Millions worldwide take to their mats on Yoga Day

Updated 1:23 pm, Sunday, June 21, 2015

Participants perform yoga at an event to celebrate the International Yoga Day, pictured from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. Photo: Kamil Zihnioglu, AP
Participants perform yoga at an event to celebrate the...
Several hundred yogis practice yoga during the 13th annual Solstice in Times Square event, Sunday, June 21, 2015, in New York. The event drew several thousand people to mark the summer solstice. Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP
Several hundred yogis practice yoga during the 13th annual Solstice...
Ivan Stanley, a 41 year-old Indian man attempts to breaks the world’s record for holding a headstand during celebrations of World Yoga Day, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Stanley held the position for 61 minutes and registered his attempt with the Guinness World Records, which has yet to announce if he broke the record. Photo: Kamran Jebreili, AP
Ivan Stanley, a 41 year-old Indian man attempts to breaks the...
A Filipino yoga enthusiast performs a pose during the International Yoga Day inside a mall in suburban Taguig, south of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, June 21, 2015. Yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. Photo: Aaron Favila, AP
A Filipino yoga enthusiast performs a pose during the International...
Indian army soldiers perform yoga at an army training area, in Chennai, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts across the world bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures Sunday to mark International Yoga Day.. Photo: Arun Sankar K, AP
Indian army soldiers perform yoga at an army training area, in...
Lebanese and foreign citizens perform yoga during an Acro yoga class to mark International Yoga Day, at Beirut Yoga Center, Lebanon, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts across the world bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures Sunday to mark International Yoga Day. Photo: Hussein Malla, AP
Lebanese and foreign citizens perform yoga during an Acro yoga...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center front, lies down on a mat as he performs yoga along with thousands of Indians on Rajpath, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts are bending their bodies in complex postures across India as they take part in a mass yoga program to mark the first International Yoga Day. Photo: Saurabh Das, AP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center front, lies down on a...
Chinese perform yoga at a hotel banquet hall to mark the International Yoga Day, in Changping District, on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. Photo: Andy Wong, AP
Chinese perform yoga at a hotel banquet hall to mark the...
Thousands of people participate in a yoga exercise at Chulalongkorn University field, marking the International Day of Yoga in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, June 21, 2015. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a day dedicated to yoga when he addressed the annual United Nations General Assembly in September, 2014. A resolution in support, co-sponsored by a record 177 countries, was adopted by the Assembly on Dec. 11, 2014. Photo: Sakchai Lalit, AP
Thousands of people participate in a yoga exercise at Chulalongkorn...
Taiwanese perform yoga poses at the start of International Yoga Day in Taipei, Taiwan, June 21, 2015. Equipped with yoga mats and humming the sounds of Om, over two thousand people in Taipei city performed the 108 rounds of the Sun Salutation Sunday marking the start of the International Yoga Day in a Taipei university’s soccer field. Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Taiwanese perform yoga poses at the start of International Yoga Day...
A yogi stretches out on a mat during the 13th annual Solstice in Times Square event, Sunday, June 21, 2015, in New York. Several thousand yogis participated in the event to mark the summer solstice. Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP
A yogi stretches out on a mat during the 13th annual Solstice in...

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NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of people celebrated the first International Yoga Day, rolling out their mats and striking complex postures on city streets, squares and classrooms around the world.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spread his mat among rows of people, including his Cabinet members and foreign diplomats, at New Delhi's main thoroughfare, which was transformed into a sprawling exercise ground. New York's busy Times Square was closed off to traffic as several hundred yoga enthusiasts took to their mats.

In Taipei, more than 2,000 participants rolled out mats and performed 108 rounds of the "sun salutation" — the sequence of poses often practiced at the beginning of a routine as the sun rises.

And in Dubai, 21-year-old Ivan Stanley, from India, tried to breaks the world's record for holding a headstand. Stanley held the position for 61 minutes and registered his attempt with Guinness World Records, which has yet to announce if he broke the record.

Other cities where people celebrated Yoga Day include Austin, Texas, Tel Aviv, Israel, Beijing and Mexico City.

Many believe that yoga, the ancient form of exercise, is the best way to calm the mind and the best form of exercise for the body.

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