Turkish yoga athletes’ message: Stop water pollution

İZMİR

A group of Turkish yoga athletes have won first place in the fourth World Yoga Choreography Championship with their chorography called “Stop Water Pollution.”

The three athletes have drawn attention to one of the most urgent environmental issues in the world.

The championship was held on June 7 in Turkey’s coastal resort town of Gümüldür in the Aegean province of İzmir.

The event, which was joined by approximately 100 yoga athletes from 20 countries, was organized by the International Yoga Federation (IYF).

“In our choreography, we discussed water pollution, which is one of the biggest problems in our world, and we tried to draw attention to this issue…Every living being must live freely. If you don’t take care of nature, nature doesn’t take care of you!” said one of the Turkish yoga athletes, Merve Tanrıverdi, after presenting their chorography.

The Turkish yoga trio, See Stars, also includes professional athletes Tanrıverdi, Selva Arı and Yasemin Karaboğa.

“Caretta Carettas (loggerhead sea turtles) are dying on our southern coasts. The whole world is alarmed for sea and water resources. Unique coral reefs are disappearing. Water is the most basic source for all living beings. We have used all the sensitivity that the yoga sport provides for the individual to draw attention to water and sea cleanliness issues,” said Akif Manaf, president of the IYF, speaking after the competition.

“We support all the valuable projects in this regard, [and] we invite everybody for not polluting nature. We will keep this subject on the agenda to raise peaceful awareness with nature,” he said.

The Sea Star group’s chorography can be watched from the following website: https://youtu.be/SLVAKfIaZ-0