Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers

Om Namah Sivaya! Three Saturday workshops took place this month. Scorpion workshop and sun salutation workshop helped students to improve their asana skills. The “How to Overcome Anger” workshop was well received. A highlight of the month was the Concert and Bhrata Natyam Dance. We welcomed for the second time Indranil Mallick and Partha Bose who gave a beautiful concert by Sitar and Tabla. The concert was followed by a Bharata Natyam Dance showing several mythological stories about Krishna, Siva, Ganesha and the Divine Mother. It was a joyful evening well received by all participants. The regular courses were also well visited. A Pranayama course started with a good group of students as well as a Yoga Beginners’ course. The weather was splendid and many classes could take place outside on the platform. Everything was blooming in the garden – an oasis of peace very much appreciated by staff and students. Due to several bank holidays we were able to complete different maintenance projects around the house and in the garden. Two retreats in Russia were organized by the Affiliated Centre in Moscow and Siberian Teachers in the beginning of may with Swami Gokulananda (Berlin) and Durga Devi (Vilnius). The Moscow retreat took place in the countryside outside Moscow close to a lake in a quiet area. Teachers and students mainly from the Moscow Centre and from St. Petersburg participated in the 5 day retreat. Students enjoyed the classical retreat schedule with two Satsangs, two Asana classes, lecture and nature walk. Two workshops for teachers focused on Asana corrections and the teaching of sun salutation. For half of the students it was their first Yoga retreat. The energy was build up during the five days, students got more and more prana and everybody was shining at the end. On the last evening we did a bonfire at the lake with lots of Kirtans and open air meditation. On the last morning we had 6 students for mantra initiation. The day after we flew to Krasnoyarsk in Siberia and had a warm welcome by the local teachers. The retreat place was deep in the countryside close to a river in a beautiful surrounding. A good group of teachers, students and newcomers joined for the 3 day retreat. Students were very happy to connect to the teachings of the masters. Everybody left happy and recharged.

By mid May Swami Gokulananda went to Poland for a weekend retreat together with Kailas from Orleans. Many of the teachers from various cities in Poland participated. They came together with their students. For some of them it was their first yoga retreat. The program was very successful, the weather was very warm and sunny. Some of the workshops could be outside with nice walks in the surrounding completed the program. Several students were interested in taking TTC this year. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/berlin 

Om Namah Sivaya. ByGods Grace and Masters’ blessings, all is going well and smoothly. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/baires

During May we started a new Yoga Foundation Course. We offered an Open House one Sunday. Some new students joined the trial class. Saraswati lead the Satsang about the power of sound. We enjoyed the Mantras and Kirtan so much. Open classes continued well. For two days we trained the new TTC graduates. We all felt the benefit from the training, like a review of TTC. Sivani and Rukmini went to India for the one-month Ayurvedic Abhyanga Course.

There were 13 Chinese students join the next course. We offered the topic of Niyamas from Raja Yoga Sutras during Sunday Satsangs, sharing the scriptures and how to practice them in daily life. One Sunday morning we also had a Kirtan Workshop where everyone sang from the heart. Open classes also were doing well. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/uttarkashi

Om Namah Sivaya to all Blessed Selves from the Chennai Centre. The month of May went smoothly with our regular activities. Summers have set to peak in Chennai. Preparation work for the Meditation course and Kids Camp were in progress, with lots of enquires after our pamphlets distribution. We started a Ladies Beginners’ course, with a good number of students. We finished Kids Camp on 16th May. The 13 kids who attended the ten day camp were very happy with the asanas and bhajans they learned. Our Special Beginners’ course for Japanesse was completed. On the 20th, a special Satsang along with Lalitha Sahsra Nama Archana and Devi Pooja was conducted. Around 30 people attended the Pooja. The attendees participated in the Pooja very enthusiastically. After Arathi delicious chakrapongal (sweet rice) and fruit salad was given as Prasad. Our staff Chiharu came back on the 19^th May, from Sri Lanka with a six month VISA. Our staff Preethi travelled home for a vacation. With the Grace of God and our Masters, everything continued to run smoothly. Pranams! Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/madras/

Om Namah Sivaya. The month of May brought cooler temperatures but that didn’t stop our students from joining us. We continued the Intro to Meditation course and finished a Yoga 2.  Due to popular demand we have added a Yoga 3 course to the schedule. Jorge, one of our dedicated karma yogis, returned after a long absence and he and Mahadevi began transforming the garden, preparing to area so we can plant some yummy food. One Sunday we had a special Satsang with Radha Gloria McCarthy, (a Sivananda Chicago teacher who has been teaching here since 1977 and took her TTC and the first ATTC with Swami Vishnu), on the topic of Karma, Reincarnation, and Modern Science. She shared the teachings of Swami Vishnu about the topic and then sited many accounts of people remembering their past lives that have been written in scientific journals to help us better understand this concept and inspire us to continue the practices that Swami Vishnu set for us. We had a great turn out and it was a wonderful event. It truly is a blessing to have such a wonderful community and feel the gurus’ presence here. Staff were happy and well and sendings Pranams to all! Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/chicago/

Om Namah Sivaya. In May we opened a Yoga for Beginners – Level 2 course and a Meditation for Beginners course. A lot of students signed up for those courses with enthusiasm to learn deeper into Yoga. The Centre set up the new system to managing student data base. The new staff get chance to teach a Beginner course, they got a lot inspiration and feel the blessed of Guru. Durga, staff of HCM, stayed 5 days at Centre and gave a workshop on 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar. Students and staff enjoyed it a lot. Swami Narayanan led Sunday Satsangs with many people enjoying it. They asked many questions and were inspired by him. We were blessed with students helping the Centre in the karma yoga program with cooking and gardening. We pray for the Guru’s grace to be always with us. Om.

https://sivanandayogavietnam.org/

Om Namah Sivaya. During the month of May an advanced postures course begin on Mondays at 10:00 A.M. which is a 2-week long course. An 8:00 P.M. open class time slot was added to the schedule from the people who are unable to practice yoga as they are working later in the day. A Yoga Beginners’’ course began on Mondays at 10:00 A.M. and 6:30 P.M. A Headstand workshop was conducted to help people who are struggling with the headstand. Gentle Classes were helping people with special needs to practice yoga to whichever extent possible. Thanks to staff’s dedication towards the Centre, the Centre is functioning well. An advanced postures course was offered, on students’ request. Meditation course was completed successfully. A Yoga Beginners’ course begins on Mondays at 10:00 A.M. and 6:30 P.M. Swami Shivabhaktananda who is the director of the Canada Centre visited the Centre. He also taught an energetic Yoga asana class and conducted a blissful Satsang and gave a wonderful talk on how pilgrimage (Yatra) teaches you the true meaning of life. Students and Centre’s staff were very happy to listen to an inspiring talk by Swami Shivabhaktananda ji. 2nd part of the asana correction workshop was conducted to help teachers improve their teaching skills. An Advanced asana course come to an end. Thanks to staff’s dedication towards the Centre, the Centre functioned well this month. By the grace of God and the blessings of Gurudev all is well here. We hope the same for all of you. We send our Pranams to all. Om Namo Narayanaya! Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/dwarka

Om Namo Narayanaya. With the blessings of the Masters we started May with with two Beginners’ courses, one at 6:30am and the other at 4:00pm. Kapoorji left for Sivananda Kutir, Uttrakashi to teach the TTC. Shivani joined the Centre as a karma Yogi for 3 months. Kalyaniji visited us and conducted the Sunday Satsang on the way back to Neyyar Dam. Delhi had a storm which is strong enough to break a lot of trees including the one in front of our gate, plus broken telephone lines & even stopped people from attending the Sunday Satsang. With the grace of our Gurus we were able to offer a few private sessions for students who could not join the regular schedules due to health issues.

Mid May saw two Beginners’ courses, one at 10am and another at 6:30pm. The Foundation of Meditation of course was completed. Swami Sivabhaktananda and his team (including our staff Vipin) returned to the Centre from a 10 day Yatra. Swamiji stayed with us until 23rd May. He taught open classes, conducted Sunday Satsang and conducted a three day Yoga-3 course during his stay. We conducted Shat Kriya workshop which included theory, demonstration & practice. Sreevidya went back to Kerala as her mother was not well and needed her presence. Chandani came back from her trip and stayed with us for 4 days and taught open classes. With the grace of the Masters, the month of May followed the schedule, along with few private classes so everything went well at the Centre. We send our Pranams and hope everyone is happy and peaceful. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/delhi

Om Namah Sivaya. For the month of May the main focus of the Centre was on the Ayurveda program with Dr. Kamlesh. He gave two lectures on Introduction to Ayurveda and the 6 tastes/vitamins, proteins & minerals. We had the Ayurveda cooking class with 20 students. Our Karma Yogis helped us with vegetable cutting & other preparations. We transformed the main Asana hall into a kitchen. The course went well and the food was delicious. We received many students who are new to the Centre and some now want to become vegetarian. We had an Open House. We included a small cooking demonstration and it was a success. Many teachers helped. Some of the students stayed for the evening Satsang. One Sunday we had a Satsang with the Indian community of Geneva. They came and chanted many Bhajans during Satsang and also some classical Indian Temple Mantras. It was very powerful. They came with 20 people, some teenagers already played nice Tablas. The news is that the Geneva Centre will be partly closed for 3 months, due to the renovations, from July 1st to Oct 8th. The teachers will continue to teach classes in the Annex, the small part of the Centre, but the staff will not be present, as there is no living space there. Om Sri Ramaya Namaha. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/geneva

Om Namah Sivaya. During the month of May the staff came back from the retreat in Dalat Ashram.  Meanwhile, we did a lot of construction and maintenance during the holiday to finish the resident rooms. We welcomed Swami Narayanananda and Dharmini on their way to Japan. The Open House was a success with 10 people attending. We finished all the courses of last month, such as meditation and restorative yoga with Ganga Chaitanya before she left for the US. We prepared the new courses for May.

We had a very inspiring event to give people more understanding about TTC. Dharmini came from the Dalat Ashram, where the July TTC will be held, and ran two sessions one Sunday, each lasting about three hours. We began with an asana class, then a very well-done recent video about Sivananda Yoga and an informative slide show about TTC and the Dalat Ashram.  Many TTC graduates attended the sessions, especially to offer wonderful testimonies about TTC. Several people signed up for the course, and many people stayed afterwards to read brochures and talk with the teachers. The event reminded us of the great treasure which Master and Swamiji gave to the world. Pranams to the Sivananda Family. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi. Om.

Om Namah Sivaya. In early May we celebrated a Ganesha Puja for the removal of obstacles which was performed by a local Vedic priest. We received many auspicious offerings of flowers and fruit, filling the altar with an array of colours and our hall was filled to capacity by many devotees who came to be blessed. It was an evening of great positivity and energy. The Centre received a number of people for the Teachers Training preparation day, who were very enthusiastic and inspired by the teachings of the Masters. We also began our Beginners’ Level 1 and 2 courses with lively students eager to learn. The Saturday morning Open Class is now full to the brim with many committed students returning every week. Our gentle class on Wednesdays is getting popular, with many regulars spreading the message to their friends, who are now also attending classes. Some much-needed painting of the walls around the altar of the hall was completed with vigour and enthusiasm by one of our students and with many hands, we were able to complete the task in time for the Satsang. The pictures of our Masters Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda radiated from the newly coloured orange wall and everyone felt very uplifted. The weekend continued with a workshop on ‘How to Overcome Fear’. The workshop attracted many people and we were grateful to be able to study together from Master’s book on this topic. The Centre saw much preparation ahead for our Open Days and weekend Retreat on Yoga Psychology with Swami Kailasananda. All other classes went well. All is well here with the blessings of our Gurus. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/london

Om Namo Narayanaya! For the month of May the LA community joined in preparation for Acharya Swami Sitaramananda’s annual visit to LA Centre. Swamiji and Hamsa Chaitanya arrived from Canada. Swamiji taught a weekend intensive workshop on “Yoga, Health and Well Being”. Topics include Prana, Balance, Stress Management, Mental Health and Self-acceptance. Swamiji spoke about Yoga the three-levels of Health during Satsangs. Special yoga classes, lunch and karma yoga time are also part of the program. Swami Vasisthananda performed an elaborate Durga Homa, as well as a Satyamnarayan Puja. The Centre was elevated by the presence of Acharya and Swamiji, uplifted by the teachings and purified by the Homa and Puja.

During Sunday Satsang we did a beautiful Guru Puja to honor our teachers, they are the Light which removes our ego-darkness. Students participated joyfully and the chanting was very uplifting. Afterwards karma yogis prepared very nourishing, wholesome soup for us to share as a community. The Centre focused on preparing for our Summer class incentive campaign, as well as planning for upcoming courses and programs. We had a promotional meeting with staff and karma yogis, putting energy into the different ways to better serve Los Angeles. Swami Dharamanda arrived while Hamsa Chaitanya was at the Yoga Farm. Students and karma yogis were all joyful, enthusiastic and very appreciative. May the Blessings of Gurudev be upon all. Pranams. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/la/

Om Namah Sivaya, Blessed Selves! At the beginning of May classes and courses continued with good attendance. The two directors of the new affiliated Centre in the Vasque Country were visiting a few days. Preparations for the special program in May “Connect with your source” started: new balcony flowers were planted and several maintenance projects were done. We had a cooking course “Tasty recipes for busy people” with 9 students. Everyone enjoyed the sattvic menu. Parvati came back from Orleans happy and recharged. Swami Santoshananda went to Munich for a short visit. A meditation course started and students were inspired to come to Satsang. Swami Santoshananda arrived on time for a successful Open Day. We also had a well visited workshop – “Yoga & Stress”. A newsletter was sent for the upcoming special program and active promotion was done in the media. The Staff are well. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/madrid/

Om Namah Sivaya. Namaste. We thank our Masters for all blessings and support bestowed. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi.

http://www.sivananda.org/maduraicentre/

Om Namah Sivaya! For the month of May we experienced nice autumnal weather. We had a very good audience of students. We had a visit of Swami Dayananda from Buenos Aires. Her hatha yoga and vedanta classes were very inspiring. It was a good opportunity to many teachers and students to improve their yoga experience. Regular classes continued on as well. We started an Intensive Beginner’s course. The topic of the Satsang was Bhagavad Gita, with a good participation of students. Kanti departed to participate in the Yoga Festival in Buenos Aires. The regular classes developed very well. Love to all. May all live under the Masters’ grace. With Prem and Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/montevideo/

Om Namah Sivaya from the Montreal Centre! The month of May continued to be busy and with strong class attendance. Two courses concluded – the positive thinking course with Narayani and the meditation 1 with Surya. We were blessed with the visit of two Acharyas Swami Sitaramananda and Kanti Devi. We welcomed Swami Sitaramananda and Hamsa Chaitanya. Swamiji led the evening Satsang with 34 students. Her talk “Stress and How Classical Yoga Practices Help” was very inspiring for everyone. All the students were very grateful for her presence. Pierre gave a Mala Making workshop with 10 students. The mala workshops have become increasingly popular over the past 6 months. We welcomed Kanti Devi for Sunday Satsang with 48 in attendance. She gave a talk on the importance of daily practice and sashana. We had karma yogis help with various projects. By the grace of the Masters and all the support of the community, everything ran well at the Centre. It was busy at the Centre during extremely nice weather. Class attendance was very good and the Beginners’ courses continued smoothly. We conducted a morning yoga with meditation for Monday to Friday (6am – 8am) with 7 students. We started an Introduction to Ayurveda course with 6 students. Karma yogi’s helped us with cleaning up the storage rooms and taking care of the new plants at the Centre. Classes had low attendance during a long weekend. Despite that we had 38 for Satsang given by Bhagirathi on the “Power of Thought”. We look forward to the weeks ahead as we have many exciting projects and events. We are ever grateful for the grace of the Masters. Pranams to all!  Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/montreal

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Munich, Germany

Om Namah Sivaya. Greetings from the Sivananda Yoga Centre Munich! We had the following special courses in the last weeks: A one-day retreat “Happy Back” in which the participants learnt how to strengthen their back muscles and improve their posture, an asana workshop on “Chest Opening Asanas“ and a cooking class “Vegetarian Dishes for Busy People”. Swami Sivadasananda gave several Satsangs and taught a session of the special asana course “Yoga for Body, Mind and Soul”. We taught a weekend Beginners’ meditation course and offered an Open House for new comers to get to know the Centre. The spiritual highlight was the program “Indian Temple ceremonies” with a South Indian priest who performed two Pujas. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/munich

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Neuquén

For the month of May the Centre was quiet, teachers and students attended their regular practices. The climate was already colder in the city of Nequen. It was raining. We began a course of meditation by Professor Parvati. We are well, with the grace of the Masters. Shanti and Prem to everyone! Om.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, New York, USA

Om Namah Sivaya from Manhattan. By Guru’s Grace and Masters Blessings we had a great and successful May. We welcomed Shankara, a full time staff from the Ranch who will be helping us here at the Centre for one month. Classes and courses continued to be steady. Swami Paramananda stopped by for a surprise visit just in time for w Wednesday Satsang! It was always a pleasure to have Swami ji here and as he went off to the Bahamas for two weeks, we wished him well on his trip. We held Open House day. Before the day, the staff went on a silent walk to Central Park, it was a nice treat to enjoy a little bit of nature and fresh air! Neeti went to visit family for a week. Shakti led the Satsang with Sunday chants and an inspiring talk on positive thinking. Srinivasan ji came by for a visit in between travels and led the Wednesday Satsang. We were grateful for the opportunity to have Satsang with him and we looked forward to seeing him back soon. We welcomed back Priest Shankara Namboodiri, accompanied by Swami Paramananda. A beautiful Durga Puja was held. Beforehand Swami ji taught the advanced class. This day brought together a lot of people. Huge gratitude was felt for such a high energy they brought. The classes continued steadily with new courses slated to start soon. All the staff are well and send their Pranams. We work with gratitude for this beautiful opportunity to serve. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/ny

Centre de Yoga Sivananda Vedanta, Paris, France

Om Namah Sivaya. The Paris’ residents started to get used to the strikes. In spite of the transportation issues and the long weekends, many students, teachers and karma yogis managed to come to the Centre. We had cheerful evenings with a nutrition course, a pranayama course, the regular meditation and positive thinking courses. There were also workshops on The yoga for the back, headstand, relaxation and The 12 basic postures. There was a good Open day. Many new comers were eager to start yoga. On the First May, there was a cheerful atmosphere with the traditional spring offering of lilies of the valley. We appreciated many flash visits of the Orleans’ staff in their way from and back to Orleans.  Swami Kailasananda guide and listen to everyone. Swamiji had a positive lunch meeting at the Indian Embassy with some others yogis. The Centre appreciates the priest stay for some days. We had uplifting days with morning Puja’s mantra chanting, the purification of the building and with a special Sri Yantra Puja. The staff enjoyed homemade doshas, Idlis and Sambar. Kailas gave an inspiring workshop on the topic of muscles to a little group of teachers. Rukmini did a couple of photoshoots for the new website. The first days of the month, we had the Om Namo Narayanaya chanting at 5:30 PM every day. The rest of the month, we continued with the chanting twice à week.  It help us to tune with the peace message of Swami Vishnudevananda and to tune with our inner peace. There was also an inspiring peace day with the ” Om Namo Narayanaya” chanting, the Likhita Japa and the video “In the Name of peace”. We all appreciated feeling in tune with Swamiji and the yoga message of peace. May harmony prevails in the World, may the whole world be in peace. This month we had two cooking classes. One little and calm with the staff and a big one with Doctor Kamlesh. There was a cheerful atmosphere with Doctor Kamlesh staying in the Centre. He gave a session of questions and answers. The Masters sent precious help to support the Centre. Prema came from Orleans for a couple of weeks. Sarada Devi came for three months as staff.  Both of them are of good support for the teaching, the reception, the kitchen and the office. They bring fresh and joyful energy to the Centre. Radhika had 10 days free, in order to take care of personal things. Asha went on holidays. Daya came at the end of the month to stay as a resident. Sarasvati went to London but will be back very soon. We are happy to have a big family. The promotion of the yoga day by the Eiffel tower had created a cheerful mood in the Centre. The invitation cards are very inspiring and people are grateful for the invitation. Prem from all. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/paris

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Porto Alegre, Brasil, South America

Greetings from Porto Alegre. In the month of May the Centre kept its sattvic energy by the grace of our beloved Gurus. Blessings and Peace to all of the Sivananda Family. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/portoalegre

Centro Yoga Vedanta Sivananda, Rome, Italy

Om Namah Sivaya, Blessed selves. The beginning of May was very calm due to the Labour Day weekend, we started a Yoga 1 with good attendance. We took advantage of the holidays to do a deep cleaning of the Centre. The attendance for Satsangs was also very good. Students or teachers coming from other cities during the holidays took part in the Satsangs making them very alive and full of energy. We had an special class for teachers one Saturday, followed by a teachers meeting. It went very well with many questions during the correction session. It was a very good meeting creating positive and high energy at the Centre. The other classes and courses went well, despite the very rainy week. We were all well and send our blessings to the Sivananda Family! Om Shanti. Om.

www.sivananda.org/rome

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, San Francisco, California, USA

Om Namo Narayanaya, Blessed Selves. In the beginning of May we held our celebration/fundraiser in honor of the third anniversary at our “new” location. Swami Jnaneshwariananda gave the opening talk mentioning the Janma Samadhi Yatra and giving an update on the Yoga Health Educator Training. The evening continued with a delicious vegetarian feast, made by karma yogis in the Indian community. The 45 guests enjoyed bidding in the Silent Auction. The evening ended perfectly with an enchanting Kirtan session led by Mirabai and Uma Reed. Earlier, Rudrani led a Yoga Nidra session. A Meditation 1 course finished Sunday. All students wanted to continue with Meditation 2. Swami Jnaneshwari led a beautiful Satsang one Sunday evening. Peter Van Gelder played his soothing sitar for an appreciative audience. We had an Ayurveda for Pregnancy workshop with Soumya. She cooked the pregnant women a nourishing meal and taught them about Ayurvedic self-care tips. A Yoga 1 course started. Sunday Satsangs were well-attended, with students staying on for soup, and more. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/safrancisco

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, São Paulo, Brasil

Om Namah Sivaya from Sao Paulo. The month of May was very blessed and auspicious. Swami Dayananda had joined us for a week. She administrated 4 workshops about Hatha Yoga focusing on Sun Salutation, Strength and Flexibility and also about Pranayamas. Many students and teachers had the opportunity to meet her and learn more about these aspects. We were all filled with prana and ready to put all learning into practice. We started another popular Beginners’ Course. At the end of the week, our staff member Divyajyoti will leave the Centre to join Karma Yoga service at the Yoga Camp Ashram (Canada). Later in May we noticed low movement of students due to the temperature drop, quieter days waiting for the visit of dear Swami Premananda (Argentina) to the Centre of São Paulo. For the second time he will be here ministering lectures, workshops, meditations and involving everyone with his voice and mantras. Om Shanti Shanti to all the Sivananda family. Om.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel

Om Namah Sivaya. For the month of May the staff focused on promoting upcoming courses as all the slots were filled with courses. Introductions were held for two new Meditation courses and also for Pranava Chaitanya’s ‘Guided Imagery’ course, which she has not done for some time. The Centre was open for Satsang, a free yoga class and a Shabbat feast, ending with a beautiful concert by Narayan Jyoti. Even though the concert was advertised quite late, many people still arrived to listen to and join elevating chanting and an evening full of Bhakti. Many students also attended a Sunday evening Satsang, with Sivakami speaking about the sage Dattatreya and also celebrating the birthday of a long time karma yogi, Vishnu Yoram.

The staff were able to slow down a little with most courses already being in progress. Two introductions to Meditation were held and Bhargavi Chaitanya’s Integral Yoga course was completed. Pranava Chaitanya also taught a private Guided Imagery class. Outside teachers Guy Dekel continued to teach ‘Yoga for Children’, Eran Magon taught Ayurveda, and Durga Oran held a class for children. The staff had a restful Shabbat before preparing for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, whereby the community was invited to join a Saturday evening feast and then spend the night learning from the Torah, as per tradition for the holiday. The study was completed around 6 in the morning, after which the staff and a few brave guests, retired to bed. There was no Sunday Satsang due to this holiday. Pranams and Peace to the Sivananda family from the Tel Aviv Centre. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/telaviv

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Tokyo, Japan

Om Namah Sivaya. During the month of May Swami Narayanandaji and Dharmini arrived in Japan from Vietnam Ashram. They gave a 3-day retreat program focusing on Bhakti Yoga at Shojiko Retreat Centre, by which the participants deepened their understanding about devotion. Then they moved back to Tokyo, and an Intensive Meditation Course taught by Swamiji, and workshops such as Advanced Asana Class, Vietnamese Vegetarian Cooking, etc. guided by Dharmini were offered at Tokyo Centre. Each and every class was attended by large number of students and the Centre had a full house. We were enormously grateful for them to have brought plenty of powerful energy. Particularly, many students enjoyed and appreciated the Meditation Course because it was an opportunity to learn directly from Swamiji the basic meditation techniques by Sivananda Yoga. Also, thanks to Dharmini’s sunshiny personality, the advanced asana class and cooking workshop went well in a friendly atmosphere. The biggest holiday season throughout a year called Golden Weeks ended. A study group on Bhagavad Gita guided by Muktih was held, joined by 19 students. We offered a trial class on Sundays and many participants signed up for our membership. Yoga 1 and Yoga 2 courses also went well. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi. Om.

http://www.sivananda.jp/

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Om Namah Sivaya. For the month of May the Toronto Centre started a new Yoga One and Two workshops. Mayavan taught Practice of Pranayama workshop one Saturday. We introduced a Gentle yoga class on our permanent schedule and hope to be able to offer more classes. We continued with our Yoga and Stress Management course on Sundays. We taught 38 students as part of our community outreach. The Yoga Program for Youth that Saraswati wrote for Sick Kids hospital, was accepted to be presented at Canadian Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry annual conference in Halifax. Our yoga retreat in June was filled and we are working on providing few extra tent spaces for karma yogis. Prahlad attended the EBM meeting.

We started our summer sale for 3 month class passes. We spent a week doing some planting as the nice weather finally established itself in Toronto. We had a beautiful wedding of Kanti and Yogesh at the Centre, two of our teachers who met at the Centre. They were wedded in the presence of close friends and family with the message by Swami Sivananda to hold on to the prayer as the shield for all obstacles they may encounter. Dr Sonal Bhatt taught “Discover Yourself Through Ayurveda” workshop one Saturday with ten students in attendance who greatly benefited from her profound knowledge. Victoria Day long weekend brought less students for classes and Satsangs as lot of them took opportunity of the beautiful weather to travel out of Toronto. Saraswati met with the program director of Robertson House (family shelter) to discuss the Fall programs. We taught 37 youth as part of community outreach. Anoosha came back from two years living in India, working as class teacher in Chennai public school. She will be spending next few months in Toronto and the Ashram. We send Om Namo Narayanaya to everyone. Pranams. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/toronto

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala, India

Om Namah Sivaya. With the blessings of God and revered Gurus we had a successful May. The one month Kids Vacation Yoga Classes was successfully. Nataraj ji distributed certificates to all the participants. Along with that he had also started a 5 day long Meditation course, which will definitely help those students to attain tranquility of the mind. An early morning Beginners’ yoga batch and a weekend yoga batch also started. All other classes went smoothly. A Beginners’’ batch for ladies started mid May. Ganapathy Homa was conducted on the first day of the new Malayalam month. A two week Kids Vacation Yoga Class was successfully completed. As usual Lalithasahasranama Pooja was conducted on Friday by our regular priest. Satsang were led by Padmavati ji, Yashpal ji and Nataraj ji. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/trivandrum

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Vienna, Austria

Om Namah Sivaya. Greetings from Vienna. For the beginning of May Swami Mangalananda arrived from Orleans to go with Swami Gitananda to the weekend retreat in Rapottenstein in Lower Austria. A group of 16 students came for practicing asanas, pranayama and meditation, have silent walks in the wonderful nature around and listen to inspiring lectures.

Apart from our weekly trial class, we offered a regular Open Day on Sunday mid-May. This gave us a good opportunity to explain the benefits of asanas pranayama, proper relaxation,  the yogic diet and positive thinking and meditation. Open classes and courses are running smoothly and the students are very happy with the teaching. Om Shanti. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vienna

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Vilnuis, Lithuania

This year May was very warm and many trees and different plants blossomed at the same time creating the Divine symphony of subtle scents. Staff Radhika and teachers and karma yogis took care of the Centre very nice while Durga Devi was absent – supporting the program and teaching in Moscow and Siberia retreats. Courses and classes continued as usual with bit less students because the weather was so warm as if it were the Summer time. The highest asana course was Yoga 13, we had Yoga 7 at 8 p.m. as well. We started deeper cleaning and tidying the Centre up from inside and outside to raise up the energy and bring more sattvic energy. We had the last until Autumn Open House on Sunday. We had few interesting seminars on Saturdays: Yoga teacher Narada gave a seminar on Yoga scriptures, dedicated to Ramayana. The lecturer himself was very inspired and taught with right bhava so that students derived lots of inspiration as well and there was a very good feedback. Yoga teacher Surya prepared and gave the workshop ‘’Yoga and sound sleep’ based on the Masters book. Students not only could hear the interesting facts about the sleep and philosophy behind but there was a practical part as well: Anuloma Viloma, final relaxation, different Raja yoga techniques and Japa. Friendly team – Mother Parvati and Durga Devi gave a cooking class : students were shown how to cook 9 different dishes for yogic breakfast/dinner/supper. All could learn how to make ghee, chapattis, different spreads on bread, two types of soups and other tasty sattvic dishes. We tried new thing: students could taste the dishes right after they were prepared. All enjoyed. The promotion and preparation for TTC in Lithuania and yoga vacations continued. We had the last visiting program in a small town few hundred km from Vilnius with 17 students eager to practice and to hear about the possibilities to learn more and deeper during yoga vacations in July. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vilnius