Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams

Om Namah Sivaya, Greetings from the Headquarters. At the beginning of March freezing rain and wind hit Val Morin again, however, the very low temperatures did not prevent staff and guests to be in good spirits and happy to be back in Krishna Temple for Satsangs and workshops. Indeed, the painting project was finished Tuesday, just on time for a radiant Puja that Manjunath performed for the Divine Mother. We had a full weekend program on Meditation, with 60 guests attending. The program offered various workshops, lectures and Satsangs that covered meditation techniques, benefits and tools so people could leave the Yoga Camp with the motivation and confidence to carry on their practice. We went for a chilly silent walk under the full moon light. Guests blissfully got involved with Karma Yoga tasks around the Ashram. Several Karma Yoga projects Karma Yoga kept us active at the Camp. The registration building team was sanded and varnished. Ally worked diligently on Kids Camp and Teen Camp, receiving applications and contacting parents. The reception and housekeeping teams worked wonderfully in preparation of the Ashram’s guests.

During mid-March Prahlada graced us with a two day visit. During his stay he made himself available for everyone for meetings and conversations. He led two Satsangs and shared some readings from Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu. Priest Manjunath conducted a Puja for Devi, the Mother Goddess, from whom all creation is born. Under innumerable aspects and manifestations, she embodies the feminine principle. We chanted Sri Lalita Sahasranama and Sri Mahishasura Mardini Stotram. The Spring Juice Fast program was organized by Isabelle and Suzanne. It was very popular. 38 participants built their willpower to resist the temptations of food and learned about the healing technique and spiritual practice of fasting. They had the opportunity to combine yoga and fasting to feel the benefits on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. Snow fell heavy on the Ashram again this month so we were busy shoveling around the Camp grounds. We also fixed broken pipes and holes in walls in the Lodge, caused by frost and squirrels. The kitchen below the Krishna Temple was painted, so during a weekend program we had some convivial cooking sessions and meals there with staff and the rest of the guests. Other Karma Yoga projects involved Kids Camp enrollment, advertising, housekeeping and furniture making. Other Yoga Camp activities and maintenance went as usual. May the blessings of the Divine be upon all.  We are blessed to be carrying Swami Vishnu’s mission! Om Shanti.

http://www.sivananda.org/camp

Namah Sivaya to all. At the beginning of March the third TTC of the season concluded with sixty three siromani and two butane students. As usual the energy of the students was high. We were happy to welcome TTC staff, Ranjit and Ashish as staff after the course. They will be very helpful to assist the next TTC. We also welcomed new staff Virgil, Ananda and Lalita. Soumya and Bolonath moved on after completing their service. A group of twenty five yoga diploma students from Kerala University came for a day’s visit one Sunday. Nataraj and Kalyani departed for Chennai for 2 days to attend a Chennai Centre function.

During mid-March Ashram staff enjoyed a little break after TTC. For Holi guests and staff celebrated and regained their youth by playing with coloured powders after Satsang. Col Nair visited the Ashram with his family to celebrate his 80th birthday. He returned the next day to deliver his regular lecture on Hinduism to the Yoga Vacationers. Staff were able to unwind during an outing to the beach on a Friday Day Off, before the next TTC commenced. That Sunday we initiated ninety nine students for the next TTC. As always, we pray for Swamiji’s protection and guidance. May the Grace of God and the Masters keep us blessing all. Pranams to all the Sivananda Family.

http://www.sivananda.org/neyyardam

Om Namo Narayanaya – Greetings from Uttar Kashi. At the beginning of March the Netala Ashram was still officially closed for the winter season. However, Swami Parameswariananda and her team did a wonderful service in preparing the Ashram for the arrival of the first ATTC of the year. She continued to host the group so lovingly during the entire course that everyone felt truly at home. The group of 30 participants arrived from a total of 15 countries. The course in taught in English, with translation into Spanish, German and French. Teaching staff were Swami Bhagavatananda for the main lectures, Swami Satyananda for Raja Yoga, Dr Sunitha for Anatomy and Narayani for Asanas and Pranayama. Nadapriya and Ramdas were translators for the spanish and french group, while all the German speaking teaching staff shared the German translation. Sanskrit teacher, Srinivas Puller, also arrived. The ATTC participants were an exceptional sincere and inspired group with an earnest desire and discipline to go deeper into their Sadhana. Everyone as there for the early morning Pranayama without complaints of getting up and practicing in the still wintry temperatures. Interest in the lectures was also strong with lots of questions during and after class. Dr Sunitha led the students in understanding the mysteries of the brain and nervous system. Satsangs were lively with many of the ATTCs eager to lead Kirtans. We were blessed to have a Ganapati Homa guided by Swami Paramaswariananda and the local priest, as well as a Satsang lead by Swami Janardanananda, a direct disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda who lives in Uttar Kashi. Swami Janardhanananda addressed some Vedantic principles and also told stories about his time with Swamiji, which was greatly appreciated by the students. We were challenged with heavy rain and icy temperatures for the beginning of the course. By the grace of the Masters no one got seriously sick. One Saturday everyone was truly fed up with the cold, wet weather so we did a group effort with extra sun salutations and some extra chanting of the Surya Mantras and were blessed with the return of sunshine and warmer temperatures by Sunday! We’d like to express our gratitude to the European Acharyas Swami Durgananda, Swami Sivadasananda and Swami Kailasananda for guiding the course from the distance and being ever ready to give advice to the teaching staff, when needed.

During mid-March the ATTC went well into its second week, with students going deeper into their Pranayama and Asana Practice as well as studying Vedanta, Raja Yoga and Anatomy. Srinivas Pulluri started teaching the Sanskrit part of the course with students busily learning the Devanagari alphabet by heart. On the day off we offered an optional Kirtan workshop, where students could come with requests for specific Kirtans. It was well received. Afterwards almost everyone went to town for a Temple visit and other errands until a heavy hailstorm swept everyone back to the Ashram, grateful for the warm chai and heated rooms awaiting us. Pranams to all. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/uttarkashi

Om Namo Narayanaya. During March we continued the schedule, as usual, for both Yoga Vacation and TTC. The Yoga Vacation guests were split into 2 groups for asana practice, Beginners’ and Intermediate, which went well with both groups progressing in their practice. Karma Yoga was focused on collecting and moving stones on the property. The TTC students practiced Kriyas. Overall, the students were enthusiastic and determined to attempt all the Kriyas demonstrated. The TTC students and Yoga Vacationers visited the Rameshwaram Temple. All of the guests enjoyed the trip. As a group, they were able to peacefully receive the blessings from each of the 22 wells as the Temple was not crowded. They were also able to chant Om Namah Shivaya and one other chant led by the Vacationer in front of the Siva Linga in the Rameshwaram Temple. Afterwards, half of the guests played on the beach while others relaxed and explored the nearby surrounding area. Yoga Vacationers and TTC students performed in the second Talent Show, singing, belly dancing, Bollywood dancing, chanting from the Upanishads, two students told the story of their business (At Om Yoga & Co) and the reason for attending TTC and interactive group dancing. Staff are thanking God and our Masters for their blessings. With prayers and regards from all Ashramites worldwide. Om.

www.sivananda.org/madurai

Om Namah Sivaya! At the beginning of March preparations were made for the arrival of the March TTC students, while 2 guests and Tori enjoyed the 5-day Yoga Immersion Course For Beginners. Swami Satyapremananda traveled to the New York City Centre to lead the evening Satsang. She stayed to help at the Centre for the month while Neeti was at the Ranch teaching the TTC Bhagavad Gita lectures. We also welcomed two other familiar members of staff back – Mahadevi joined us from the Bahamas and Minakshi from the Chicago Centre. We bid farewell to SB. Three programs were offered – Vegetarian Cooking, Yoga at Home, and Prenatal Yoga. One Saturday, 11 enthusiastic TTC students arrived and Srinivasan led their inauguration ceremony on Sunday evening. It is wonderful to have them here. Paul Magennis, who served as staff member and Ashram gardener at the Sivananda Yoga Ranch since the early 1980’s, passed away on the night of March 9th. A few hours before he passed, Ranch staff were with him chanting, reading from the Sivananda Upanishad, and praying for his smooth transition. Paul was known and loved by many and will be remembered for the love he brought to gardens, the food he put on our tables, and the many young people he touched with his spirit of Karma Yoga, his dry humour, his love for the classics, and his taciturn, peaceful presence. Thank you for all the anecdotes, thoughts, memories and wishes about Paul that so many of you have shared since hearing of his passing. We will be holding a memorial service and special Puja in Paul’s honor: Saturday April 1st, 3pm, Location: Yoga Ranch. Kindly call the Yoga Ranch (845-436-6492) if you would like to join us for the ceremony.

During mid-March Swami Satyapremananda joined us from the New York Centre for 2 days to lead the TTC chanting classes and evening Satsangs. One Tuesday, a deep fall of fresh snow turned the Yoga Ranch back into a winter wonderland. Much time and effort was put into keeping paths open to enable walking between buildings and to the Temples. The TTC enjoyed their first week of classes, with a Ganesha Puja one Thursday morning, led by a local priest. 18 new guests and Mitchell Rabin arrived one weekend. Mitchell led the Friday and Saturday evening Satsangs, and also led a very well-attended workshop on Saturday afternoon, introducing Chi-Kung and therapeutic theater. We also welcomed Mary for a week of Karma Yoga and Rabbi Zoe aZk, who joined us with a musical Sunday evening Satsang. The staff are well. Pranams to all from the beautiful Catskills Mountains! Om.

Om Namah Sivaya. At the beginning of March the Ashram sent our blessings with Swami Vasishtananda-ji on his trip to Florida and to India. The Ashram was getting very warm Spring days allowing for construction to begin on the new Krishna cabin by the pond. Much work took place in the garden, getting beds ready for planting. Omkari taught the 5-day Beginners’ course introducing the 5 Points of Yoga to the new students. Swami Shankarananda taught the well-attended weekend Stress and Relaxation workshop with many first-time guests learning how the 5 Points of Yoga alleviate stress and help to harmonize and integrate body, mind, and spirit. Swami Dharmananda led a Puja workshop training guests and staff on how to perform Puja at home, and for staff to look after the Shrines and Temples while Swami Vasishtananda was away.

During mid-March the Ashram energy was very high with a full-house during the Family Weekend, led by Tara and Ananda. Adults and children enjoyed Family Yoga classes, arts and crafts workshops, swimming in the pond, garden Karma Yoga, and a morning walk to the llamas and alpacas. That Saturday night we were blessed with a beautiful sitar/tabla concert with Partha Bose and Indranil Mallick, master musicians from India, uplifting all with soaring ragas. We gave our thanks to Tara Durga Devi, senior teacher, for her week at that Ashram, teaching the 5-day Positive Thinking course and the Meditation weekend. Students greatly appreciated the practical teaching. The Ashram also welcomed Shankara to help work on the Dhanvantari Healing Lavender fields. Work began tilling the soil as we prepared to plant 2,000 lavender seedlings in April. We all felt the grace of Master and Swamiji this month. Om Namah Sivaya to all Blessed Selves, from the Yoga Farm.

http://www.sivananda.org/farm

Om Namo Narayanaya, Blessed Selves. At the beginning of March we started with the March TTC Inauguration, for which Satyadev and Nirmala came from Columbia to teach the Hatha Yoga portion of the course. We started a new Symposium, called “This World and the Next: Scientific Exploration of Eternity, Consciousness and Immortality”. For this program we welcomed Raymond Moody, who as studied near-death experiences for almost 50 years all over world; Eben Alexander, who shared with us his own near-death experience, which convinced him of the reality of an afterlife; Karen Newell, who uses sacred instruments, harmonics of nature and human vocals to access altered states of consciousness and Marilyn Rossner, a disciple of Swami Vishnu and internationally prominent intuitive and Swami Brahmananda, who presented the Yogic teachings on this subject. The speakers captured the audience by discussing the transformative spiritual and religious impact of near-death experiences and the contacting of lost loved ones. We also showed the movie “In the Name of Peace”, which was greeted with laughs and astonishment. The priest performed a Ganapati Vida Homa, invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha and the Divine Mother Saraswati. Swami Swaroopananda gave an overall explanation of the ritual beforehand. We welcomed Fred Luskin, who is the director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project. He presented the program “Yoga and the Art of Forgiveness”. We were very happy to welcome many new Karma Yogis to the Ashram. Iswara Chaitanya and Parvati taught a 5-day Essentials of Yoga II Course, with mainly Karma Yogis participating, who wanted to deepen their practice.

During mid-March the creativity was flowing at the Ashram. We held the annual Classical Indian Music and Dance Festival. We welcomed Shambhavi Dandekar, a classical Kathak dancer, who astonished us with her rhythmical footwork; Pooja Goswami Pavan and Allalaghatta Pavan presented a beautiful vocal concert, accompanied by the Tablas and last but not least long-time friend of the organization, G.S. Sachdev and Swapan Chaudhuri gave a wonderful performance with the Bansuri and Tablas, that carried the listeners beyond the mind. We also welcomed Mavis Gewant, an artist of Yantras and Deity paintings. She gave 3 workshops on painting Yantras, Chakras and Mandalas. The participants immersed themselves in the joy of sacred painting and created beautiful artworks. Other Satsang topics included “Yoga for Ease and Happiness” presented by Swami Hridyananda, “Jnana Yoga – The Practice of Self-Inquiry” presented by Swami Brahmananda and “Yogis without borders” with Satyadev and Nirmala. Narayani Chaitanya and other senior staff taught an Essentials of Yoga 1 course to newly arrived Karma Yogis. Parvati Chaitanya taught an Essentials of Meditation Weekend, attended by both guests and Karma Yogis. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/nassau

Om Namah Sivaya. Amongst the fresh air and blue skies, we took the guests on regular walks, refreshing and recharging both body and mind. We enjoyed a ‘Mantra Retreat Weekend’ filled with mantra recitations and kirtan singing. It started with the celebration of Sivaratri. The Puja was powerful, as was the Om Namah Sivaya recitation. We learned about the theory behind healing sounds, but the main focus was on practicing lots of kirtans. It was wonderful to see how the energy build up in the workshops also transferred to the Satsangs and made for some especially lively chanting. At the Winter Retreat Asana Special ‘Asanas for a Healthy Back’ each participant had their plumb line picture taken at the beginning and at the end of the week. They were given individual explanations to their postural alignment and improvements made during the week. Then there was a 3-day further education course on ‘Relaxing with Yoga’. The lengthy lectures gave us an in depth look at the different aspects of relaxation; stress reduction, extensive details on the final relaxation, several pitfalls to relaxations (sugar, alcohol and nicotine) and tips for sleeping better. Special asana sequences for relaxation in the yoga classes put into practice the theory that we learnt. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/tyrol

Om Namah Sivaya. Auspicious month with Sivaratri, a peace day and the visit of the Ashram’s priest. God gave us a beautiful and elevating celebration of Sivaratri. The meditation room which was just renovated hosted 170 people who participated actively to the Pujas an the chanting. The priest was there to lead the ceremony. The Masters sent an army of Karma Yogis and teachers to support the staff and to create a cheerful and meditative mood. Our harmonium teacher was here with a group of professional musicians who accompanied the chanting with their instruments and participated in the Puja. A beautiful dance was also performed while the Om Namah Sivaya chanting went on. The students brought many flowers and a beautiful energy. Everyone was awake and full of energy. It was like being in an Indian Temple. The day after, seventy people were there for the trial class. The new visitors seemed open, friendly and eager to start their practice. Uplifting time with the presence of the priest who stayed for a few days. He led morning Pujas, daily Lalita Sahasranama chanting, Mantra recitation and he told some Siva stories. The Centre looks fresh, luminous, spacious and sattvic. The renovations went on without stressing the running of the Centre. By the 18th of  March, we could use all the rooms again. The house was busy in the evenings with a kirtan course, a nutrition course, a Raja yoga course, an “how to control anger” workshop, a “Concentration” workshop and the regular classes and courses. On the 11th, we had a Peace day with the Om Namo Narayanaya chanting in the afternoon and the projection of the video ‘ In the Name of peace’ during the Satsang. Everyone appreciated the film and felt closer to Swamiji and his teachings. The staff put Prana in the new brochure. We had also two photo shoots in order to have some fresh images. The internet was down from almost one week because of an external cable which was cut in the neighbourhood. It finally got solved after several days of struggle. Spring is in the air. The sun shines most of the time and the chanting of the birds accompanies the morning Satsangs. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/orleans

Om Namah Sivaya from the Da Lat Ashram. At the beginning of March we saw the conclusion of both the TTC and the Yoga and Ayurveda Counsellors course. We were happy to have a visit form Komilla Sutton, who gave two talks explaining the usefulness of knowledge of Jyotish. Students completed their final week of teaching practice with enthusiasm. Our international group of staff and Karma Yogis came together for a small gathering one evening to share their experiences from the past month, with much joy and laughter. Graduation was attended by many family members of the course participants. Testimonials from many of the participants attested to the profound effects the teaching and practice. Preparations commenced for the start of a new course about teaching Gentle Yoga, taught by Padmavati from Japan, and for the upcoming Sadhana Intensive course.

During mid-March there was a considerable change of pace in the Ashram as most of the TTC and YACC students departed. A new location for the Ashram Temple was found, and the Temple itself installed in record time, providing a secluded place for the marble murti of Sri Krishna, and a place for regular Puja. Preparations continued for the start of the Sadhana Intensive course. Many staff members joined the course, taught by Swami Pranavananda and Ananta Chaitanya. We bade farewell to several staff who had joined us for the TTC. Swami Sitaramananda and Swami Narayanananda left for a short tour of Sivananda Centres in Asia. First stop was at the affiliated Centre in Hanoi. Programs there filled to capacity, showing the Centre was clearly thriving. Next stop was Tokyo Centre in Japan, where a full weekend of events was well attended by students, and facilitated by many devoted Karma Yogis. Both Swamis continued on to visit the SYVC Centre in Chengdu, China, for programs there, and will continue traveling in China with retreat events organized in the cities of Xi’an and Lanzhou. We felt grateful every day for Masters and Swamiji’s grace. Om.