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2018 welcomed with multi-faith prayers in world’s gambling capital Nevada
 
In a remarkable interfaith gesture and a unique way to welcome 2018, various religions got together in Reno (Nevada, USA) to celebrate the ringing in of the New Year at midnight in a unique and divine manner, away from the glitter of the casinos and sending a message of unity to the world.
 
Coordinated by distinguished religious statesman Rajan Zed, standing room only “Multi-faith New Year’s Eve Service” attended by few hundred people and hosted by Reno Buddhist Center included Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha’i and Native American prayers.

Religious leaders who prayed included James D. Kosko, Pastor of Squaw Valley United Church of Christ; Rigoberto Ruano Mireles, Deacon at Saint Thérèse Roman Catholic Church of the Little Flower; Abdel Aziz, Imam at Northern Nevada Muslim Community; Buddhist priests Matthew T. Fisher and Shelley L. Fisher; Jewish rabbi ElizaBeth Webb Beyer; Hindu leader Rajan Zed; Sherman W. Baker Junior, Chief Chaplain at Veterans Administration Sierra Nevada Healthcare; Baha’i prayer group “The McPhersons”; American Indian spirituality scholar Brian E. Melendez. In addition, Taiko drumming ensemble Tsurunokai Taiko directed by Rieko Shimbo delivered “Hachijo Honbayashi”; Jim R. Eaglesmith sang peace-prayer “Under One Sky”; Kundalini chanters headed by Linda M. Azar recited “God and me, Me and God, Are one”; “Spirit Singers” lead by Leslie A. Fudge sang “All Good Gifts”; and Rabbi Beyer blew ancient musical horn shofar.
 
There was no “cover charge” for this Service where all were welcome and which ended with drum beats and ringing of bells. Participants took a pledge to “promote loving kindness in 2018” and many of them signed a banner affirming peace, love and unity in 2018.
 
Prayers were a more appropriate way to welcome the New Year to our lives than gambling and drinking in the casinos and bars. Moreover, despite seriously different faith traditions, diverse religions coming together in prayer and community sent a positive signal of love, hope and harmony to the world for 2018; Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out on the occasion.
 
Gambling is legal in the state of Nevada, which is known world over for its casinos and Las Vegas.

Yoga emerges among top 10 fitness trends worldwide
 
Yoga has emerged among the top 10 fitness trends worldwide for 2018, according to “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2018” by American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
 
“The sustained popularity of yoga seems to be that it reinvents and refreshes itself every year making it an attractive form of exercise”, Survey points out. “Based on ancient tradition, yoga utilizes a series of specific bodily postures practiced for health and relaxation. This includes Power Yoga, Yogalates, Bikram, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Kripalu, Anurara, Kundalini, Sivananda and others”, ACSM release adds.
 
It reportedly surveyed over 4,000 fitness professionals from Mexico, Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, Portugal, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Serbia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Taiwan, Switzerland, Jamaica, South Africa, Bermuda, Greece, Ireland, Finland, Kenya, New Zealand, China, Barbados, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Now in its twelfth year, this Survey provides 40 potential trends to choose from and claims to help the health and fitness industry make critical programming and business decisions.
 
Meanwhile, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Hindus were highly pleased with the fast and tremendous growth of yoga worldwide.
 
Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted.
 
Rajan Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
 
According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image.  Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.
 
Besides ACSM, other participating organizations included American Council on Exercise, National Council on Strength and Fitness and The Cooper Institute. Dr. Walter R. Thompson, associate dean at Georgia State University, is the President of ACSM, which is headquartered in Indianapolis and claims to be “world’s largest sports medicine and exercise science organization”.