Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

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SPECIAL REPORT: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA MADURAI, INDIA Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram and Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre The first celebration of the International Day of Yoga was jointly organised by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram and Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre at Madurai. Our celebrations were three-fold, encompassing three different groups: 1. People who are eagerly looking upon yoga as a means to prepare themselves to meet the everyday challenges of life and also to keep them physically fit; 2. Police who are intensely trained both physically and mentally, who are serving at the India-Tibet Border; and finally 3. At the Ashram with a group of children and senior citizens. The first part of the event opened at 6am in Sundaram park known by the locals as ‘Walker’s Club’. The ceremony was inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Madurai city in the distinguished presence of Dr. V. Narayanasamy, Trustee and other VIPs. About 150 people took part to learn and explore the practice of asanas. At its conclusion a specially released organisational edition of the Yoga Day brochure was distributed to the public along with Ashram and Centre pamphlets. The second part of the event was presented to a strong group of India-Tibet Border Police at their camp. A large team of 300 policemen went through the practice of 12 basic postures with absolute sincerity. Both sessions were taught by Yashpal with the assistance of Ashram and Centre staff. After accepting their hospitality, we moved on to Meenakshi Ashram for the last part of the celebration which was a ‘kids special’. Following a formal inaugural ceremony at 4.30pm by prominent Administrative Officials of the city, our yoga kids from the neighbouring village and school children from Madurai showcased some challenging asanas with such ease and confidence that they received wide applause. After the conclusion of the programme, high tea and dinner were served for about 200 people in the Ashram premises. We hope and wish that the beginning of this celebration will globally mark the true purpose of Yoga, uniting one’s own outer self to their inner self, uniting minds, cultures and civilization, a 'True World Order' giving rise to universal peace and harmony as envisioned by Swamiji. REITH, TYROL, AUSTRIA Sivananda Yoga Retreat House The first International Yoga Day was celebrated in the Sivananda Yoga Retreat House on 21st of June 2015. For the morning yoga class, 30 guests came from the area as well as from Germany, England, Scotland, Israel and Canada. The majority of the population of Reith village came to celebrate the event. After a snack the participants joined the lecture with Swami Vidyananda on the cross-cultural message of yoga followed by an asana demonstration with detailed information on the 12 basic postures. In the afternoon, the programme continued at the event hall of Reith village. New visitors came to listen to the lecture of Swami Ramapriyananda about the latest research on yoga and medicine. The lecture was followed by another free yoga class with 30 participants. The day ended with a casual get together with lovingly prepared vegetarian snacks and tea. 30 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015
SPECIAL REPORT: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA SAN FRANCISCO, USA Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre ©MahendraSingh.com Unity in Diversity in San Francisco! We celebrated the International Yoga Day in San Francisco grandly and took the opportunity to remind the public, as well as ourselves, of the historical moment when Swamiji set foot in America in 1957 via San Francisco. A Google search shows 176 Yoga studios in San Francisco, so it seemed a big celebration was in order. Our original plan to celebrate independently with a procession in the street, asanas in Golden Gate Park and afternoon and evening programmes at the new Centre on Vicente Street changed into a collaborative effort of seven Yoga organisations (Art of Living, Ashtanga, Isha, Iyengar, Sivananda, YANA and Yoga Bharati) under the auspices of the Consul General of India. SYVC was acknowledged to be one of the most serious and old Yoga organisations in the City, providing Yoga service non-stop for 30 years. Preparation was intense for the last month before the event, with weekly meetings and conference calls increasing to every day meetings in the final week. We had to apply the principles that Yoga stands for: Unity in diversity; Adapt, Adjust, Accommodate. It was an opportunity for all concerned to display tolerance, love and respect. From an event planned for Golden Gate Park, we expanded to Marina Green Park, a large windy field near the water with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background to accommodate the anticipated 5,000 attendees. The final count is unknown, but the organisers estimated it to be over 2,000 people, a large portion were members of the Yoga organisations. To that effect, it was like preaching to the converted. Swami Sitaramananda came to the event in a convoy of three vans and two cars from the Yoga Farm with a total of 46 people, comprised of ATTC students and ashram staff. Enthusiastic karma yogis from both San Francisco and the Yoga Farm manned one of the entry booths, wearing t-shirts specially designed for the occasion. At exactly 10.30am, a giant LED screen broadcast the opening video message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A proclamation from the mayor was read. The prescribed protocol was then led from the stage. A sea of people followed along avidly. This was followed by a tightly scheduled programme, including the lighting of a lamp by the Finance Minister of India, Shri Arun Jaitley, who also said a few words. So many Yoga groups demonstrated and practiced sun salutation sequences that, miraculously, the sun was forced to come out from behind the clouds and fog to the delight of all. “Indeed, the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco!” (attributed to Mark Twain). The Yoga Farm choreographed a beautiful performance of a Sivananda Yoga class. On one side of the stage, the 12 basic postures were demonstrated and on the other, variations of the basic poses. Swami Sitaramananda talked about how, 20 years ago, there were only three Yoga schools in San Francisco, compared to the proliferation of Yoga studios today. She presented the classical approach to Hatha Yoga – the relationship between asanas and prana, prana to thought, positive thoughts to meditation and meditation to self-realization. She finished ©MahendraSingh.com with a short, guided meditation. All this in the allotted 12 minutes! At 2pm Grammy Nominee, Jai Uttal, engaged the crowd in Kirtan to end the celebration. Everyone felt the sacredness of this historical day, with Yoga being publicly acknowledged as a healthy, helpful practice, capable of bringing Peace and Health to the world. By mid-afternoon, we returned to the new San Francisco Centre for a more intimate programme for 60 attendees. The large Yoga Hall came alive with the group of students from the Ashram and the students and supporters of the Centre, so happy to have their own Sivananda Yoga Centre again after eight months of absence from the SF Yoga scene. (SYVC was located in a three-story Victorian building by Golden Gate Park for 27 years until our recent relocation to a new building of our own in a very good neighbourhood, one block from Stern Grove Park and a five-minute drive to the Pacific Ocean.) Swami Sitaramananda, who was the constant source of inspiration bringing Master and Swamiji’s spirit to the California population and the greater West coast side of the American continent, spoke at the satsang. Komilla Sutton, a Vedic astrologer and longtime friend of the organisation, talked about the greatness of Jupiter, the Guru. Gopi Kallayil, originally from the small village hometown of Swami Vishnudevananda in Kerala, talked of the growth of yoga classes at Google offices. He was marveling that from this tiny village, almost out of time and space, untouched by modern civilization and technology, came a giant of the stature of Swami Vishnudevananda, who literally, even now, continues to change the lives of so many. GS Sachdev and his wife, Saroj, were in attendance, as were other people who knew Swamiji a long time – Tara Durga Devi and Chandra. Benoy Behl, a filmmaker from New Delhi, was also there, very busy interviewing and capturing the event for his new movie about Sivananda Yoga: Unity in Diversity. In the Ashram in Grass Valley, International Yoga Day was celebrated quietly with an Open House and free classes, while almost all staff and students were in San Francisco. May Yoga practitioners and leaders carry on lighting the flame of love and light and make this world a better place where all can blossom. YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015 31
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Page 6 and 7: UNITY OF EXISTENCE Unity of Existen
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