Sivananda Yoga FAQ Q 1: "Atman is our real Self and we are, in reality, universal and absolute"." The personal relative self involves the idea of individuality, but the Absolute does not”. The question then arises, are there two selves? One involving individuality and the other, without individuality, but universal?  A:There is really one Self which is the Absolute. The Relative Self is not something different from the Absolute Self, but it is only the Absolute Self experiencing, through the instrument of the mind. An object has an independent nature of its own, but when [...]

Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp, Sivananda Headquarters, Val Morin, Quebec, Canada Om Namah Sivaya, Greetings from the Headquarters. Early April’s temperatures hovered above 0C indicated Spring was on its way. An even more positive note of the upcoming change in the season was the feedback from our guests. The guests who stayed in the Ashram were involved and regularly attended Ashram activities. One of them, Sivakami, who's been a part of the Sivananda community, since the time of Swami Vishnudevananda, was thrilled to participate in our social media [...]

Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Zentrum, Berlin, Germany Om Namah Sivaya! In April, several courses started, among them a Yoga Beginners’ course with a good group of students, a Thought Power course and a course on inspiring spiritual stories. From Friday to Sunday the Centre was temporarily transformed into an Ashram for our Centre’s retreat. The retreat started with an Asana class and Satsang on Friday afternoon. The participants comprised of Centre students, newcomers and some from outside of Berlin. An additional further training for teachers on [...]

Vegetarian Cuisine PRUNE MOUSSE- Oh Oh. Another tempting dessert!  Here’s a creamy, easy to prepare dessert, full of fibre. Prunes are an anti-oxidant superfood. Another plus factor is that they do not cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels and have a low glycemic index rating. Serves 4-6. Ingredients: 9 ounces dried prunes, pitted 1 cup water 1 tablespoon agar-agar flakes (for thickening) 1 tablespoon honey or date syrup 2 ¼ cups creamy plain yoghurt 1 teaspoon lemon juice ¼ cup chopped nuts to decorate Preparation: Put the prunes and water in a [...]

Hatha Yoga Tip ANJANEYASANA- THE CRESCENT MOON A balance of weight on the back knee and front foot, with body emulating the shape of the crescent moon. You can practice this pose from early days of practice to increase your sense of balance and work on flexibility of back, hip flexors, thigh and chest expansion. In the regular pose, begin on knees, and take one foot forward between your hands, foot flat on mat. Then extend the other leg back, with knee on the mat. You can relax the back foot. The thigh is [...]