SPECIAL REPORT: STAFF REFRESHER, 2015 Staff Refresher, 2015 By Swami Gokulananda <strong>The</strong> Idea – the objective Some years ago the TTC Refresher appeared on the Sivananda scene: A one week course to inspire teachers to deepen their practice and fine tune their teaching skills. Every year it was a big success, teachers enjoyed the week and came back inspired. What seems to be as important as improving teaching skills is the feeling <strong>of</strong> unity. As many teachers live far from a Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> centre there is a deep need to reconnect, to do Sadhana together, and to refresh and get new inspiration. Why not do the same thing for the Swamis and staff? <strong>The</strong>ir needs seem to be not so different from the teachers’ and students’. <strong>The</strong> Staff Refresher was born. <strong>The</strong> vision Three weeks, 17th April to 7th May 2015, Sivananda Ashram in Orleans. All Swamis, Brahmacharis, and main staff were invited to participate in collective Sadhana, to deepen the teaching skills, go one step further in managing Centres and Ashrams, and last but not least: rest, relax, recharge, reconnect and refresh. Preparation When I first heard about it, I was enthusiastic and a bit skeptical at the same time. How would we organise the Centres with all their duties? How would we find people to help? Were we to leave the Centres in God’s hands? It seemed to be a big challenge. Finally, however, everything came together as if it was God’s will: the response from teachers and students was very positive and many people <strong>of</strong>fered help. Some centres were cared for by teachers, some had younger staff staying behind to take on the challenge <strong>of</strong> running the Centres, tackling new tasks, and experiencing more responsibility. Teaching plans were adapted, tasks handed over, staff and karma yogis trained on accounts, teaching plans, boutique organisation, and other tasks they had never done before. <strong>The</strong> remaining staff were as excited as the departing staff and, by the grace <strong>of</strong> the masters, we all could make our way to Orleans. Arrival Our meeting point was the Sivananda <strong>Yoga</strong> Centre in Paris. It was a joyful atmosphere with people arriving one after another throughout the day, and the Centre became more and more orange and yellow! Many <strong>of</strong> us had not met for quite a while and we were happy to see each other again. By the evening, everybody had arrived and we travelled together to the Sivananda Ashram in Orleans on an organised bus. <strong>The</strong> bus ride seemed to include a tour through Paris, we saw the Eiffel Tower and many other sights in the sunset and despite many traffic jams and several hours on the road, we finally reached Neuville aux Bois. Once in the Ashram, we had a warm welcome with dinner and hot showers. I could hardly believe that we had all made it. How to refresh? <strong>The</strong> first day was smooth. <strong>The</strong> schedule was set: Karma <strong>Yoga</strong> was distributed; time for Sadhana, lectures, and workshops was defined. An exciting, and packed, schedule included Vedanta, social media, anatomy, and asana correction. <strong>The</strong> next morning we started with a Homa in the temple with the two priests, who were with us during these three weeks. <strong>The</strong> weather was splendid and the mood was very good. It still seemed a bit like a dream come true. It felt like coming home. “It was beautiful to witness the depth <strong>of</strong> teaching experience present, and see how powerful it was to bring all this knowledge together ” Trainings and activities were manifold <strong>The</strong> day started with morning Satsang. We took turns to lead the Satsang with a short reading from the book Sadhana by Swami Sivananda. This was followed, between 8am and 10am, by Asana correction workshops. <strong>The</strong> objective was to look into the 12 basic postures and the sun salutation, and see how Swami Vishnudevananda would teach these postures. It was beautiful to witness the depth <strong>of</strong> teaching experience present, and see how powerful it was to bring all this knowledge together. It felt good to have time to look into details, ask questions, and clear doubts. Pictures and notes were taken to put all the information together as a future guideline for teaching. <strong>The</strong> main lecture was at lunchtime. <strong>The</strong>re were several topics, each lasting 3 or 4 sessions. One <strong>of</strong> the first topics was social media. How do we use all these new media – Facebook, twitter, you tube, skype, slack, and many more – in an intelligent and sattvic way and not get distracted by them? Are printed brochures still needed or is the modern way <strong>of</strong> communication only virtual? How do we communicate better with each other, and how do we share ideas, pictures, and documents? How do we work in teams while in different locations? How do we put into practice ‘Unity in Diversity’ in terms <strong>of</strong> the corporate identity <strong>of</strong> the Sivananda Organisation? Swami Durgananda’s lectures brought us back to the spiritual dimension <strong>of</strong> doing all this: not to get lost in the hyperactivity <strong>of</strong> social media, running Centres, teaching and taking care <strong>of</strong> students. Not to burn out but to be intelligent with self-management, keep up the Sadhana, practice what we teach – Asanas, Japa, Mouna, Svadhyaya – and be creative with the yogic teaching. Never forget the goal, why you joined the Sivananda organisation. Swamiji’s inspiring stories from the 42 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015
STAFF REFRESHER, 2015: SPECIAL REPORT YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015 43
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