Beijing: India on Monday held its biggest Yoga Summit in China in a bid to reclaim its ancient legacy over the iconic spiritual practice which in recent years has become a rage here but also stirred up concerns that its popularity is being cashed in by poorly trained coaches. The six-day summit was formally inaugurated at picturesque Dali city in Yunnan Province in which renowned Yoga teachers like Geeta Iyengar, daughter of Yoga Guru B K S Iyengar and Hollywood model Yogi Cameron are taking part. Top local officials as well as Indian Ambassador to China Ashok K Kantha took part in the inaugural ceremony. The event is being held as part of the "Glimpses of India Festival" to celebrate 2014 as Year of Friendly Exchanges between India and China.

Around 1,500 yoga practitioners from all over the world, majority being from China, participated in the event besides local government officials, media and academicians. The theme of the Summit is 'Science of Yoga' during which lectures and physical demonstrations and also video presentations on different aspects of yoga will be made. Elaborating on the initiative, Kantha said that as yoga is gaining traction at the popular level, there is need to teach correct techniques and engage in dialogue with practitioners. Seventeen prominent teachers of yoga from various disciplines have been invited to take part in the summit to address the concerns that correct techniques are not followed, he said.

"These masters will engage in dialogue with yoga practitioners. This interaction will benefit them," he said. Such Yoga meets will be organised in China every year, he said. In his address to the summit, Kantha said "through this summit, I am sure that a number of Chinese will realise the increasing number of threads that link China with India. In the past, it was through Buddhism that China knew India, in the 21st century I think it is Yoga that is renewing China's interest in India". Two videos on yoga and Ayurveda which were produced by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs were being released on the occasion, Consul General K Nagaraj Naidu said. A yoga meet was held few years ago in Guangzhou but on a smaller scale in which Iyengar, who is extremely popular in China attended the meet. The summit has been organised by the Consulate General of India in Guangzhou with the support of Ministry of Culture, along with assistance from the Yunnan Provincial Government.