Hindus in Connecticut's W. Hartford to rename LaSalle Rd to "Om Street"  

Hindus are urging West Hartford (Connecticut) to permanently rename its LaSalle Road as “Om Street”; where the popular sixth annual “Om Street: Yoga on LaSalle Road” event is being held on July 23.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, urged West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor, Deputy Mayor Leon Davidoff and Town Council to seriously look into renaming LaSalle Road as “Om Street” to honor the passionate yogis of the region who had been converging here in hundreds and informally converting it as “Om Street” annually for part of a day since 2011.

“Om” was the mystical and powerful Sanskrit seed syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism was used to introduce and conclude religious work, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out.

Moreover, renamed “Om Street” might inspire residents of West Hartford and neighboring towns to adopt yoga lifestyle; as, according to US National Institutes of Health; yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress; Rajan Zed indicates.

Zed further said that Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization.

Various yoga studios and allied businesses of Connecticut in Avon, Bristol, Brookfield, Collinsville, Danielson, East Hartford, Glastonbury, Hartford, Harwinton, Litchfield, Manchester, Middletown, Naugatuck, New Haven, Newington, North Haven, Old Wethersfield, Plainville, Simsbury, South Windsor, Southington, Torrington, West Hartford, Wethersfield; besides Vermont’s Northfield; are reportedly supporting/assisting in this event. Besides yoga display, it also plans to include live music on drums-gongs-didgeridoo. Two mats are suggested to protect knees on LaSalle Road (“it's still a road and not quite the cork, wooden, or carpeted floor of your regular yoga studio”, an announcement says). There will be few dozen instructors of the area on hand to lead the yoga practice.

According to reports, about 1800 yogis turned out for this free community event last year to celebrate yoga in the street in West Hartford. This year the expectations are of 2000 participants spread over a full city block.