Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

Om Namah Sivaya. In early August the Berlin Centre yoga courses and classes continued as usual and a Yoga 123 and a Meditation-course 2 started. We had excellent support from Karma Yogis. New karma yogis started to come regularly and quickly found their way into different departments. The garden was nicely taken care of on a daily basis. Another focus was the preparations for the retreat near Berlin. A good group of students joined together for the 5-Day Retreat in a wonderful location, 2 hours outside of Berlin. Everybody settled in quite well and students enjoyed the classes, which were outside on a wonderful wooden terrasse as well as Satsangs and lectures. Retreat continued from a Friday to a Wednesday.

Mid month a Yoga 3, Yoga 4, Yoga 6 and Yoga 12 started with nice groups of students. Classes and Satsangs were well visited. We had support from dedicated Karma Yogis in many departments of the Centre. The trial class inspired students who then signed up for courses afterwards. Work on the Autumn 2022 brochure started. Staff supported the online-programme with teaching and translating. We offered an enriching Satsang about Love, with a few new students participating. Everyone enjoyed the familiar atmosphere, the chanting was energetic and the altar full of beautiful flowers.

Staff are all well. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/berlin

Om Namah Sivaya. 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. May Masters blessings always guide us. Pranams. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/baires

Om Namah Sivaya to all Blessed Selves from the Chennai Centre. In early August we had mixed weather with 3 days of rain. Our Beginners’ Yoga batch group was in their second week. A highlight was the two day workshop on Asana Correction, led by Uma Natarajan. On 5th August, Friday, Nirmala Chaitanya went to Thailand for vacation. Third floor maintenance work was finished, we are about to start the window repair by next week. Promotion works were going well for the upcoming programs. We installed a new LED sign board for the Centre. We installed a billboard on Kasturbai Nagar, Adyar which is a major part of South Chennai.

During mid August the Chennai Centre continued our regular activities. On 17th Wednesday we organized a Ganapati Homa, welcoming the new Tamil month ‘Avani’. On 19th Friday we celebrated Janmashtami with special chanting and Prasad. Another highlight was the three day online workshop on pranayama, led by Uma Natarajan, with around 6 people attending. One of our Karma yogis, Unnikrishnan, left the Centre last week due to a family issue. We welcomed a new staff Saurav from Uttarkashi. We ended each week with Satsang.

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 kept the strong energy to serve the community. In early August the Beginners’ Yoga course plus regular open classes continued as usual. Open House classes went well. We opened one more Beginners’ Yoga course with 7 students. We started the Online Meditation Course taught by Sivashakti Chaitanya (this course was backdated for recruiting more attendees).

By mid August the TTC concluded. We had 1 Karma Yogi who was student before, come to support. All the classes went well. The Handmade Mooncake Making Workshop was successfully with 14 attendees. We also made an amount of mooncake for sale in boutique and they were sold out within 3 days. Swami Narayanananda led Satsang, strengthen the energy of Centre. Staff Nirmala took off one week. We opened one more Beginners’ Yoga Course and a new Basic Meditation Online Course, taught by Sivashakti Chaitanya. The Centre’s resident departed with good feedback about her stay.

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. Namaste. By the god grace and gurus blessing the Dwarka Centre’s activities went well during August 2022. We were happy to start Beginners’ Yoga courses at 8am and 4pm. We started Pranayama classes as well. Regular classes ran smoothly. Staff continued their Sadhana. All is 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 August 2022. We started a couple of Beginners’ Yoga courses. The number of students reduced because of a very long weekend of festivals. On 15th August we celebrated the 76th India’s Independence Day by hoisting the National Fag at the Centre. Staff were doing well, by the Grace of Gurus.

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. 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 August all classes went well. We opened a Beginners’ Yoga course online with 6 students on Wednesdays and two Beginners’ Yoga courses offline, with 9 students. We had Satsang online with Swami Sita with the topic: Teachings from Stories. We had a retreat for staff from 7/08 to 9/08 in Ba Be Lake. We are very happy and recharged from lots of nature’s energy.

Mid August saw all classes continuing well. We offered an uplifting, high energy Puja for Krishna’s Birthday. 12 staff and a karma Yogi attended. Online Satsang with Swami Sita with the topic: Karmic Diseases.

The Hanoi staff’s Sadhana is steady. Om.

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

Om Namah Sivaya. In August 2022, thanks to Guru’s blessing, Ho Chi Minh Centre received plenty of energy from our students, karma yogis and newcomers. Firstly, there was a new Meditation for Beginners course, with 9 students. Secondly, an Open House was successfully organized with 9 very interested people joining. Afterwards, they registered for the new Beginners’ Yoga course the following week. The open classes were much more popular for the foreigners nearby. Weekly Satsangs on Wednesdays and Sundays also welcomed newcomers. In addition, the Ayurveda room got positive feedback from a customer, and she committed to receiving the treatment every week. About internal activities, we were glad that TTC students came and join the Guru Puja every Thursday, and also arrived to assist in the many karma yoga duties. The staff are happily serving, doing gardening and Sadhana.

Mid month the Hochiminh Centre had great opportunities to serve the community. The Centre had plenty of energy thanks to many activities happening. First of all, Ganga Chaitanya came back from the Ashram to teach the 5-day Kid Yoga TTC. In these 5 days, the Centre was full of joy, love and beautiful moments. Even during a busy schedule of the course, we could still find time to prepare for the most wonderful Krishna Janmashtami where everyone felt happy. The altar was beautifully organized with dozens of flowers, and Krishna’s swing was so sparkling that everyone enjoyed playing it. Also, new clothes and pagdi were nicely sewn and many prasad were offered to our Dear Lord. That night, there were 32 guests participating in the Puja, most of whom brought flowers and prasad to celebrate Krishna’s birthday. The staff dressed gracefully in Saree and Dhoti to pretend to be Krishna and the Gopis. We were grateful that Sivashakti came to help with Gentle yoga TTC.  Every other activity still went well.

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 early August the London Centre was closed for two weeks while staff travelled to Reith to join the special programme around the Bhakti Sutras in the Retreathouse. The gentle class continued during the Centre closure which attracted several newcomers.

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 August at the LA Centre Swami Pranavananda taught a Sunday afternoon workshop on Yoga Secrets for Stress Relief. We meditated early on Sunday to join the Sivananda Organization’s “Unite for a Peaceful Planet” effort at 6:00am. Our online Satsang goers enjoyed this program. By popular request, we changed the Wednesday evening open class from All-Levels to Gentle. We did an impromptu photo shoot to capture the mixed population frequenting the Centre, which added the finishing touch to a new flyer we will soon distribute. We did a second planting in the vegetable garden—peas, carrots and chard. We helped a longtime friend of the Centre, Santji, declutter his apartment so he can move to an assisted living facility. We said goodbye to Saraswati from Vietnam after a lovely visit.

We are grateful for this opportunity 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! In August 2022 the Centre started the first week of TTC. It was dynamic and intense. Everyone adjusted to the Ashram schedule and the hot temperatures in Spain. We are blessed with a multi cultural group of 20 TTC coming from 8 different countries and 4 continents! Guest teacher, Prema Arenas, arrived just on time for the TTC inauguration. She offered inspiring classes and lectures and a further training course took place, with 23 participants. A powerful Ganesha Puja added the right energy to the start of the Course. We all looked forward to the coming TTC weeks. The activities at the Madrid Centre continued with the support of outside teachers.

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. In August Krishna Jayanti was celebrated at the Yoga Camp. One Sunday we received the ATTC students and staff from the Yoga Camp. Kanti Deviji gave Satsang with a beautiful message, reading different messages from disciples of Swami Sivananda. Students at the Montreal Centre were very happy to have such an energetic Satsang. Classes and courses continued smoothly at the 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. In August 2022 Swami Vidyananda and Swami Vasudevananda were still in the Sivananda Yoga Retreat House in Reith/Tyrol/Austria to support the TTC and special program there. Also a good number of the Centre students came and joined the Yoga Vacation guests. Our close teacher Chandrika took care of the Centre and also gave the Satsangs. In order to enable those of our students who had stayed in town to continue their yoga practice in the Centre, our teachers  took over most of the drop-in classes and courses.

In mid August Swami Vasudevananda returned after serving at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat House in Reith/Tyrol/Austria. The full schedule of classes and courses was resumed. A Beginners’ Yoga course started with a group of motivated participants. A trial class one Saturday afternoon attracted a good number of interested newcomers.

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

http://www.sivananda.org/munich

Om Namah Sivaya. In August the weather turned surprisingly pleasant. By the grace of the Gurus the classes were quite busy. We were able to offer more classes with increased regularly as there is more support from teachers. We had a successful Open House. Apsara concluded a Y1 course with 12 students. The students were quite enthusiastic and looked forward to the Y2. The Centre was invited by the Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey to conduct a workshop on the the subject of ‘Pain Management with Meditation’ for the students. Bharata led the course. We continued with the weekly Satsangs on Wednesdays as plus the weekly Puja on Sunday mornings. Both grew steadily. We all are now eagerly looking forward to the festive season.

By mid month it was warm and balmy in New York City. The extreme heat ended. A Y2 was started with 5 students, taught by Apsara. The Satsangs were conducted by Bharata, attended by 8 people. The highlight was the Sri Krishna Janmashtami Puja on the 19th. We had loads of Prasad. The room was resplendent with flowers. About 10 people participated.  We were very grateful to the Karma Yogis who continued to support the Centre remotely. New on the team is Ashna who is doing social media from Delhi.

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 us an uplifting week with the online Saptaha in early August. The staff and the karma yogis were grateful for this special programme. Bhakti was in the air with the precious teachings and the music still vibrating in our hearts. There was a big family staying at the Centre. Ananda, Daya Devi, Vyasa and Daya came to support the Centre for few days. Pranava and Parvati were also there as usual during the weekend. Gopala went to Orleans, Swami Nityananda came back. Ganga started a ten day massage course outside the Centre. She will stay as a resident with us during the course. The Masters sent armies of karma yogis to put a dose of sattva here and there and to support the running of the Centre. The mornings were almost a karma yoga party. We re-started to chant for peace online with the students and onsite with teachers and karma yogis. Parallel to the open classes and the Beginners’ Yoga courses, there was a Pranayama course and a headstand workshop. We offered a Ganesha Puja, led by the priest from Orleans. Vasishta focused on a deep cleaning of different corners of the house. He and Swami Nityananda had an overview of many of the projects with Swami Kailasananda guiding him on the phone. Some karma yogis assisted him. During the public Satsangs we had words of Master Sivananda on the topics of Raja Yoga, Love and Forgiveness. We chanted for peace with Swami Kailasananda online and the staff, the students and karma yogis onsite. We meditated and we did Likhita Japa. The Karma yogis and the staff put a dose of sattva in the kitchen and in the Meditation room. Our main cook, Maria Enid, came back from holidays. We all enjoyed her delicious meals and her sweet presence. The Centre was uplifted by having the big Masters’ pictures back in the Main Altar. The Altar looked fresh and beautiful in blue. We fely more the prana of the Masters. The plants bloomed while Daya took care of them. God sent refreshing rains.

Mid August: Life gave us an uplifting Krishna Jayanti. We did a morning online Puja from Orleans and a cheerful chanting of the Mahamantra and Om Name Bhagavate Vasudevaya in the evening before Arati. We then offered a peaceful and cheerful Puja with the students the second day. Everyone wanted to stay in the Main hall after the Celebration. Prem was felt everywhere. The whole team of staff was in Orleans. The Masters as they always do, sent precious help to the Paris Centre. Close teachers and karma yogis took care of the Centre. Swami Nityananda came back from the Ashram while Gopala and Vasishta remained in Orleans. Ganga was back as a temporary staff after a period of more than one week of being a resident. Armies of karma yogis put a dose of sattva here and there. They labelled the new chanting books, continued painting the shelves of the boutique and fixed little things here and there. The atmosphere was lively with the presence of the karma yogis for the morning Satsangs and the Sadhana. The Paris Centre has a new teacher – Siva who stayed with us for three days, trained himself with the staff and started to assist and to teach the open classes in a sincere, simple and precise way. For the evening Satsangs we had many kirtans and inspiring words of Master on the topics of mind and happiness. On Sunday after the evening Satsang the staff appreciated listening to the recording of the inspiring bhakti yoga concert given by Sri Venugopal Goswami recently.

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. August 2022 started with the Tel Aviv Centre welcoming our teachers Smami Swaroopananda, Swami Prema and also Jnaneshwari Chaitanya, Rukmini Chaitanya and Kumari and also Swami Shambhu who came to the Centre. We were very happy to have them with us and were very much inspired by their presence. We already had 24 students signed up for the TTC in October. We kept promoting the different courses offered by the Centre. We had a restful weekend in the Centre.

In mid August we held an evening Satsang with Swami Shambhu Devananda. We had beautiful celebration of Krishna Jayanti in the Centre. The big classroom was decorated with yellow and gold fabrics and huge leaves from the garden. A very big and beautiful picture of Lord Krishna was put on the altar. Swami Swaroopananda gave an explanation on the holiday and the different teachings that Lord Krishna left to humanity for the Kali Yuga. Swami Shambhu read from Shrimad Bhagavatam on the birth of Lord Krishna. We had lots of delicious prasad at the end. We planned a weekend retreat in the Centre and started promoting it. We also promoted a new meditation, yoga and positive thinking course in the Centre.

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

http://www.sivananda.org/telaviv

Om Namah Sivaya from the Shojiko Retreat. In August we had many guests visiting us at the Shojiko Retreat, where they had to opportunity to dive into their yoga practice more deeply and enjoying Nature to its full extent such as farming, house renovation, going for trekking around the neighboring area. Some of the guests came to visit us for the first time in few years, causing us to feel that peoples’ life is slowly and gradually coming back to its normal. Online programs, including asana classes and Satsangs, were well attended. We conducted a Puja in celebration of Krishna Jayanthi, led by Atmashakti Chaitanya, and staff members invoked Lord Krishna’s blessings on everyone. Our regular monthly program Kirtan workshop was offered on Saturdays, in which we practiced chanting kirtans dedicated for Krishna wholeheartedly. Online programs, including asana classes and courses, international Satsang with Swami Sitaramanandaji, etc. all continued well underway. There was a faint touch of autumn in the air around the Lake Shojiko, reminding us the short summer will be over soon.

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

http://www.sivananda.jp

Om Namah Sivaya. In August ten students attended an early morning meditation course that ran from Monday to Friday. Saraswati taught Introduction to Vedanta and Kirtan workshop one weekend with a lot of new students attending. Students started to sign up for our retreat in September. It was nice to see some older students coming back for the retreat that we have not seen for a while. Yukiko , Nalini’s sister, is learning English online and getting used to the Centre routine.

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. Namaste to all from Trivandrum Centre, Kerala, South India. In August, all was well, with gods and gurus grace. We started a morning Beginners’ Yoga with a good number of students. Also a Meditation Course started the same day. Regular open classes were fine. The weather was pleasant at the moment. Staff were keeping well with their practice and managing the Centre activities at the same time. We also started a weekend Beginners’ Yoga course. Sunday Satsangs brought good attendance.

Mid month saw a Ladies Beginners’ Yoga course started with sufficient participants. There was a small Pooja conducted in the Centre along with chanting of Krishna Bhajans. We welcomed all Sadhna Mandalam spiritual seekers, as they had their all activities in the Centre. Swami Janardanananda ji and Suresh ji led the group, started the morning Satsang in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Then a 11 am Karma Yoga, 12 pm Lecture Class and 3.30 pm Yoga Class. Evening Satsangs saw great energy along with Centre students and teachers. All enjoyed the Satsang with the group. Otherwise all is going fine with the Centre and staff here. Each week ended with a Sunday spiritual gathering with some outside guests and staff.

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 August it took more than one day to put all the things needed for the TTC in places and arrange everything. We had a lot of help: the Russian TTC teacher Rajeshwari from Luxembourg stayed at the yoga Centre for a few days, so we could meditate together, raise the Centre’s prana after a month’s absence from Satsangs. Karma yogi Radhika, Beata helped a lot with the arrangements and together we prepared lunch for the students. Three newly graduated TTC teachers started conducting yoga classes at the Centre under the supervision of experienced teachers. A number of TTC graduates have come to Satsangs. Satsangs were now held with Russian translation. After the break, the Yoga 1 course started with 6 diligent students.

Mid August there was a public holiday in Austria, classes and courses soon continued afterwards. Attendance was good, students took the chance after the long weekend to plunge into their practice. Summer holidays were slowly coming to their end and more and more students were returning from their vacation. The Vienna Centre teachers took good care of the Centre. On Krishna Jayanthi Staff returned from their stay in the Retreat House in Reith, Tyrol, Austria, where they were supporting the special programmes. They were joyfully participating in the online Satsang celebration, transmitted from Reith.

We wish everyone health and inner strength. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vienna

Om Namah Sivaya. August 2022: Due to holidays, vacation time and the unusually hot weather in Lithuania, we had fewer students. We were pleased that the newly graduated TTC teachers joined the Centre’s family: Rukmini was already doing very well teaching the open classes and receives many compliments from the students and teachers. Beata was a great helper. She does any karma yoga very sincerely – the brass of the altar is so shiny. Teacher Chaitanya helped to clean the pantry, and everyone helps to water the flowers. It is good to see that the Satsangs are well attended. Despite the heat, the students and teachers happily participated in the Satsang and asanas and enjoyed a bit of a different lunch prepared by staff, which was based on the valuable book “The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking”, which contains hundreds of recipes.

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

http://www.sivananda.org/vilnius