These Gorgeous Yoga Photos Prove The Practice Is Truly Universal

This is what calm looks like.

 06/21/2016 10:44 am ET

  • Lindsay Holmes Deputy Healthy Living Editor, The Huffington Post
    • Yoga is arguably one of the most versatile activities — and there’s no greater example of that than its prevalence across the world.
    The ancient practice has been around for thousands of years for good reason. Studies show yoga can reduce stress, help ward off weight gain, lower blood pressure and so much more. It’s just as much of a workout for your mind as it is for your body. It doesn’t matter if you’re 15 or 50, or if you’re abroad or here at home.
    To celebrate the International Day of Yoga, we rounded up several stunning snapshots of people participating in the practice all over the world as a way to pay tribute to its overwhelming benefits. Take a look at them below:

    • Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
      • Thousand gather for a group yoga class in front of the Sydney Opera House on June 21, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. United Nations World Yoga Day is aimed at promoting public health and peaceful relations through yoga practice. 

    • Virendra Singh Gosain/Hindustan Times/Getty Images
      • Participants perform yoga in New Delhi, India. World Yoga Day is celebrated annually on June 21 and was declared to be internationally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014.

    • VCG/Getty Images
      • Yoga enthusiasts pose on the water of Shiyan Lake on in Changsha, Hunan Province of China.

    • Mukesh Gupta/Reuters
      • A participant performs yoga during World Yoga Day in Jammu, India.

    • Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
      • Participants perform yoga during World Yoga Day on a seafront promenade in Mumbai, India.

    • Getty ImagesSUNIL VERMA/AFP/Getty Images
      • Indian yoga practitioners take part in a yoga session in a swimming pool on World Yoga Day in Jodhpur.

    • Jason Reed/Reuters
      • One of the hundreds participating in a mass yoga event reaches to the sky in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

    • VCG/Getty Images
      • A group of yoga enthusiasts practice yoga in Beijing, China. The presentation takes place on the world’s largest glass viewing platform.

    • AP
      • Indian yoga guru Baba Ram Dev leads a yoga session in New Delhi, India.

    • Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images
      • New Yorkers celebrate World Yoga Day in Bryant Park.

    • Virendra Singh Gosain/Hindustan Times/Getty Images
      • Participants perform yoga in New Delhi, India.

    • ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
      • A yoga practitioner stretches during a mass event held as part of World Yoga Day in Seoul, South Korea.

    • Massoud Hossaini/AP
      • Afghans perform yoga at the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

    • NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images
      • Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel take part in a yoga session on World Yoga Day at BSF headquarters in Khasa.

    • PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/Getty Images
      • A Nepali yoga practitioner takes part in a yoga session to mark World Yoga Day in Kathmandu.

    • Yawar Nazir/ Getty Images
      • Indian Paramilitary soldiers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) perform Yoga exercise in their camp in Kashmir, India.

    • China Daily/Reuters
      • People practice yoga at a tourist spot on the outskirts of Beijing, China.

    • Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
      • People participate in a yoga class during the 14th Annual Solstice in Times Square in New York.

    • Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images
      • People practice yoga in Bryant Park in New York.

    • Marco Ugarte/AP
      • Dulce the dog sits next to its owner during an outdoor yoga session in Mexico City, Mexico.

    • Qamar Sibtain/India Today Group/Getty Images
      • Yoga exponent Ramdev and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu practice Yoga along with others during a yoga camp in New Delhi, India.

    • SANJAY KANOJIA/AFP/Getty Images
      • Indians yoga practitioners take part in a workshop at a temple on the banks of the River Ganges in Allahabad, India.

    • Marco Ugarte/AP
      • People gather at an outdoor yoga session in Mexico City, Mexico.

    • Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
      • People participate in a yoga class at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

    • Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
      • People gather for a yoga session in Times Square in New York.

    • ARUN SANKAR/AFP/Getty Images
      • Indian schoolchildren participate in a yoga session at a school in Chennai, India.

    • VCG/Getty Images
      • Thousands of people do yoga at Futian Sports Park in Shenzhen, China.

    • Virendra Singh Gosain/Hindustan Times/Getty Images
      • Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev performs yoga in New Delhi, India.

    • SANJAY KANOJIA/AFP/Getty Images
      • Indians yoga practitioners take part in a workshop at a temple on the banks of the River Ganges in Allahabad, India.

    • Ravi Prakash/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images
      • People perform yoga at the Kriyayoag center in Allahabad, India.
      Indian schoolchildren participate in a yoga session at a school in Chennai, India.
      People participate in the “Run for Yoga” campaign in Chandigarh, India.
      A student practices yoga during a yoga camp at Rajpath in New Delhi, India.
      Yoga exponent Ramdev and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu practice yoga along with others during a yoga camp in New Delhi, India.
      A large group of yoga enthusiasts practice yoga on a glass platform at Shilin Gorge in Beijing, China.
      Students perform yoga during the National Yoga Olympiad in New Delhi, India.
      Yoga enthusiasts practice poses at Shilin Gorge in Beijing, China.
      Malaysians participate in a yoga gathering ahead of the World Yoga Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
      People do yoga during World Yoga Day in Minsk, Belarus.
      Participants strike a pose during an event to mark World Yoga Day at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
    We want you to share your yoga experience with us. Did the practice help you with anxiety? Did you meet your best friend in a class? Let us know how yoga changed your life in the comments below.

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