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Hindus have congratulated Boise, Idaho’s capital and most populous city, for showing up in Forbes magazine list: "The Top 10 Cities For Yoga In The U.S."

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, congratulating Boise for this recognition, said that being on this list took Boise to another “higher level”, which already had showed up on the “best places” lists in some other areas.

“Boise residents are 21% more likely to practice yoga than the general population”, Forbes citation posted on April 26, said.

Welcoming the widespread interest in yoga in Boise, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted that although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, yoga was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all.

Rajan Zed further said that yoga, referred as “a living fossil” whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization. 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. Zed added.

Zed argued that yoga had been booming in USA and there were splendid yoga studios all over the country. About 20-million Americans practice yoga and about $11-billion goes into yoga gear and classes annually, reports suggest. According to National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress.

Boise City Council had its first Hindu invocation on June eight, 2010, since its incorporation in 1866, which was delivered by Rajan Zed from ancient Sanskrit scriptures after sprinkling few drops of sacred water from river Ganga of India.

Boise has a “Hare Krishna Temple and Vedic Cultural Center”; City of Boise offers yoga classes; and Boise State University has offered classes/courses/lectures on "Yoga and Stress Management", “How to practice yoga”, Hinduism and “Yoga on the Blue” (April 27). Boise has few dozen yoga studios, focusing on different aspects of yoga. With David H. Bieter as the Mayor, its vision is: “To Make Boise the Most Livable City in the Country”.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three-million Hindus in USA.