Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams

Om Namah Sivaya, Greetings from the Headquarters. At the beginning of March the Yoga Camp simmered down after the Sivaratri festivities. Everyone returned home and the Camp fell into a peaceful bliss. The sun shone gloriously, invigorating all the staff with the new warmer season looming. Meanwhile the walking paths were quite a challenge to navigate – wet slush in the day and ice rink sheen in the evening. We were most thankful for Shankara and Krishna, for their devoted sanding of the paths and keeping us safe from falls. We held a guest weekend program called “The 5 Points of Yoga” which was a complete sell out. Chandrika guided all the eager guests into enriching and transforming their lives with the easy core teachings of the Sivananda tradition. Shankara, an old permanent staff member from numerous Centres and the Yoga Camp, visited the Camp for a week. His gaiety and infamous impersonations brought us all to tears from laughter. With the help of the very hard working karma yogi, Krishna, together they cleared almost all the roofs at the Camp of snow pack. Truth be told, they were forced to stop because the snow was going to cover the windows below.

Mid-March started and the Camp grew with excitement with the return of our beloved Swami Shivabhaktananda. It certainly felt las though he brought the heat and inspiration with him from India. He shared beautiful stories about his trip. We were very keen on hearing more, but karma yoga was waiting. A weekend guest program – “Spring Juice Fasting and Detoxification” was, as expected, a great success. Executed by the very knowledgable and friendly Suzanne Cliche and her very helpful and jolly assistant, Isabelle. Her juices were savoury, tasty and very nourishing. Meanwhile the staff was seen bouncing about the Ashram, basking in the newfound sunshine and longer days. It was quite remarkable how the energy the sun had influence on everyone. It was also an added treat to that the meditation walks in the morning and evening were in daylight. May the blessings of the Masters remain with us all. Pranams.

http://www.sivananda.org/camp

Namah Sivaya to all. It was the beginning of March and Shivaratri was celebrated with Puja and Havan, conducted by Potty Swami and assistants. Chanting continued until 4 am, then Prasad was served to all present. We welcomed Sheetal from Mumbai, for three months work study; Khilesh from Meenakshi Ashram for a short break and Kannan and Dharmini back to staff from ATTC. We thanked the ATTC staff for making the course a success and look forward to meeting them again.

During mid-March we prepared ourselves for the last TTC of the season. Registrations rose steadily as last minute arrivals registered, bringing the final number to 143. Most of the students were from all parts India. Dr Vishnu, Ajitha and Sandhya (Chennai) made a trip to Thailand to give Ayurvedic treatment to a VIP over there. Sadly we say goodbye to Nitya, who shared a lot of herself during her 3 month stay here. We wish her safe travels in India and back home to the USA. Om. Pranams.

http://www.sivananda.org/neyyardam

Om Namo Narayanaya – Greetings from Uttar Kashi. The beginning of March we joyfully celebrated Sivaratri with a Mrtunjaya Homa and Puja and lots of chanting of Siva Kirtans and the Siva Mantra. On this auspicious day we also had two Mantra initiations. ATTCs steadily increased their Pranayama pace with ease towards the advanced Pranayama sequences. On their day off, Swami Parameshvarianandaji organized a lovely outing to Nachiketas Lake, located at 2000 metres altitude. All enjoyed the beauty of the lake and the walk in the surrounding forest. Srinivas prepared the students well for their Sanskrit exam. A good number of the group passed with “excellent”.  We thanked the Lord for successful completion of the Ashram works and for Swamiji and Master’s blessings.

http://www.sivananda.org/uttarkashi

Om Namo Narayanaya. The beginning of March started off with a beautiful Mahashivaratri celebration. The staff, along with Yoga Vacationers and some TTC students stayed up all night chanting and celebrating. After Mahashivaratri, a typical post-TTC quietness has restored. Some Karma yogis took a short break, with some of them leaving the Ashram and a couple of new karma yogis arriving. Yoga Vacation guests continued with their schedule. Construction work in Ganga Nivas started. The heat set in at the Ashram, but the mornings are still pretty cool. As soon as the TTC completed many TTC students left the Ashram, with one student joining the work study program.

During mid-March the heat set in to Madurai. Few of Madurai staff returned to spend some time in the Ashram after ATTC in Neyyar Dam. Prahladaji, Saraswatiji and Harsha arrived  Saraswatiji and Prahladaji led a lovely Satsang. During the day Prahladaji and his family, the staff and Yoga Vacationers attended the Sivananda Rural Mobile Clinic for the physically disabled, organized by Dr. Narayana Sami. It was a great morning spent watching doctors tirelessly help people with ailments. That very evening Prahladaji and his family left the Ashram. Sandeep left the Ashram for Neyyar Dam. The week continued with a good number of Yoga Vacationers enjoying the Ashram life. Om Shanti. Pranams to all.

www.sivananda.org/madurai

Om Namah Sivaya!  It was the beginning of March and the Yoga Ranch started with the blessed and auspicious celebration of Sivaratri. The Pujas and chanting “Om Namah Sivaya” and other Siva chants went on strong into the night. Nearly everyone that attended remained awake in the Temple until the final Arati at 6:00 am.  For days afterward you couldn’t walk into the Temple without repeating the name of Lord Siva.  Then there was a rest day for most staff as guests left the Ashram after a few hours sleep and a warm meal. Swami Vasishta joined us for a visit to help train our new priest, who happens to be Swamiji’s nephew.  It is always wonderful to have Swamiji with us.  We had a full house for two weekend programs, “Yoga at Home”, with Keshava and an Indian Cooking workshop, with Neeti. The Satsangs were all very well attended too, adding prana and energy in the atmosphere. The next batch of TTC students started to arrive and this first TTC of the new year was inaugurated. It is an intimate group of 12 students, all initiated by Srininvasan, who taught the main lecture. Mahadev Chaitanya taught the Hatha Yoga portion with the assistance of Shakti teaching the morning practice class and Adam assisting. Radha taught the chanting classes. Bharata taught the anatomy classes.

During mid-March the Ranch continued with the first week of the first TTC of 2016, to a serious group of enthusiastic students. Swami Vasishta performed the Ganapati Puja for an auspicious start of the course. The students all had an opportunity to make an offering to Lord Ganesha. They seemed to have the tuning for this type of ritual. The first week went very smoothly. Lalita Chaitanya joined us from the Chicago Centre, for a long weekend, to help with the start of TTC and teach a few chanting class. We welcomed Mitchell Rabin, a long time friend and moral supporter of the Ashram’s projects, to conduct a weekend program on “Creating a Better World.”  Mitchell hosted a cable television program and radio show in NYC of the same name, “A Better World”.  The workshop was offered on the TTC day off, so the students could also attend. Mitchell had over 25 attendees for the three hour workshop. Several new karma yogis arrived to help out for a few months, bringing much needed support to the current staff, with several more planned to arrived in the next several weeks.  We felt the beginning of the high season about to start. Staff were focused and regular in their Sadhana and send pranams to all. May the Blessings of Master and Swamiji grace all of our lives. Pranamsl!

Om Namah Sivaya! The beginning of March we are blessed to welcome back Swami Jnaneswariananda from teaching the successful TTC Madurai, India. Swami Vasishtananda visited the NY Ranch Ashram. The Yoga Farm welcomed Sahadev for the Hari Katha workshop with stories and chants inspired by holy saints and the Divine. Stories of Krishna’s lilas, Tuka Ram and Ramayana brought great joy and upliftment for all. Swami Dharmananda taught the Stress and Relaxation weekend course with guests gaining knowledge about the sources of stress, plus, the Yoga techniques to reduce the effects of stress and how to build stress resiliency.

During mid-March we were happy to welcome back Swami Vasishtananda-ji from his time at the NY Ranch. The Ashram was very active, with many programs including the Ayurveda Detox Retreat with Gita Devi. Daily Ayurveda talks were given as the guests followed a simple mono-diet of kitcheree and greens as they learned Ayurvedic tools for self-care. The Yoga Farm welcomed the Yoga Bharati group for their annual retreat. Yoga Bharati is a Yoga Community from the Bay Area who have come to the Ashram annually for 6 years. They were led by their main teacher, Raghu Ram from S-Vyasa University in Bangalore, India. Tara Durga Devi and her husband Chandra taught the “Dharma of Family and Marriage” course, speaking from their experience as householders and Yogis on the spiritual path on how to live a dharmic life dedicated to family duties as a vehicle to spiritual growth. Tara Durga Devi also taught the “Meditation for Well Being” course with students applying themselves to meditation practice and Yoga psychology. We were all feeling the grace of Master and Swamiji. 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 celebrated the Maha Sivaratri on the night of March 8^th. With Swami Swaroopananda’s vibrant energy and the guests and karma yogis exuberance, the night was memorable. Our kitchen chefs and their staff prepared delectable Prasads that included crepes, cinnamon buns and Gauri Chaitanya’s tasty Indian delicacies. Needless to say, we were spoiled and uplifted for the upcoming year. Other programs included Sundari’s (Nora Benian) “Restorative Yoga Teacher Training”; Kumari’s course, “Teaching for Back Care”; and, Marc Halpern’s (Siva) and Marisa Laursen’s (Sir Devi) Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist Certification course. Rukmini also started offering her 7 day course “The Yoga of Meditation” that focused on the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. We also offered two experiential courses – Dian Killian’s “Nonviolent Communication” and Bharata Surya’s “Ayurvedic Cooking and Nutrition” retreat. The Yoga Vacation Program included talks by Amit Goswami on Quantum Activism, and Ralph White’s “The Quest for the Mysteries of Spiritual Experience”. We also started Dan Millman’s “Peaceful Heart, Warrior Spirit” program with engaging talks during Satsang. Om Shanti from all the staff in Nassau.

http://www.sivananda.org/nassau

Om Namah Sivaya. Early March started with Sivaratri celebrations. The Ganesha hall was cleaned thoroughly and the Siva Pujas were prepared with much care and love. Although we left it to our guests whether they wanted to participate – all of them joined and happily recited the “Om Namah Sivaya”. The peaceful atmosphere stayed with us throughout the next day. As all guests turned out to be very open to singing – we could do a full Kirtan Satsang. Seven new guests arrived for the “Yoga at Home” programme. Lectures on how to establish a regular yoga routine at home gathered much interest, especially the practice of different asana cycles, adapted to the amount of time the practitioner was ready to invest. All was appreciated and very helpful. Swami Sivadasananda came from Munich for one day and shared his prana and inspiration with the staff. The weather kept changing from snow to rain to sunny intervals. Notably the days were getting longer and brighter again.

During mid-March a very mixed group of advanced TTC graduates and complete beginners joined the “Yoga and Mountain Magic” Week. We were very lucky with the weather as the sun was shining every day. The wonderful mountain scenery unfolded its beauty on each walk and filled everyone with amazement and contentment. After a week of fresh mountain air, yoga classes, Satsangs and nice company, the guests left happy and fully recharged. One weekend in March was dedicated to the promotion of a healthy back. The Yoga Vacationers who were mainly new to yoga were introduced to gentle variations of the 12 postures and received a lot of information on a preventive care for the entire back. The three students who were here for a TTC prep adapted the daily schedule very easily. All of them already decided to take TTC in the near future. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/tyrol

Om Namah Sivaya. The first week in March was Centred around “Yoga for the Back”; then we had a mixed group of beginners and TTCs graduates for the“Yoga for Regeneration” week. The celebration of Sivaratri on Monday was the spiritual highlight of the month. A few staff participated in the carrot juice fast for one day on the weekend as part of the “Detox weekend”. Nataraj arrived from Hamburg to support the Karma Yoga team for a few weeks. Sharma, the new priest, arrived from India. He is being trained for his priestly duties by Yagneshwara our long time priest. Registrations for the first TTC in May and TTC Refresher Course are doing very well. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/orleans