On 21st June 2022, OUIAA held the first-ever Yoga event at Okayama University in collaboration with the Okadai Yoga Circle. The event was carried out on the occasion of International Yoga Day and was called the ‘Practicing Traditional Yoga on International Yoga Day 2022 Event’. The instructor of the event was an international student of Okayama University who is also a certified yoga teacher from India, her home country. The participants of the event included International and Japanese students of Okayama University as well as the alumni of OUIAA. The participants were as many as from eight different countries of Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. To enhance the participation of the international alumni as well as to maintain safety during the pandemic times, the event was carried out both in-person (at Okayama University Tsushima Campus Union Hall) and online (via Zoom).
The purpose of the event was to strengthen the ties between the alumni and the students of Okayama University and give them an opportunity to be more involved in the works and activities of OUIAA. Keeping this aim in mind, a collaborative event was organized this time. Not only this, as the participants were from all over the globe, this also provided a multicultural and diverse environment. Last but not the least, since 2015, International Yoga Day promotes global health, harmony, and peace. Thus, imparting the importance of traditional yoga and its three significances was another valuable addition to the event.
The event started with a brief introduction of OUIAA, its activities, and International Yoga Day. As the event continued further, the instructor introduced five traditional practices one by one and instructed and guided the participants with the practices. The yogic practices introduced at the event included Sukshma Vyayama, Surya Namaskar (sun salutations), Asana (postures), Anulom Vilom and Bhramari Pranayama (breathing exercises), and Shavasana. All these were practiced for a total of one hour and the instructions were given in both English and Japanese languages.
Toward the end of the event, concluding remarks were shared by the hosts and the participants were given a chance to share their experiences and feedback. The event then ended with a quick photo session with the online and in-person participants. An E-Certificate of Participation, as well as a customized OUIAA Event Ticket, was distributed to all the participants for their enthusiastic contribution to the event.
Okayama University International Alumni Association (OUIAA) will continue to hold international exchange events to promote networking and information exchange among the alumni and international students from the time they are enrolled at the university. We look forward to the participation of all the current students in our future activities.
