Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

SPECIAL REPORT: STAFF REFRESHER, 2015
pioneering times of the Sivananda Yoga Centres in Europe in the
seventies made it clear that it was not easier at that time than
nowadays. Most importantly, never lose the connection to the
energy of the masters by doing your own Sadhana, to counteract
negative emotions, keep connected with each other, give help
to staff in distress, and remember how to recharge. It seemed
all so simple and evident. However, back to everyday life in the
Centres, far from the Ashram, the challenge is to not get lost
in emotions and everyday tasks, to keep up the connection and
practice, and remember everything from the Refresher week.
Three full days were spent with Anne Debreilly, an anatomy
specialist and student of Blandine Calais Germain, a wellknown
Anatomy teacher in France. Anne shared with us her
immense knowledge about the spine. She brought with her
several skeletons of the spinal column, a bag full of vertebras,
herniated discs in plastic and many handouts to get us deep
inside the design and operation of the spinal column.
Theoretical lectures, group work, and hands on workshops
gave us a deeper insight into the function of the human body.
We could connect this newly gained knowledge to our morning
Asana correction workshops and it was beautiful to see how
it all came together. I got a slight glimpse of how deep the
quote from Swami Vishnudevananda – “Nobody knows the
power of Asanas” – really goes.
The Vedanta lectures were mostly held in the evening
Satsangs. They started with Viveka Chudamani with Swami
Kashimuktananda for about ten days. We studied the five
Koshas in much detail to renounce them all in the end by the
practice of Neti Neti. Many cross connections were made to
other scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads
and it was obvious to see that the same truth is explained
in different ways in the various scriptures. The translation and
explanation of the Sanskrit terms was helpful to understand
the full meaning of several philosophical concepts. People
with analytical minds love Vedanta, everything is logical and
it sharpens the mind to reflect upon the different concepts. But
nevertheless the only way out of ignorance is knowledge from
within. The challenge is to focus on Sadhana and Karma Yoga
to clean the mind and prepare it for the knowledge of the
Absolute to dawn. How deep Swami Sivananda’s simple
approach of integral yoga is!
In the second part of the Vedanta course, the philosophy
lectures in the evening Satsangs were held by Deera Chaitanya,
a student of one of Swami Sivananda’s disciples, from India
and now living in the United States. He started his lectures on
the Bhagavad Gita but covered much more than that. It was an
overall teaching about the key aspects of yoga philosophy and
the four Yoga paths. It was very beautiful to have Vedanta
lectures taught by a person of Indian origin and to see the
different approach to yogic concepts. The word “God”, often
problematic with western minds, is so natural in the Asian
context. Even when talking about Vedanta the Bhakti aspect
is always there in a very natural way.
Common collective asana practice was also part of the
programme. Our Asana class was in the afternoon at 4pm and
we took turns in teaching. It was nice to take classes together,
it was inspiring to see how much we enjoy to take classes, some -
thing which Swamis very often don’t do due to lack of time.
Especially not at 4pm. Sometimes I felt like I was back in TTC!
More highlights
Sudha, a staff member from the Paris Centre, became Sudha
Chaitanya. In a beautiful Homa led by the two priests, she
committed to the path of renunciation. It is beautiful to see
that the Sannyas tradition is kept alive and is something
beyond time and space.
Every evening, the priest, Yagneshwara, tried his best to
teach a small but inspired group how to chant the Narayana
Suktam and the Devi Suktam, the classical mantras which are
chanted during the pujas. It was done in the classical way,
repeating word by word and line by line for many days. It was
not easy and it became again very obvious to me that studying
yogic knowledge needs time, endurance and patience. It never
goes fast, but it goes deep.
Charles Poncet, a long time disciple from Geneva, gave a joyful
and informative take on the topic “How to deal with Lawyers”;
and Ram, Director from the affiliated Centre in Hamburg, talked
about Art and the power of images and pictures, encouraging
us to be more creative in the design of posters and flyers.
Ragunath Manet, a veena player, and Bharata Natyam, a dancer,
came from Paris for two days to introduce us to Indian classical
music and dance. The veena concert was beautiful and relaxing.
Despite two weeks of rain we also had some sports activities.
We played some basketball, and the Volleyball net was put up
but rain washed away our hope to be able to play. We will try
again next year!
Teaching happens when you do not expect
It was a blessing to be with the European Acharyas for three
weeks. The true meaning of Gurukula became very obvious.
To live together, to share experiences, and to spend time
together opens up the possibility of teaching beyond classrooms,
spontaneously and unexpectedly. This is the beauty of the
Sivananda Organisation – learning, getting inspired, and under -
standing happens anytime and anywhere.
“For Yogis there is no one to thank” is a quote from one
of Swami Vishnudevananda’s lectures. But it is human to be
thankful, and we are. To the Acharyas for making this happen,
to the Ashram Staff for hosting us, and to the Ashram kitchen
team for feeding us. By the grace of the masters all went well
at home in the different centres, we had another warm welcome
on our return home, and now it is up to us all individually to put
into practice the knowledge and inspiration we gained. I hope
and pray we do.
The date for the next staff refresher is already fixed! n
Swami Gokulananda is the director of the Sivananda Yoga
Vedanta Centre in Berlin. email: swgk@sivananda.net
44 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015