People in India and around the world are marking the seventh International Day of Yoga. But celebrations have been scaled down this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known to be a yoga enthusiast, also avoided a mass session and instead chose to address the nation virtually to mark the occasion.

Over the years, Mr Modi has promoted yoga, often calling it India’s gift to the world. On Monday, he said yoga had become a ray of hope for millions living in the middle of the pandemic. “No country was prepared when Covid-19 emerged. In these tough times, we all saw that yoga became a huge source of self-confidence,” he said.

President Ram Nath Kovind also held a private yoga session at the presidential palace and several members of Mr Modi’s cabinet held similar events across the country.

Mr Kovind said yoga was a “unique gift of India to humanity”. Defence forces have also posted photos and videos of troops marking the day.

Officials and ministers also urged people to take to yoga but advised them to avoid big gatherings as the the country is just coming out from a deadly a second wave.

Thousands died as hospitals struggled to cope with the influx of patients. The country is now slowly opening up as the number of cases has been consistently dropping in the last two weeks.