤后精神失调、注意缺陷多动症、平复精神紧张和调节丘脑激素分泌；这些都能舒缓人的压力和情绪，使人身心平衡，提升幸福感。研究还证实，瑜伽能有效缓解老年人的压力和焦虑。

Since mental health conditions continue to be a neglected area, thus; the treatment coverage is low, so as the availability of yoga experts to handle this issue. For yours benefit, we have invited Mr. Atul Tyagi, an accomplished yoga master who have expertise in the field of mental health. Please give a big round of applause for them.

由于精神健康经常被人忽视，疗愈精神疾病的资源也很有限。同样，有专业理疗能力的瑜伽老师也很少。今天，我们有幸请到了印度瑜伽精神理疗大师Atul Tyagi先生。请大家给予热烈的掌声。

It is pertinent to mention that regular practice of Yoga is one of the ways which has been recognized to help attain state of healthy lives and well-being, in harmony with nature. Today's enthusiastic participation of you marks the exponential growth in the awareness of Yoga.  

众所周知，经常练习瑜伽能强身健体，实现天人合一。今天各位在此练习瑜伽，将极大推动瑜伽的普及。

I express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have gathered here to enjoy the fruits of Yoga.

在此，我衷心感谢各位今天来到现场参加瑜伽活动。

Thank You

谢谢大家