VIII International Day of Yoga will be celebrated on June 21 all over the world. The celebration was established in late 2014 by the United Nations General Assembly at the suggestion of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The date on which it is celebrated is June 21, the day of the summer solstice. Since 2015, the holiday has been celebrated in hundreds of countries, including Bulgaria. This year's events in this country are in 43 locations - Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Burgas, Varna, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo, Pleven and other smaller towns and villages.

The main event will take place in Sofia on 19 June at 10 a.m. at Inter Expo Center. The organizers have planned a varied program of yoga practices and lectures. Entrance is free.

Representatives of famous classical schools of yoga will demonstrate yoga practices, some of which are designed for therapeutic purposes. Scholar-practitioners will give lectures on various issues related to the essence of yoga. There will also be stalls with yoga books, vegetarian and Indian food, souvenirs, etc.

Among the lecturers is Dobrinka Dimitrova, a graduate of the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski" with a degree in yoga. Her lecture, based on her thesis, is about how to overcome personal insecurities through ancient yoga practices. Dobrinka teaches both children and adults. She is convinced that one way to regain our confidence is by learning from the wisdom of classical yoga texts that have come down to us from ancient times.

"I have been practicing classical hatha yoga for more than 10 years now," she says. Any woman who has gone through motherhood knows that it is fraught with challenges.

Then I turned to yoga and I think it was the best thing I ever did for myself. That's why I chose this topic for my thesis - I really wanted it to relate to my personal experience so that I could best pass on my professional knowledge to anyone facing self-doubt, no matter what stage of life they are at. To let them know that we have a tool to overcome our insecurities.

Yoga has been established as a system for the refinement of both the body and the spirit, which unites the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of man and thus maintains one' health. I am guided by my thirst for knowledge - there is nothing more precious, we are all here on planet Earth to learn. We must seek knowledge, become aware of it in every moment of our lives through the tools we are given."

Photos: Pixabay, personal archive