Millions Mark First International Yoga Day

Deepika Agarwal, of Jaipur, India, practices yoga during the 13th annual Solstice in Times Square event, June 21, 2015, in New York.

Millions of people around the world have taken part in a global event honoring Yoga, an ancient practice they say brings them health, happiness and peace.

Sunday was the first ever International Day of Yoga, as proclaimed by the United Nations last year.

Thousands brought their mats to New York City's Times Square for a day-long session of free yoga classes.

The city holds the yoga event marking the first day of summer every year, but this was the first time it was held as part of a worldwide yoga day.

A few blocks away, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, dressed in white, joined hundreds of other yoga devotees for an early-morning session in the plaza outside U.N. headquarters.

In India, where yoga originated, Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped lead a countrywide yoga class, saying the international day marks a new era of peace and harmony.