Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

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