WELCOMING SFO's gesture of opening “Yoga Room”, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, yoga was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. Zed further said that yoga, referred as “a living fossil”whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, was a mental and physical discipline handed down from one guru to next, for everybody to share and benefit from. 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.

An airport release states that this “first of its kind Yoga Room” in Terminal Two “affords visitors the opportunity to easily step into a space devoted to contemplation and self-reflection” and provides “travelers the opportunity and space to relax and decompress on their own terms”. Enveloped in a calming blue color with light levels set low, its “floating wall symbolizes a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind”. Directional signs for “Yoga Room” at the airport use a unique pictogram of a stylized image of a person in the Lotus position.

SFO, a department of the City and County of San Francisco, offers non-stop links with over 31 international points and 69 US cities on 29 international and 20 domestic airlines respectively. John L. Martin is Airport Director, Larry Mazzola is Airport Commission President, Naomi M. Kelly is City Administrator, while Edwin M. Lee is Mayor.

According to USA’s 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 an estimate, about 16 million Americans, including many celebrities, now practice yoga.