"Yoga is a form of exercise that helps in keeping several diseases at bay. It does not belong to any religion," said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The CM made the statement while speaking at an event organized by the state government in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, to observe International Yoga Day. 
After inaugurating the event, which also saw Yoga training being given to the audience, the senior Communist leader said that there were efforts underway to "hijack" Yoga and color it with religious connotations.  

"Yoga is the most effective form of exercise to maintain one's health. See it only as an exercise. There is no need to see Yoga as a religious practice. One should be secular in nature while practicing Yoga," Pinarayi Vijayan said at the event organized at Thiruvananthapuram Central Stadium.
He added that efforts to portray Yoga as part of a religion should be resisted. 
"There are deliberate efforts being made to create misunderstandings about Yoga. Some people are trying to link religious sookthas (hymns) with Yoga and are trying to create misunderstandings among people," he said.