Asian Yoga icon Sri Srinivas Suresh Kamal instructs people to perform yoga at the festival. VNS Photo Minh Phương

HÀ NỘI — The Winter Yoga Festival kicked off on Monday in Hà Nội with the aim of encouraging people to practice even when it’s cold.

The event, organised by the Việt Nam Yoga Federation and Hương Anh Yoga Centre, attracted the participation of 1,000 yogis to perform together at the Hoàng Mai District Stadium.

With the theme Yoga and Public Health, the event included master classes and a talk with foreign masters such as Asian Yoga icon Sri Srinivas Suresh Kamal.

“It’s a good chance for me to inspire Vietnamese people in practising yoga,” said Kamal. “When I came to Việt Nam, I realised that Vietnamese people love yoga and the number of practitioners is increasing rapidly. Yoga is not only a sport or fitness, it’s the way you enjoy a healthy lifestyle.”

“I will co-operate with other Indian and Vietnamese masters to help people increase the benefits of yoga. People just know about the positions and physical movements. I will tell them that practising yoga means practising the mind. It’s a good way to eliminate pressure and negative emotions.” — VNS

The festival attracted 1,000 people to practise together. VNS Photo Minh Phương