Hindus have applauded launching of “Yoga Room” at Chicago Midway International Airport, calling it a “step in the positive direction”.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and Burlington International Airport Vermont—all in USA, and Helsinki Airport in Finland, already offer yoga facilities. Recently opened “Yoga Room” at Concourse C of Chicago Midway International Airport “provides a space for yoga practice, relaxation and meditation”, according to an Airport release. It features a sustainable bamboo wood floor, floor to ceiling mirrors, exercise mats, frosted windows, video monitor, and the audio plays soothing sounds. Sustainable elements were claimed to be incorporated in the design and construction of this room.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged other top world airports—Singapore Changi, Incheon (South Korea) International, Amsterdam Schiphol, Hong Kong International, Beijing Capital International, Munich, Zurich, Vancouver International, Tokyo (Haneda) International, London Heathrow—to provide yoga facilities for the passengers if they wanted to help reduce their stress levels and be “world-class” airports.

Welcoming gesture of Chicago (O’Hare & Midway), Dallas, San Francisco and Burlington airports for availability of yoga for passengers, 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.

Rajan 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.

Zed also praised the existence of “Meditation Room” at Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina, and “Interfaith Airport Chapel” at Chicago Midway International Airport—all in USA. Meditation, prayer, reflection and contemplation bring positive results, Zed adds.

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 21 million Americans, including many celebrities, now practice yoga.