Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga
Yoga_Life_Winter_2015_WEB
Yoga_Life_Winter_2015_WEB
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SPECIAL REPORT: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA<br />
MADURAI, INDIA<br />
Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram<br />
and Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> Vedanta Centre<br />
<strong>The</strong> first celebration <strong>of</strong> the <strong>International</strong> <strong>Day</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Yoga</strong> was jointly organised<br />
by Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> Vedanta Meenakshi Ashram and Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong><br />
Vedanta Centre at Madurai.<br />
Our celebrations were three-fold, encompassing three different groups:<br />
1. People who are eagerly looking upon yoga as a means to prepare<br />
themselves to meet the everyday challenges <strong>of</strong> life and also to keep them<br />
physically fit; 2. Police who are intensely trained both physically and<br />
mentally, who are serving at the India-Tibet Border; and finally 3. At the<br />
Ashram with a group <strong>of</strong> children and senior citizens.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first part <strong>of</strong> the event opened at 6am in Sundaram park known<br />
by the locals as ‘Walker’s Club’. <strong>The</strong> ceremony was inaugurated by the<br />
Deputy Commissioner <strong>of</strong> Police <strong>of</strong> Madurai city in the distinguished<br />
presence <strong>of</strong> Dr. V. Narayanasamy, Trustee and other VIPs. About 150 people<br />
took part to learn and explore the practice <strong>of</strong> asanas. At its conclusion<br />
a specially released organisational edition <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>Day</strong> brochure was<br />
distributed to the public along with Ashram and Centre pamphlets.<br />
<strong>The</strong> second part <strong>of</strong> the event was presented to a strong group <strong>of</strong><br />
India-Tibet Border Police at their camp. A large team <strong>of</strong> 300 policemen<br />
went through the practice <strong>of</strong> 12 basic postures with absolute sincerity.<br />
Both sessions were taught by Yashpal with the assistance <strong>of</strong> Ashram and<br />
Centre staff. After accepting their hospitality, we moved on to Meenakshi<br />
Ashram for the last part <strong>of</strong> the celebration which was a ‘kids special’.<br />
Following a formal inaugural ceremony at 4.30pm by prominent<br />
Administrative Officials <strong>of</strong> the city, our yoga kids from the neighbouring<br />
village and school children from Madurai showcased some challenging<br />
asanas with such ease and confidence that they received wide applause.<br />
After the conclusion <strong>of</strong> the programme, high tea and dinner were served<br />
for about 200 people in the Ashram premises. We hope and wish that the<br />
beginning <strong>of</strong> this celebration will globally mark the true purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>Yoga</strong>,<br />
uniting one’s own outer self to their inner self, uniting minds, cultures<br />
and civilization, a 'True World Order' giving rise to universal peace and<br />
harmony as envisioned by Swamiji.<br />
REITH, TYROL, AUSTRIA<br />
Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> Retreat House<br />
<strong>The</strong> first <strong>International</strong> <strong>Yoga</strong> <strong>Day</strong> was celebrated in the Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> Retreat House on 21st <strong>of</strong> June 2015. For the morning yoga class, 30 guests<br />
came from the area as well as from Germany, England, Scotland, Israel and Canada. <strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> the population <strong>of</strong> Reith village came to celebrate<br />
the event. After a snack the participants joined the lecture with Swami Vidyananda on the cross-cultural message <strong>of</strong> yoga followed by an asana<br />
demonstration with detailed information on the 12 basic postures.<br />
In the afternoon, the programme continued at the event hall <strong>of</strong> Reith village. New visitors came to listen to the lecture <strong>of</strong> Swami Ramapriyananda<br />
about the latest research on yoga and medicine. <strong>The</strong> lecture was followed by another free yoga class with 30 participants. <strong>The</strong> day ended with a casual<br />
get together with lovingly prepared vegetarian snacks and tea.<br />
30 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015