India’s Modi promotes Yoga Day with animated tutorials

Freshly-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who once meditated in a cave near a Hindu shrine during his campaign, shared a couple of animated yoga lessons in the run-up to International Yoga Day.

A video featuring a character resembling Modi was published on the prime minister's Twitter account on Thursday. Clad in a blue T-shirt and black pants, an animated version of India's top official shows how to perform a tadasana, also known as Palm Tree posture. The video then goes on to explain how this particular exercise contributes to physical health and mental balance.

Two days prior, Modi posted a similar footage involving another classical yoga pose, triconasana. Both videos were posted in the run-up to the International Yoga Day, celebrated on June 21.

"I urge you all to make Yoga an integral part of your life and also inspire others to do the same," Modi wrote introducing the crash course on the famous Indian practice, adding that its benefits are "tremendous."

The UN declared June 21 International Yoga Day in 2015, at Modi's suggestion. The prime minister himself has participated in several public yoga events in India, showcasing his skills.

Modi also showed his commitment to the Hindu spiritual practice during the recent parliamentary campaign, which ended with a landslide win for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In May, the Gujarati politician made headlines as he decided to meditate in a cave next to a shrine in the northern state of Uttarakhand.

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