Accra: The practice of yoga was given a boost by Ghana's Deputy Minister for Education, Sam Okudzeto-Ablakwa, when he publicly endorsed it and said he will enroll to get involved because of what the ancient Indian exercise discipline has to offer.
Okudzeto-Ablakwa is one of the youngest deputy ministers in the country and has a large following among the youth. His endorsement is likely to encourage those who want to turn to yoga.
Speaking at a ceremony ahead of the International Day of Yoga on June 21, Okudzeto-Ablakwa said he has weighed the benefits of health and peace that are inherent in the practice of yoga and decided to endorse it, adding that the discipline was necessary for the people of the world to "live mutually in peace".
Okudzeto-Ablakwa said that yoga provides the key to those who want to live in a "world without terrorism" because of the fundamental teaching of peace that yoga provides.
The International Day of Yoga was adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 27 last year after an appeal by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at a function to launch the day, Okudzeto-Ablakwa said the nature of yoga was also important to Ghana in the country's quest for preventive healthcare as against curative care which is likely to bring down the country's huge healthcare bill.
The ceremony which was held at the Delhi Public School provided the students the opportunity to showcase what yoga is all about. High Commissioner of India to Ghana, Jeeva Sagar, said the practice of yoga was important to health and peace and that it was not surprising that 176 countries co-sponsored the resolution to adopt the yoga day worldwide.
Sagar applauded the governments of Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso which are all in the West African sub-region for co-sponsoring the resolution which included Canada, the US and China.
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