Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

Om Namah Sivaya. In May the Berlin Centre had good help from dedicated Karma Yogis with cleaning and housekeeping. A new Karma Yogi was found to manage the mailing list on a regular basis. There is a small group of Ukrainian refugees in Berlin who did TTC in Poland. They arrived to the Centre for classes and Satsang and one of them helped with cooking. On Swami Mangalananda went to Mittersill near Salzburg to teach at the Retreat for 1 week and Swami Gokulananda to Hamburg for a Puja at the affiliated Centre there. Courses and classes were well visited.

Mid month saw more registrations for the upcoming courses. One of our long term Karma Yogis cleaned and painted the Asana platform in the garden, which now is ready for the summer season. Also Swami Annapurnananda put a lot of effort towards the plants in the garden. It is a joy to see all the flowers blooming now was the weather became warmer. Swami Gokulananda went to Poland for the first retreat after 3 years break, due to the pandemic. A good group of students and teachers joined together, for many of them it was the first Yoga retreat. Some were interested in taking TTC soon. Swami Annapurnananda went to Reith to serve at the upcoming special program.

Staff are all well. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/berlin

Om Namah Sivaya. We are grateful to be able to offer daily yoga classes through Zoom. Please join us! We will wait for you! Any sum you can contribute will be grateful from the heart. You can contact us for any questions about practicing yoga at home through e-mail: [email protected] Call: 11 4804 7813.

For any queries, contact us. If changes or news arise, we will inform you. We salute you with a fervent desire for peace and health for all. We hope you are all well. Pranams. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/baires

Om Namah Sivaya to all Blessed Selves from the Chennai Centre. In early May we began a new Beginners’ Yoga batch. Student numbers slightly dropped due to the hot weather. We welcomed a new staff Ramya from Gudur Ashram. We chanted Om Namo Narayanaaya every evening, Vishnu Sahasranama on Thursdays & Lalitha Sahasranama on Fridays for peace. Apart from that, we conducted a special Puja on the 14th May for three people who were very close to the Sivananda Organization and left their physical bodies.

1. Gauri (wife of Vyasa) from Argentina, a long-time devotee of Sivananda Mission, every summer was there at the Yoga Camp along with Vyasa doing Karma Yoga and contributing themselves completely to Swamiji’s mission with many projects around the Yoga Camp.  Both of them have visited India also. Gauri’s departure is a big loss for all of us.

2. Sivaraman, the nephew of Swami Vishnudevanandaji who was living in Montreal for over 50 years left his physical body.

3. Khun Amnuay (Husband of Kunda who hosted our Course and program at Phuchaisai in Chiangrai, Thailand) passed away.

During mid May the Chennai Centre began the kids camp with 10 Kids. On the same day we started a private group class. Social media promotions went well, with a notable spike in enquiries. We planned and organised special classes for the upcoming International Yoga day, mid June. We organized a special workshop on Kriyas with around 9 people showing up. The participants were happy with the results. On the same day we celebrated our Centre director, Gopan’s birthday, a delicious feast with lot of items was served.

All our staff are happy & doing their Sadhanas. Praying to our Master and Swamiji to guide us always with their blessings. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/madras

Om Namah Sivaya from the beautiful DaLat Centre. Thanks to Guru’s blessing, our Centre can keep the strong energy to serve the community. In May the “Ayurvedic Psychology and the Science of Self-healing” Online & Offline Course taught by MahaVidya Mary Thompson and Shambhu ran successfully. We offered Open House classes. We offered a Beginners’ Yoga’s Course, Basic Pranayama Practice Course, Bhagavad Gita for Beginners’ Yogis (taught by Sivashakti Chaitanya), Restorative Yoga On-site Course and a Headstand Workshop. A Beginners’ Yoga’s Course began in the mornings with 7 students. A Yantra Painting Meditation Workshop hosted by Saraswati ran successfully with 10 attendees. We offered a new Meditation Course and another concentration art workshop, hosted by Saraswati. New staff Vidya (TTC Feb 2020) arrived to Dalat Centre.

We did our best to keep our Sadhana strong and maintain energy. We pray for Guru’s grace and blessings. Om.

https://sivanandayogavietnam.org

Om Namah Sivaya to all. Namaste to one and all. The Dwarka Centre’s activities went well during May 2022. We were happy to see our old students returning to the Centre, those who left their practice due to Covid pandemic. Regular classes ran smoothly. We started a Beginners’ Yoga course with a good number of students. On weekends we conducted the kids yoga classes, free trial yoga classes and Satsangs, attended by a good number of people. Staffs are fine and taking care of the Centre very well.

May Master and Swamiji bless all in continuing on the yogic path. Pranams to one and all. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/dwarka

Greetings and Namaste from Sivananda Nataraja Centre. With the Grace of Gurus everything was fine at the Centre for May 2022. We started a Beginners’ Yoga course at 6.30pm on Mondays with a limited number of students. The number of students in the open classes has increased. The Gentle Yoga and Kids classes are happening. Staff is doing well in spite of hot record breaking temperatures.

We then started two Beginners’ Yogas courses at 6.30am & 4.00pm and also started a course on foundation to meditation at 6.30pm mid May. The number of students increased gradually in open as well as Beginners’ Yogas courses. The preparation for the kid’s summer camp progressed well.

May Master and Swamiji bless and protect all while continuing on their yogic path. Please stay connected – https://sivananda.org.in/delhi/ Pranams to all. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/delhi

Om Namah Sivaya. All levels of asana classes and Beginners’ Yoga courses continued in May. A new morning class on Tuesdays was well appreciated by mothers and seniors. The Wednesday Satsangs continued to have a regular inspired group of students. The advanced classes on Fridays, with a longer pranayama session, were well attended by teachers and regular students, bringing abundant prana to the Centre.

With best wishes for health and peace. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/geneva

Greetings from the Hanoi Centre. Thanks to Guru’s blessing, our Centre can keep strong energy to serve the community online and onsite. In May all classes went well. The Nutrition Course online started on Saturdays with 4 students. We opened Yoga Outdoors with 8 students. Online Satsangs with Swami Sita were always a highlight with topic: Faith and Doubt one week and Q & A with Swami Sita on Sundays.

Mid month Swami Sita came to visit Hanoi Centre from 15/5-19/5. She taught courses: Yoga and Relationships with 20 people. One online and offline Satsang theme with Swami Sita in Hanoi Centre was “Turning Inwards”, with 68 people attending. We had an open house class for Beginners’ Yoga, with 6 students.

The Staff’s Sadhana is steady. Om.

Om Namah Sivaya. In May we had good energy at the Centre with many activities onsite. We started three Beginners’ Yoga courses with a good number of students, such as Yoga Beginners’ Yoga course in the early morning, taught by Ambika; Meditation Beginners’ Yoga course and Ayurveda Beginners’ Yoga course, both taught by Ganga Chaitanya. The Hochiminh Centre also had a very successful open house with around 15 people coming to learn and try the classical yoga class, after which many people signed up for the upcoming courses in May. A highlight of May was the visit of our special Guest Maha Vidya – Mary Thompson after teaching the SYHET course in Dalat Ashram. She was very happy to experience Vietnamese culture. MahaVidya taught the Ayurveda Workshop with around 20 people in attendance.

Mid month the Hochiminh Centre continued our maintenance’s projects. We turned over the boutique and library to the new fresh look to refresh the Centre’s energy. We also started the new course of Anatomy for Teachers, taught by Ganga Chaitanya with 11 students. Our workshop of 108 rounds Sun salutations, taught by Viveka, was also successful. Beside the busy schedule of Karma yoga, the staff also did a scheduling meeting to plan ahead for our June program line up. By the grace of Gurus, our Satsangs, open classes and courses continued to welcome back a lot of long-time students.

Staff continued their Sadhana regularly with love. We are grateful for every chance to serve. We pray for everyone’s health and inspiration to keep practicing and teaching! May the Sivananda family worldwide be safe. Om.

https://sivanandayogavietnam.org/ho-chi-minh-center/

Om Namah Sivaya. In May 2022 the Level 1 intensive weekend course brought a very positive energy to the Centre. Two daily classes, evening meditation, silent walks along the Thames and relaxation time in the Peace Garden made it a small mini-retreat and students much enjoyed being part of the Centre life for two full days. Narayana arrived from the Ashram and actively taught in the open class schedule as well as two much appreciated Sunday afternoon classes. We worked on the brochure and planned a first residential summer weekend retreat in the Centre.

May the Masters’ blessings and protection be with all of you, always. With best wishes for health and inner peace. Om Tat Sat. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/london

Om Namo Narayanaya. In early May the days were beautiful. We were surrounded by hummingbirds as we taught yoga on the deck. We launched a monthly Positive Thinking Circle to build community and build a forum for discussing challenges in our changing times. We shared tea and cookies and support. Three courses started this month: an afternoon Yoga 1, a Positive Thinking course, and a Yoga 2. We changed our morning class to 7:00am to work better for Mahalakshmi, who is teaching it from the Yoga Farm. A Yoga Health Education student bought another 3-session package and was thrilled with the progress he saw by slowing down and surrendering and practicing daily. We were grateful this month for all the opportunities to serve.
During mid May the LA staff went sightseeing downtown, visiting Olvera St, Angels Landing and the Bradbury building, however happy to get back to the Centre. Our retreat guests were very engaged and thoughtful. Swami Sivasankariananda led the International Satsang on Pain Care, since Swami Sita was traveling. We finished two courses: Pranayama 1 and Meditation 2. Swami Sivasankariananda to visit her Mom. Swami Pranavananda covered the Gita class on Friday evenings and Yoga 1 Saturday mornings. He also led a Kirtan Workshop. Ganapati arrived back from the Yoga Farm. Invitations went out for our 50th anniversary celebration. We were grateful for the connections and support far and wide.

It is an honor to serve. May the Gurus guide us as our reach grows wider and wider. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/la

Om Namah Sivaya, Blessed Selves! Welcome to the oasis of peace amid the pressures of everyday life in the city. In May 2022 classes and courses at the Madrid Centre continued with good attendance. Many students went away for the long weekend as 1st and 2nd of May are festive in the city. Most of the onsite classes took place in the outdoor patio. A new online course “How to Control Emotions” started.

Mid-May the Centre continued with the regular schedule and with good attendance. A highlight was the Sunday Satsang with several new visitors and strong chanting. Swami Santoshananda travelled to the Seminarhaus in Reith for the special program Bhagavata Saptaha. The Centre was present in the Canary Island Yoga Congress where Gopala was invited to present classes and lectures. We were blessed that many teachers and close students support the mission with much dedication.

We are grateful to Master and Swamiji. Staff are well and sending our best wishes for health and peace. Pranams to all. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/madrid

Om Namah Sivaya to all. We thank our Masters for all blessings and support bestowed. May all be blessed with equanimity and steadiness in practice. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/madurai

Om Namah Sivaya from the Montevideo Centre. We are happy to serve, love to all. We pray intensely for peace and harmony in this world. May the Grace of Gurudev and Swamiji be upon us all. Om Shanti. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/montevideo

Om Namah Sivaya and Greetings from the Montreal Centre. May God’s grace and the teachers’ blessings always remain with us and guide us into being of impeccable service to the people around the world. Pranams to all. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/montreal

Om Namah Sivaya. May 2022 started with a number of new courses: a main event was the painting of the Yoga Hall. A good number of karma yogis supported the project. The atmosphere was very joyful and everyone turned out to be of great help. We also transferred our online teaching studio to a smaller asana room to create more space for our onsite activities since student numbers were going up.

By mid May the staff started two new Yoga 2 courses with very motivated participants. Also two of our advanced courses started into new rounds. Swami Vidyananda went to the Retreat House in Reith / Tyrol / Austria to teach in the TTC there. The Centre received good support from our dedicated karma yogis.

Staff are well and inspired. We wish everyone health and inner strength. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/munich

Om Namah Sivaya. In May the weather opened up into spring and we welcomed the warmth as the numbers at the Centre seemed to increase. We had students from the FIT come to take classes followed by a meal. The weekly in person Satsangs that started three weeks ago were well attended. We were grateful for the constant support from a steady group of teachers, crucially keeping the Centre going. A big thank you to them.

We send our blessings for all to stay healthy, positive and strong in Sadhana. Join us online for courses, studies, Satsangs and yoga classes. May Gurudev’s blessings continue to light our path. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/ny

Om Namah Sivaya. Life gave a cheerful mood with a big family in the house in May. Swami Kailasananda led the Satsang and read inspiring words of Swamiji from the Final instructions of Vishnudevananda Upadesha. Swamiji put prana into tidying the back office. She went back to Orleans after having guided everyone. It was uplifting having our Acharya at home. The Masters kept sending precious help, Padmini came to support the Centre for two months as staff. Chiara, Rukmini and Narayana were at the Centre for a couple of days. They put much prana into the kitchen, the boutique and in some maintenance projects. Anjaneya came every day to do various renovations on the first floor and to help with maintenance projects. The workers finished the setting of the new roof glazing. The Centre had a couple of new teachers, Anjaneya and Padmini, both started teaching open classes on their own. They enjoyed teaching and the students enjoyed the classes. Pushkar the Ashram dog came to stay with us for a week. Narayana went to London. Vasishta came back from his week of rest just on time to take care of the dog. We all enjoyed playing with little Pushkar and observing how well trained he is. We had the regular meditation and positive thinking courses as well as a Raja Yoga workshop with a small group of motivated students. In spite of the school holidays the open classes were well attended. God gave us an uplifting day starting with a Hanuman Puja led by the priest from Orleans. That day for the evening Satsang we had many Kirtans and inspiring words of Master on the topic of yoga ethics from different books. We did the Satsang in the Meditation room as we were a small group. There was a joyful mood and more prana. The weekend Satsangs were held in the Main Hall. We had uplifting Kirtans, the Sunday prayers and inspiring words of Master from the book “Thought Power” and from the commentary of The fifth chapter of the Gita. One Sunday morning, we went to a Carnatic concert given by Bhavana (Rukmini’s teacher). Rukmini and many other students and musicians were also on the stage. It was beautiful to hear and see three generations of musicians chanting together for God.

Mid May: Life gave us an uplifting week with the presence of Swami Kailasananda and the visit of the acharyas k. The Centre was honoured to welcome Santaji who passed by on his way to Reith. Swami Kailasananda gave the public Satsang from the Raja Yoga Sutras’ commentary of Swami Durgananda. Swamiji gave inspiring morning Satsangs for the staff every day. There were cheerful mornings with one week yoga one every morning parallel to the regular open classes and courses. The Masters sent an army of karma yogis to support the Centre. Our Gurubais from Orleans and Pushkar the dog were also there. There was a trial and introduction to meditation, with few students attending. The new comers were grateful with the teachings of the Masters and eager to start their practice in the Centre. For the weekend Satsangs we had an inspiring words of Master on the topic of Sadhana and bhakti. The Masters keep sending inspiration and more students for the evening classes. The students were happy to have the evening soup back on Mondays. We are always grateful for the visit of the acharyas. We are looking forward to the saptaha online and their visit again after the programme in Reith.

May Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda continue to guide and to inspire all of us. With all our wishes for health and peace. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/paris

Om Namah Sivaya. May 2022 started with a beautiful evening Satsang on the subject of peace from Swami Vishnu Devananda’s teaching. We had the Memorial Day and also the Israel’s Independence Day so the Centre was closed. Staff took the time to catch up with the different projects and computer work. Bhargavi Chaitanya came back from the Yoga Retreat Bahamas after participating in the ATTC. We had a beautiful weekend together. May the blessings of the Masters be upon us all!

Mid month we had an evening Satsang as a Kirtan concert. We had Radha Keren from New York who sang beautiful bhajans and filled our hearts with sweet devotion. Bhargavi Chaitanya opened a Yoga 3 course. We put a lot of energy in our garden, many of the plants were moved and supplied with water with the kind help of our karma yogis. We also did some changes in our boutique and a new beautiful altar was installed. We had many guests and karma yogis coming to the Centre. Nirmala from Colombia and Mahadevi from Spain came to Israel for the first time, visiting the Centre. We went to Mata Ashram and had a restful weekend, full of nature.

May the blessings of the Masters be upon us all! Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/telaviv

Om Namah Sivaya. In early May the module 2 of SYHET course was successfully completed. We would like to extend our gratitude to the translation staff Padmavati and Kastri who have been staying here at the Shojiko Retreat, and Anandamayi who has remotely supported the course. New Yoga 1 started, in which 4 students joined to start to tread the path of yoga. Other online courses and classes also progressed well.

By mid May a Yoga 2 was completed and the students were ready to dive deeper into the path of yoga. Yoga 1 on Sundays was also doing well. A Kirtan workshop was offered online on Sundays, joined by good number of students, in which we practiced chanting for guru. ShantiDevi, resident staff at the Shojiko Retreat, left for the U.S. to support the ATTC and the online TTC follow-up supplementary course.

May Master and Swamiji’s grace be with all. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi. Om.

http://www.sivananda.jp

Om Namah Sivaya. In May we continued regular courses and classes. A lot of teachers and students have been absent due to Covid or the exposure to Covid recently. A new weekend Beginners’ Yoga course started and a Bhagavad Gita course with students back to their study group. Dr Sundar taught very informative workshop on the science behind the pranayama practice. Nalini visited Montreal for few days.

May Master and Swamiji’s blessings bring all good health and peace. May we continue to be useful for many. We send Om Namo Narayanaya to everyone. Pranams. Love to all. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/toronto

Om Namah Sivaya. Greetings to all from Trivandrum Centre, Kerala, South India. In May all was well with the grace of almighty. We started a weekdays Meditation course with 11 spiritual seekers. On the same day a Ladies Beginners’ Yoga course started with sufficient number of participants. Open Classes attract our old students who were not practising after Corona. Kids Class was in its last week. Staff were keeping up their practice plus handling the activities of the Centre. Sunday Satsangs were conducted by Yashpal.

By mid month we started an All Activities of the Centre are going fine. Open Classes were going fine. After completing one month of Kids Summer Yoga Camp we started regular weekend kids class. Most of the kids from the course joined us to continue in the weekend class. A good amount of rain falls almost everyday which makes us forget that it is summer. Staff are keeping well, as well as the Centre activities. All is well otherwise.

Praying for world peace – Om Namo Narayanaya. Our thoughts are with you all and we pray that you keep well and positive during these challenging times. Keep up your Sadhana and prayer for one and all around in the planet. Please stay connected. Pranams to all from Trivandrum Centre Kerala South of India. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/trivandrum

Om Namah Sivaya. In early May we had many intermediate Yoga courses started with inspired students. A Thought Power course 2 started, almost all students continued from the first course. A good number of students attended the first headstand workshop since the pandemic and were making good progress. We had an advanced asana workshop on Anjaneyasana which attracted some Centre teachers. The Centre Satsangs also were well attended. New uplifting blinds were mounted on the office windows. Centre teachers continued to support the online activities with translations, staff were contributing with teaching and hosting online.
We wish everyone health and inner strength. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vienna

Om Namah Sivaya. In May 2022 many intermediate Yoga courses started with inspired students. Courses, open classes and individual classes took place as usual and we had a good number of students. Quite intensive work of the staff on the project “The New Book of Yoga“ for the blind continued. The entire text of the book needs to be read, the mistakes corrected, and most importantly, the instructions for performing the asanas need to be rewritten so that the blind person can understand. One Saturday, two karma yogis, Bharata and Audrius, made a very tasty lunch. The food was happily eaten by the students… to the last crumb. Atmadev and Durga Devi went on a visit with a yoga program to the small town of Panevezys. They stayed overnight in the house of a very humble yoga teacher. They conducted a Satsang, a lecture and an asana class at the Surya Yoga studio. Sivananda Yoga teachers and students took part in the program.

Mid month yoga teachers and karma yogis nicely took care of the Centre, so all usual activities continued successfully. Two karma yogis drove twice to the TTC Lithuania July site and painted a repaired platform for asanas. Now it looks sattvic and inviting to practice yoga in the open air on the lake shore. A dedicated group of yogis worked on the platform, which was covered with new wood fibre boards. All repairs were covered by a yoga teacher Bharata. People continued to register for the TTC and retreat in July, including a Russian-speaking group.

We are very grateful to the teachers, who support the Centre so well. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vilnius