Sivananda World News: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

Om Namah Sivaya! Several courses started in October at the Centre, among them a Ramayana course, with a good group of students; a workshop on “How to overcome fear” which was well visited and a headstand workshop with an inspired group of students. Classes were well visited and a good group of Karma yogis helped with different Centre projects. Staff went out for poster runs and the new brochure was sent to the graphic designer for layout. Satsangs and classes were well attended.

Late October was time for the celebration of Divali. A big group of many teachers and close students and also a good number of first time visitors joined the Pooja. The altar was decorated with an abundance of flowers which had been brought by the students and beautifully illuminated by many little candles. The Pooja’s energy was powerful. At the end of the celebration everybody present was filled and elevated by peace and joy. We had a relaxation day. In contrast to the traditional seminar program with asana class, workshop and Satsangs the students this time had an additional relaxation time for reading and resting. The whole program was much appreciated and everybody left happy, relaxed an inspired. The regular classes and courses went well, several new courses started. Satsang participation was good. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/berlin

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Centre continued the study of Bhagavad Gita. We also started a Yoga Sutras Course, led by Swami Dayananda. Swami Premananda gave a workshop on Perdon. Sunday was Mother’s Day, many students who always come that day were celebrating with their mothers. Vishnu, our resident, went to visit his mother.

Later in October we celebrated Deewali with the presence of teachers, students and other devotees. As always, the ceremony took place in an environment of peace and joy. Swami Premananda traveled to Chile to give workshops. We continued with the study of Yoga Sutras, led by Swami Dayananda. The Centre remained closed because of voting in Argentina. Vishvanatha and Shambavi visited from Uruguay, both teachers. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/baires

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the 2-year anniversary celebration of the Centre carried on for a few days until Swami Sitaramananda, Swami Adi Parashaktiananda, Ganga Chaitanya and many TTC staff left. We felt grateful for the inspiration all received during the 3rd TTC in China. We thanked Swami Sitaramanandaji for her inspiration before she headed back to Yoga Farm to continue the mission. Our new staff Chinmayi and Rukmini got used to staff life, receiving staff training daily. Besides normal open classes, we started a new 10-class one-month Yoga1 course. Padmavati (from Japan) and Sivani taught an outside senior yoga class at a senior Centre. Padmavati led a two-day intensive training on senior yoga (mat and chair), which was very well received by the group of 5 students and 4 staff members, especially the acceptance and forgiveness portion. We offered a small Satsang on the topic of the power of steady practice.

Later in October new staff members Chinmayi and Rukmini started teaching while continuing their training. They were both very brave and improved a lot within one week. The Yoga 1 course continued smoothly. Ambika was in Vietnam receiving here Ayurveda detoxification. Padamavati left for Japan after her two weeks service in Japan. We welcomed Lakshmi, Jivani and Jaya Devi from this TTC as karma yogis. The Centre was full of positive energy with Guru’s grace. Om Namo Narayanaya to all the Sivananda family.

http://www.sivanandayogachina.org

Om Namah Sivaya to all Blessed Selves from the Chennai Centre. In October the Centre successfully finished a weekend Beginners’ course. On 15th October, Sunday, we celebrated our 28th anniversary. The Centre was nicely decorated in a full array of colour in flowers. We started the day with Maha Ganapathy Homa which was solemnized by Five main Priests.  The atmosphere was made very lively, filling with divinity by the chanting of powerful mantras.  By evening, Prahlad Ji arrived at our Centre, in time to lead Satsang.  Our Centre was filled with many students, their families and also we had a very lovely Dance performance by the group ‘Kalaikoil’.  The performance was very nice and everyone enjoyed it a lot. Later, we offered shawls and beautiful Ashtalakshmi lamps as gifts to all participants, and also to Ms. Pavithra who had arranged her students to perform for us. After the program, a delicious dinner was arranged to all guests. All together, with the blessings of our Masters, the whole day was very memorable and filled with lot of positive energy. Thanks to God and our Masters for everything that all is will continue to run smoothly.

Later in October we started evening Beginners and weekend beginners. The weather was good with occassional rain showers. People celebrated Deepawali. Because of this students numbers was also less. Students brought sweets as a Deepawali gift. In staff meeting Prahlad Ji gave us valuable information and advised for our growth. Prahlad Ji then travelled to Thailand from Chennai. Thanks to God and our Masters for everything that all is will continue to run smoothly. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/madras

Om Namah Sivaya. In October fine tuning the Centre’s new website took up a large chunk of time as we began to make minor adjustments.  There is still a lot of work to be done on content and layout, but we were very happy with the quick outcome, and are grateful to all of the karma yogis that helped made this possible. Swami Paramananda arrived for a weekend program designed around Positive Thinking. Swamiji taught an asana class and gave a workshop everyday, over the 3 day program. It was a great boost to have Swamiji at the Centre, inspiring the students, teachers and staff, by injecting his prana into the Centre. His classes and workshops were very popular and well attended. The Sunday evening Satsang was so full that we had to add seating using yoga mats. He gave an inspiring talk on Sadhana at the Satsang, leaving all in attendance motivated to deepen their commitment to the practice. Afterwards we all enjoyed a warm bowl of soup and friendly conversation.

Later in October the Centre welcomed Siddhi and Vishnu, arriving from the Yoga Ranch, for a short 3 week karma yoga stay. They arrived in time to help with the Diwali set-up and to assist with the Puja and evenings festivities. There was a joyous and upbeat energy at the Centre. The Centre was decorated, with oil candles all around the alter.  We had many delicious Prasads, donated by the attendees and bowls of fresh pink rose petals that were offered to Mother Lakshmi during the Puja. Over the weekend, the weather was unseasonably warm, and the new staff took advantage of the beautiful weather by going on a bike ride along the lake Saturday afternoon, a good way to settle into Chicago.Sending inspired pranams to all. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi.

http://www.sivananda.org/chicago

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Centre’s students came to open classes regularly. Sundaram continued Yoga1 course. Omkari finished the Yoga2 course. Students enjoyed Satsang with Swami Narayananda. We have one resident come from France Emma, she enjoyed stayiing at the Centre and likes kirtan very much. Omkari sister came for visit.

Later in October students attended open classes regularly. Sundaram continued Yoga 2 course, with students attending regularly. Students enjoyed Satsang with Sw Narayananda about 4 paths of yoga and Sivashakti taugth the topic of True Happiness. We’ve had 3 residents and Omkari’s sister staying at the Centre recently. May the grace of the Masters be with you. Om.

https://sivanandayogavietnam.org

Om Namah Sivaya. In October things were good at the Centre. Classes ran smoothly. We started to conduct kids’ classes during weekdays as well. We were invited to teach a group of 75 people employed with the Embassy of Netherlands. It was a short session and hopefully, we were able to create enough curiosity within them about Yoga so they go ahead and find the time for practice. We also denoted a good amount of time deep cleaning the altars, kitchen. The guest room has been done up with a deep blue paint and it looks refreshing. We had regular Satsang, with a rich dinner, and moong laddoos and were blessed to have Prahlad ji visit and take a special class. We had registrations done way in advance and it was a dynamic asana and pranayama session. The staff worked late on Saturday to prepare special fruit falooda to be served after the class to all the students. Staff had special breakfast that morning. Unfortunately, the students did not get much time with Prahlad ji as he had to immediately leave but they were happy and enthusiastic to attend this early morning class. The weather has been comfortable, we feel cold winds early morning and the heat is beginning to pass.

Late October saw festivities for the entire nation, filled with joy especially for the kids. We started the 10 am batch and 6:30 pm batch. We also started the meditation classes on Saturdays with the good number of students. On Diwali day we conducted the Lakshmi Puja which gave a lot of positive vibes for the Centre. We then had a special advanced class in the Centre with all our enthusiastic students after which we distributed the sweets and Prasad. The day was filled with lots of wishes, sweets, and happiness. We conducted the headstand workshop, yoga for the back workshop and weekly advance classes on the weekends. We conducted a 108 Surya Namaskar for all the Centre staff who did it with energy and enthusiasm. Everybody in the Centre is well. We are looking forward to serve more. We hope everyone is happy and peaceful. We pray to Almighty for everybody. Om Namo Narayanaya!! Pranams!!

http://www.sivananda.org/dwarka

Om Namo Narayanaya. In October the Centre started a Beginners’ course at 6:30am. The Meditation and Spirituality course with Swami Govindananda was completed. Binoy and Sreevidya returned from holiday. Praladaji visited us and taught open class at 6:30am and met staffs before leaving to Sivananda Kutir, Uttrakashi. He stayed with us that Saturday night before leaving to Dwarka Centre to lead Sunday morning open class. Kapoorji left the Centre for Madurai TTC. He will be there for two TTCs and will be back by middle of December. Sajith arrived to the Centre and he will be with us for few days. We started a private Beginners’ course for three people as they couldn’t join the regular schedule due to their personal issues. With the Grace of the Masters all regular schedules (open class, beginners’ course, gentle yoga, kids yoga, prenatal yoga and Satsang) along with few private sessions did well.

Later in October we started the festival week with two Beginners’ course, one at 10:00am and the other at 6:30pm along with our daily schedules of Open class and Gentle Yoga. Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India, especially in Northern part. We celebrated the day, Nov 19^th, by lighting lamps (diyas), chanting Sree Lalita Sahasranamam followed by dinner for staffs and few teachers who joined the celebration program. We didn’t use fire crackers this year as they cause more pollution to the City. With the Grace of the Masters, everything went well at the Centre. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/delhi

Om Namah Sivaya. Salutations to all! Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Centre had a workshop called Conquest of Anger, a deep topic with beautiful teachings from Master from the Bliss Divine. Girija gave her first cooking course “Vegetarian Sources of Proteins”. It went well and the food was delicious. We had a Yoga 2 Intensive course.

Later in October we offered special courses – a Kirtan course and a Bhakti course and a  “The Yogic Scriptures” course. We offered the popular and successful Open House Day. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/geneva

Om Namah Sivaya. In October Ganga Chaitanya returned to the HCM Centre from TTC China. She also taught a program at the affiliated Centre in the beach town Quy Nhon and taught 2 very well attended, 90 minute workshops: Restorative Yoga and Guidance to Meditation, both with 17-20 students in each. Also she did a Puja for the very well kept Sivananda affiliated Centre, run by Daya devi and ex temp staff Siva. Swami Pranavananda and Durga travelled to Dalat to have Ayurvedic treatments and take a detoxifying Ayurvedic break. We had a resident. We served, took care of her and she was happy. We also had workshops about Ayuverda with Doctor aRmadas, from India. He talked to 27 participants about non-drug treatment topic.

Later in October we were honoured to have Dr. Ramadas come from Dalat for a talk about food choices in Ayurveda to avoid toxins in the body, with 20 people attending. We had a very successful pizza baking workshop and a nice Satsang that evening.  A new Yoga Two Beginner course started with full attendance. The other classes went on well even though it was raining heavily everyday. Swami Prananvananda and staff Durga came back after a week-long detoxification program at the Dalat Ashram. We were happy to have ex-staff Kamala visit for few days. Staff held a very productive meeting on organizing and programming for the Centre for the upcoming week. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi.

Om Namah Sivaya. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/london

Om Namo Narayanaya! In October the Centre had a dedicated and sincere group of six students graduating Yoga Two Course. They were very happy and continuing on. A Yoga One course of five students started as well. We are happy to welcome new students to the Centre and to the yoga practice. Dr. Ramkumar who is an excellent Ayurvedic practitioner and yogi visited Los Angeles. He gave personal consultations to ten people, helping them to balance and maintain health with holistic, Vedic way. Renowned Dutch artist and devotee Pieter Weltevrede also visited for the first time in many years. He gave a portfolio as well as teaching a two-day Yantra Workshop. Students had a wonderful time. Pieter also spoke at Satsang, introducing us to many beautiful deities via his own paintings.

Later in October a Yoga One course completed their week 2, full of happy, inspired practitioners. Diwali was celebrated during Satsang, devotees remembering their inner light. Divine Mother Lakshmi gave Her blessings; all enjoyed sparkler “fireworks” followed by kitchari made by a long-time Karma Yogi. Preparatory measures for Diwali included a Karma Yoga party, where we all joined in 3 days of deep cleaning the Centre. Hamsa Chaitanya departed for Yoga Farm for Sivananda Yoga Health Educator Training (SYHET). May the Blessings of Gurudev be upon all. May we vigilantly continue our effort to receive Guru’s Grace. Pranams.

http://www.sivananda.org/la

Om Namah Sivaya, Blessed Selves! In October the Centre’s many students went away for a long weekend and we enjoyed Summer-like weather. Several housekeeping projects were done. A newsletter was sent with Centre activities. We enjoyed a Positive Thinking course which started with 24 students, as well as the new study group with senior teacher, Katiayani, which started successfully on the topic “How to calm the mind and improve awareness”.  Sivadas staff came back from his summer period in Val Morin happy and inspired. Two close teachers from Bilbao were with us for the long weekend and we enjoyed peaceful inspiring Satsangs.

Later in October several courses started with good attendance and we had a dynamic workshop “Surya Namaskar”. Four new graduates from TTC Aluenda started assisting in open classes. Sivadas left as part of the staff team for TTC Rudraprayag. We celebrated Deepavali with a Puja, the altar was decorated with candles and it was inspiring for all. We had good support from close students in all the departments of the Centre, including a Saturday Open day which saw 94 visitors, many students signed up for courses and inquired about meditation and diet. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/madrid

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

http://www.sivananda.org/madurai

Om Namah Sivaya! Hari Om! In October the Centre offered a headstand workshop with Chandra. We had very good energy during the evening Satsangs. One Satsang a student brought a very good gluten free Prasad, from the Sivananda Cook book and a couple of Brasilian Sivananda teachers from Rio visited us. We also had many people in all the classes, especially the children’s class. We offered a morning class followed by meditation. The topic of the class was how to prepare body and mind with sun salutation, given by Kaivalya.

Later in October the highlight was the Diwali celebration. It was full of good energy. We put some sweets at the reception for the students. They helped to distribute a lot of candles all around the Centre. One student prepared a delicious Prasad made of raisins and sunflower seeds. She found the recipe in the cooking book of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre. We did workshop of Mandalas. The kid’s class was full up again. Chandra gave the third October class with topic, followed by meditation, the topic was: “The Importance of Relaxation in the Asana Class”. All other activities ran normally. May all live under the Masters’s grace. Om Shanti!!

http://www.sivananda.org/montevideo

Om Namah Sivaya from the Montreal Centre! In October the Montreal Centre staff and karma yogis were busy decorating, cleaning and painting preparing for the Diwali celebrations and a full house. Courses and classes continued to be steady and well attended, the morning open classes were quite busy! We continued with the 2nd workshop on Understanding Hindu Mythology. Bhagirathi began an Intro to Ayurveda course, with 6 students. We also offered a Yoga 1, an open class and a relaxation workshop, attended by 8 people. Sunday open classes were full. Atmaram led Satsang with 40 students with a talk on karma yoga. The weather finally turned cold, giving us something to look forward to – the calm and peace of the winter. We were every thankful for the steady stream of inspiration from the students and staff and for the grace of the Guru’s.

Later in October the Ashram was filled with a lot of energy and preparations leading up to our biggest festival Diwali. Classes continue to run smoothly with very strong attendance, keeping up the student numbers. Karma yogis helped to clean and prepare the Centre. We decorated the halls and reception area with lights and paper lamps making it colourful and festive. We had between 280-300 students at the celebration, we lost count after 270 as it was a rolling crowd. Harisha conducted Lakshmi Puja which was quite powerful as there were so many people chanting and repeating the mantra. Around 23 staff from the Ashram joined us with Swami Vairagyananda. They helped with setting up and crowd control. Albert, a temple devotee, cooked a very delicious feast which was enjoyed by all! We only had 2 plates of food left over. There were many sweets for Prasad and dessert. After the celebration Centre’s Karma Yogis stayed back and helped with cleaning. It was a very electric atmosphere. Everyone left in high spirits, clearly enjoying the feeling of celebration and community. Swami Vairagyananda led Satsang talking about ‘Life, Love and Sadhana’. There were around 45 students in attendance and they enjoyed Swamiji’s humour and wisdom very much. We were very thankful to have such a strong team of teachers and staff helping us and keeping us inspired. With Master and Swamiji’s grace we continue to serve and keep up the spirit! Pranams to all! Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/montreal

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Centre had a very successful new one day retreat at the Centre, named a “Yoga and Relaxation Day”. The participants had the following schedule: yoga class, lunch, a long walk, time for relaxation or study of books, a relaxation workshop and an evening Satsang. We also organized an Open House – always a good opportunity for new people to get to know the different activities of the Centre. Swami Sivadasananda gave a very inspiring Satsang reading from the introductory chapter of Masters book “Bliss Divine”.

Later in October we had a further teachers training day on how to teach Gentle Classes. We held a successful cooking class with the topic “Indian Dishes”. Further special courses were a “Thought Power and Positive Thinking Course” and a weekend Beginners’ course with a very motivated group of new students. Gayatri and our resident Lakshmi left to assist in the TTC in Rudraprayag, Himalayas. We were happy to have Swami Durgananda with us the whole week before she also left for India. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/munich

Om Namah Sivaya from Manhattan. In October the NY Centre continued with classes as usual. One Wednesday Satsang was given by Neeti. She gave a talk on the Gunas and how they affect our everyday life. It was helpful and insightful. We welcomed back Ishwari, from Colombia. She spent a little over a week in Washington D.C. visiting some friends and now we have her back for a few more weeks to help us out! We held an Open House Day! We put balloons outside, a decorative sign and peppermint tea was ready for all to come! Overall, it was a pretty good turnout. Ishwari prepared a delicious dahl, cabbage and veggie dish for all to enjoy. We sold several memberships and class packs as well. The next day, an advanced class was taught by Monisha and afterwards Satsang was led by Shakti. Shakti talked about Santosha and gave us tips on how we can practice it in every day life.

Later in October we had a week full of Diwali celebrations! Diwali was a big hit with over one hundred people visiting the Centre. The festivities included a Puja by the Ashram priest, Shankara Namboodiri – many blessings, many Prasads, many savoury dishes and many happy faces. We worked three days decorating, preparing all ingredients for the Prasad and the feast including washing a lot of spinach for the saag paneer dish! Neeti began her cooking very early in the morning and continued throughout the whole day. Several karma yogis came to help out, from making chapatis to cutting fruit to washing dishes, the karma yogi spirit was full on! The priest from the Ashram, Shankara Namboodiri, arrived in the early afternoon. Shortly after arriving, he started to make the Yantra. It took him a few hours and was well worth it as it came out very beautiful! Come 7:45 pm it was time to start the celebration! A lot of people arrived in the Sivananda room full of candle light. We all managed to squeeze in and Shankara ji led the Puja as we all chanted the daily chants and Devi chants. It was very inspiring to see all of his dedication and devotion. We are very grateful for his visit! Afterwards, we all helped serve everyone delicious food and yummy Prasad. Other events after Diwali saw Ishani teaching a cooking workshop. Nine people attended the course and all became excellent cooks in four hours! Thanks to Ishani for her great spirit and delicious recipes!  Swami Paramananda came down from the Ranch, gave a great and full advanced class followed by Satsang. In Satsang he gave us tips on how to develop concentration to attain meditation and everlasting happiness. It was great advice for all walks of life. We greatly appreciate all of his hard work and wonderful talks. After we all enjoyed soup made by the great cook, Ishwari. All of our staff are doing great. We send our pranams! Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/ny

Om Namah Sivaya. In October we welcomed back Swami Kailasananda, Rukmini, Yagneshwara, the priest and his wife Rajeshwari. Swami Nityananda enjoyed studying together with students some slokas on the topic of Dhyana from the 6th chapter of the Gita. Sivani went to see the doctor for her knee. She went to the swimming pool nearby to do some exercise. The knee pain does not allow her to do asanas. Arjuna explained the share point to Sivani so that she can take care of it. Sivakami and Swami Nityananda had an overview of the staff meetings for the next 6 weeks during her absence for the TTC Rudraprayag. Life gave us an auspicious starting with Devi Puja, led by the priest, after the Jaya Ganesha before the Yoga Festival. Many students came in spite of the beautiful Sun outside and the pleasant temperatures. The Priest and Rajeshwari visited Paris with a tourist guide who is karma yogi. Swami Kailasananda gave a workshop on the topic The Power of Hatha yoga. The participants were very inspired by Swamiji’s words. Parallel to Swamiji’s workshop, there was an Introduction the Five Points and an asana demonstration. At fourth thirty, there was a lecture Introduction to Meditation and a cooking demonstration. In the evening, we enjoyed the play about Swami Vishnudevananda’s life. The spectators were all close students, teachers and karma yogis. Cheerful mood and good support given by the Masters’.

Happy Diwali to All. Later in October Swami Gopalananda came from Orléans to help during Swami Nityananda’s absence during the TTC Rudraprayag. Omkari a close teacher came also for a week to give some support. We concluded a Bhagavad Gita course, started by Swami Nityananda. Rukmini and Madalassa, both from Orleans, went to the TTC Rudraprayag. Ganga continued the Nutrition course. The intercom of the main entrance was changed. We had an inspiring celebration of Diwali with a Lakshmi Puja well appreciated by all. Staff are well as well as the students, karma yogis and teachers. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/paris

Greetings from Porto Alegre. In October we started a new Beginners’ course with few students and a lot of interest in learning. We also held a Kirtan workshop with some teachers who were interested in practicing Bhakti yoga. After the workshop we had the Satsang in which a beautiful energy was felt. The activities in general were somewhat slow as we had intense rains and storms during a long holiday weekend. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/portoalegre

Om Namah Sivaya, Blessed selves. Pranams and prayers for Peace to all from Roma. Om Shanti.

http://www.sivananda.org/rome

Om Namo Narayanaya, Blessed Selves. In October Swami Sitaramananda arrived from her months of teaching in Asia. Srinivasan and Saraswati were still in California so came back to the Centre and joined us for lunch. Staff were inspired by two more Satsangs with Srinivasan. Swami Yatidharmananda gave a Yoga Nidra session. That evening we enjoyed a soulful vocal concert by Esha Bandyopadhyay from Calcutta. Swami Sivasakariananda left for the Yoga Farm to teach at the TTC and take the Yoga Health Educator Training. Gajananam led Sunday Satsang. Former Yoga Farm staff Kumari arrived to help at the Centre for three months. Two Yoga 1 courses finished, as well as a Mysteries of the Mind course.

Later in October Lalitha and Sivadas lead a special Satsang for Diwali. Lalitha shared stories of Rama and Sita, as well as Hanuman. The guests loved her way of telling the story, which made the Diwali celebration even more meaningful. Amazingly 23 guests joined the weekend Yantra Painting workshops with Pieter Weltevrede. They found the drawing to elevate their consciousness and connect to the Divine, and also appreciated the talent and the teaching skill of Pieter. He then shared his portfolio and experiences with the guests at Satsang, creating a warm and focused energy at the Centre that evening. A Yoga 1 course finished and a Yoga 2 started. Kumari decided to take the Yoga Health Educator Training and left for the Yoga Farm. Deviyani arrived to support the Centre for a week. Om.

http://www.sivananda.org/sanfrancisco

Om Namah Sivaya from Sao Paulo. In October the Centre held regular classes. We had many activities with Kanti Devi. She told about a lot interesting subjects. Students, teachers and visitors were present. The harmony at the Centre was beautiful.

Later in October we had a Diwalli decoration for Satsang. It was very beautiful and auspicious for the Centre. Regular classes continued. Much prana and love. Om Shanti Shanti to all the Sivananda family.

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Tel Aviv Centre conducted our Fall Yoga Retreat in a beautiful hotel in the Jerusalem mountains, in the Jewish-Arab Village of Neve Shalom. 95 participants, including 27 children and 10 karma yogis, enjoyed four days of yoga, meditation, lectures, workshops, concerts and delicious vegetarian food in the fresh mountainous ranges. We offered lectures and workshops by special guest speakers, including Dr. Re’em Stern, a Professor of Sanskrit and Yoga Philosophy, who discussed the importance of the Bhagavad Gita, Bhakti, meditation and mantras. We also offered a concert of kirtan and devotional chanting with Narayan Jyoti in lead vocals and harmonium, Daniel White on tabla and Ron Schpatz on the Bansuri. In addition, the Swamis who were teaching in the Matta TTC came for a short stay to the Retreat in Neve Shalom to offer lectures and workshops. Swami Shambhudevananda opened the Retreat with a talk on Happiness, Swami Hridyananda gave a talk on the topic “Life”, and Swami Brahmananda gave a two-hour workshop on the deep meaning behind yoga Sadhana and how to develop the motivation to continue practicing. Guy Dekel, a Sivananda Yoga Teacher and an expert of kids’ yoga, led a brilliant program for the children including a creativity workshop and special yoga classes and Satsangs for the children. Guy Dekel returned to the Tel Aviv Centre to conclude his 8-week ‘Teaching Yoga for Children’ course. The Retreat was concluded and all the Centre staff went to Matta to join the evening Satsang of the TTC before continuing their drive back to the Tel Aviv Centre. It was decided that each one of the Tel-Aviv Centre Staff would serve one week in the Matta TTC. Sridevi served in the first week and Sivakami replaced her in the second week. During the 4-days of the Retreat, the Centre was operated by karma yogis who also taught the open classes. Upon return from the Retreat, the staff resumed teaching courses and open classes. We had our weekly Sunday evening Satsang, led by Bhargavi Chaitanya who spoke on “Creation”.

Later in October, after a very eventful few weeks preparing for the Matta TTC, celebrating the High Holidays and conducting the Fall Yoga Retreat in the Jerusalem Mountains, the staff of the Tel Aviv Centre settled back to routine life in the Centre and continued running courses, yoga classes and Satsangs. Bhargavi Chaitanya held a lecture to introduce a new Meditation Course that she was about to start teaching. Sivakami led a Sunday night Satsang speaking about the meaning of “Grace” from the Vishnudevananda Upadesa. The Satsang was very well attended. In addition, we continue to assist in the Matta TTC. Sivakami replaced Sri Devi for a week of karma yoga at the Ashram. The rest of the staff came to the Ashram for the weekend to support the TTC as well as to enjoy a beautiful concert of devotional music by ‘Alma’. In the next coming weeks we are offering many new Yoga, Meditation and Positive Thinking courses and so far registration to those courses looks very good. Pranams to the Sivananda family.

http://www.sivananda.org/telaviv

Om Namah Sivaya. In October Sita, a former staff from February to May this year and ATTC at Yoga Farm, arrived at the Centre. She stayed as a temporary staff for two weeks. A Kriya Yoga workshop was held with 19 people attending. With instructions given by Vishnu, the students learned and practiced Kapalabhati, Jala Neti, Tratak, etc., which beginners would find relatively accessible. Today, a word “Detox” has been commonly known to people in Japan. We feel the need for such class is increasing gradually.

Late October was rainy all the way through. The Centre was rather quiet overall as the super typhoon came closer to Japan. An Ayurvedic Cooking workshop was held with 8 people attending. Padmavati Masako, an instructor, explained spices and other ingredients in the relations with Dosha (constitution). Then students joined for an actual cooking based on the knowledge. Staff were invited to a tasting at lunch and everyone enjoyed the wholesome delicious Indian food together. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi.

http://www.sivananda.jp

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Toronto Centre’s yoga retreat in November was full with a wait list. Dr Sonal Bhatt taught workshop on an Ayurvedic daily routine for Health and Happiness. Saraswati and Anapurna had a meeting with city of Toronto representatives who would like us to teach in homeless shelters throughout the year . We also started school classes at Catholic school board. Annapurna left back to the Camp Ashram. We are grateful for her service here.

Later in October a new Beginners’ course started. Kumari arrived from Ottawa and offered an Adapted Yoga Asana course one weekend. We enjoyed quite a few sweets brought by students during the week for Diwali celebrations. Bhavani arrived from US to stay as temporary staff for few months at the Centre. Beside Catholic school board, Saraswati, Padma and Bhavani started again teaching program for regular Toronto school board, as Centre is official educational partner. Classes were mostly taught in priority needs areas of the city. Pranams to all.

http://www.sivananda.org/toronto

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Centre started a new batch on Monday evenings with good number of students. Students were introduced to the practices of Jala Neti and Sutra Neti in a Kriya Workshop. Lalitha Sahasra Nama Pooja was conducted. Satsang was led by Sri. Yashpal ji.

Later in October there was a general strike in Trivandrum so student numbers were less. We started the Beginners’ batch for ladies on. Ganapathy Homa was conducted on the same day as it was the first day of the new Malayalam month. The highlight of the month was the visit of Prahlad ji. A special Satsang was led by him. There were no classes on that day or evening. Nataraj ji, Kalyani ji & Suresh ji from the Neyyar Dam Ashram also attended the Satsang. After the Satsang Prahlad ji conducted a teachers’ meeting. He gave valuable advice to improve the working condition of the Centre. 25 teachers attended the meeting. We had dinner together. Sw. Hariomanda ji stayed with us for 1 day on his way to Madurai. We celebrated Deepavali – the festival of lights. We had burst crackers in the evening after the class. Our karma yogi, Janna, left the Centre to pursue her career. We wish her good luck. Sunday Satsang was led by Sri. Yashpal ji. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi.

http://www.sivananda.org/trivandrum

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Vienna Centre’s Meditation Course and Thought Power Course both continued. New courses starting were a Yoga 1, Yoga 2 and a Yoga 21. The trial class had a good attendance. Our nice elderly couple visited regularly twice a week for a coaching class, since a normal Yoga course in class is too early for them at the moment. Swami Gitananda and Swami Mangalananda went to our retreat place in Lower Austria with 16 students, among them a few teachers. It is a nice retreat place and we go there regularly. The weather was perfect and everybody enjoyed the Yoga practice in a pure environment and the silent walk in the powerful nature to the nearby castle Schloss Rapottenstein. We thank Swami Mangalananda for her support.

Later in October there was the celebration of Diwali, the festival of light. Many devotees came for the Puja. The Temple room was well illumined with all the candles, and we offered to Laxsmi, praying for success in our spiritual journey. Courses beginning were a Yoga 1, Yoga 3, Yoga 3, Yoga 4 and Yoga 97 course. We had a special workshop about proper relaxation. Krishnaraj from Munich came to the Centre for two months to support our team. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vienna

Om Namah Sivaya. In October the Centre’s Yoga 1 and Yoga 2 courses started. Surya Namaskar workshop was planned, but spontaneously we decided to teach this workshop the whole open class of 21 students, because we saw that many students would benefit. It was really being good for everyone to join this joyful workshop. Satsangs were very well attended, as always. We offered a seminar “Vedanta for Daily Life”. We hoped that it was a good step forward in expanding the knowledge, proving that students and teachers are growing and interested in Jnana yoga as well. More and more karma yogis came to the Centre for various project, big and small, at their Centre.

Later in October courses Yoga, 1, 2 and 4 continued just on different evening times. Two new teachers, Lakshmana and Narayani, continued assisting in the open classes and were very successful. The course “Vegetarianism and Yogic Diet” started. Besides the theory about vegetarianism, students and some Centre teachers learned how to cook three different types of the light soups suitable for the yogic lifestyle. The highlight of the month was Deepavali Puja with many devoted students and teachers, enjoying many chants, Master’s Message and focus on the Inner Light. One Saturday we had a meeting with the active Centre teachers, looking deeper into the benefits of some asanas and corrections. We discussed how to improve the Centre’s work and service to the students. We distributed the roles to the actors in the play for upcoming Christmas party in December. OM.

http://www.sivananda.org/vilnius