By Mata Press Service

“If exercise is good. Yoga is goodness.”

That’s the message, Vancouver entrepreneur Aditya Tawatia aims to spread, with this year’s edition of International Yoga Festival and Health Expo to be held at Vancouver’s Croatian Cultural Centre on June 16.

The one-day festival features Yoga classes with well-known instructors and showcases a marketplace of health conscious, natural, and organic foods from various vendors.

“Yoga is not just about stretching and exercise, it’s a way of life to link health with happiness,” said Tawatia, a real estate professional, who moved to Vancouver about 20 years ago.

“Our mission for this festival is to inspire and connect our communities to live creative, healthy, vibrant and stress free active lives through the practice of yoga and meditation,” he said.

“Yoga will hopefully become a bridge for the entire globe to connect and our Yoga festival together with the Ayuverda tradition is a conscious movement celebrating and strengthening our unity.

“Our efforts will create a bond across the local communities across religions, caste, race and geography,” he said.

This year’s edition of the Vancouver festival will be held in conjunction with The United Nations International Day of Yoga (UNIDY) which occurs on June 21st every year.

In addition to classes and education, The Vancouver festival will also showcase an array of products and services for yoga-related business.

For Harbinder Singh Sewak, who has launched an inspiring, innovative and individualized gift box program out of Vancouver called alooatta.com, the festival is an ideal event to showcase his products.

On display will be personalized and individualized environmentally friendly ‘Alooatta’ boxes loaded with yoga-related goodies, like aromatherapy balms, bath bombs, scents and soaps.

“Our central philosophy is to reduce packaging…millions of gift boxes are going out every day and eventually ending up in our oceans and landfills,” said Sewak, adding his company’s vision is in line with the Yoga Festival, which aims to make our world a better place.

Alooatta boxes, produced in Canada, are biodegradable and recyclable and are embossed with vegetable-based ink that contains no lead. All paper and dyes are approved by the Canada Food and Health Agency (CFIA) and the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Alooatta partners have alliances with Climate Smart and Ecotrust Canada and hold Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certification while the print on the boxes Ultra Violet (UV) inks that are 100% greenhouse gas free.

Add in the innovation of individualization – each box comes with personalized greeting printed directly on the package to dispense with the need of extra paper for a card – and Alooatta.com helps you change the world one gift box at a time.

“We have the greenest boxes to deliver any kind of gift across Canada,” said Sewak.

Yoga, for Aditya Tawatia, is part of India's soft power abroad and a conduit to harness the energy of the Indian diaspora in Canada.

Last month, Tawatia organized the ‘Make In India’ event, which took place on April 26 at the Indian consulate in Vancouver.

It was hosted by the Consul General of India in Vancouver, Abhilasha Joshi and attended by George Chow, Minister of State for Trade; and Stewart G Beck, President & CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and Former Canadian High Commissioner to the Republic of India.

Three Canadian companies showcased their interest in India via Bernard Armani and Sudhir Sharma from BIOIQ Diagnostics; Ian Kent, President & CEO of NOMAD Micro Homes and Chloe Dubois, Co-founder & President of Ocean Legacy Foundation. They gave presentations on Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Affordable Housing and Waste Recycle respectively.

The 5th International Yoga Festival and Health Expo is a one-day event that aims to spread the joy of wellness while bringing together local Yoga and health enthusiasts. The festival features Yoga classes with well-known Yoga instructors and showcases a marketplace of health conscious, natural, and organic foods from various vendors.

For more details about the event visit https://yogahealthexpo.com/

The health benefits of Yoga

Strengthens Muscles

Yoga is essential for strengthening bones as it helps to prevent back pain and other conditions such as arthritis. Strength and flexibility are both achieved in balance from yoga which will help you live a healthy life.

Increases Healthy Blood Flow

Yoga increases the blood circulation as the relaxation exercises get more oxygen for the cells. Twisting poses are helpful for allowing oxygenated blood to the organs. Yoga may also be beneficial for maintaining healthy hemoglobin levels.

Boosts Your Immunity and Drains Lymphs

The drainage of lymph is increased with various yoga poses as the body moves and twists around. The body can fight infections and remove toxic waste to improve overall functioning.

Increases your Heart Rate

Regular yoga activity can increase the heart rate which reduces the risk of depression and heart stroke. Yoga is not vigorous but it can be done in fast pace to put heart rate in aerobic range. Yoga can also maximize the intake of oxygen which will also increase physical endurance.

Lowers Your Blood Pressure

Regular physical exercise has always been linked with healthy heart functioning and yoga does the same. Infact, yoga can have even better results than any other form of exercise if done in the right way.

Makes you Happier and Relaxed

You must have heard how yoga can make you happy and relaxed by relieving all physical and emotional stress. Practicing yoga continuously and consistently has shown greater happiness levels with improved immunity.

Lowers your Blood Sugar Levels

Yoga lowers blood sugar levels and bad cholesterol too. Also, yoga has been proven effective for weight loss reduced risk of heart disease, kidney failure, and blindness.

Improves your Focus and Concentration

Regular yoga practice can improve concentration, reaction time, and IQ level. Yoga has been seen to remove distracting thoughts and recall information better.

Makes you Sleep Deeper

Yoga can help you sleep better and deeper as you become free from tensions and anxiety. It gives you relief from the daily hustle and bustle of life.