Mass session to mark first International Yoga Day

1 The participants carrying out a stretching movement.2 The big crowd of yogis who gathered for the Smile Yoga at Penang Times Square.3 Participants following the yoga poses.4 Liew says a genuine smile can happen only when stress is gone.5 Yoga teacher Dr S. Thasarathan (right) leading a group of people in a walking meditation session at Penang Botanic Gardens’ Quarry Park.6 Participants of the five-hour yoga session at the Quarry Park in Penang Botanic Gardens posing for a group photo.Photos: CHAN BOON KAI

WHILE most people were still in bed early Sunday, yogis in Penang were rising to greet the sun.

It was the day of the summer solstice, when Earth’s sunward angle gave the northern hemisphere the longest daylight hours of the year.