Celebrating The First International Day of Yoga

ASHRAM AND CENTRE NEWS
Ashram and Centre News
NEW DELHI INDIA
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Nataraja Centre
We celebrated the 1st
International Yoga Day on
June 21st with different
activities such as: Open class,
Introductory and Gentle yoga
classes at the park and
Introductory class for Research
institute employees in Delhi
at their work place.
A sponsored T-Shirt and
special booklet were distributed during the Celebration. Reporters from
different electronic media and newspapers visited us for interviews and
we explained the five points of yoga as taught by Swami Vishnudevananda.
We also participated in a Panel discussion on NDTV regarding Inter -
national Yoga Day.
Starting from May 2015, we are conducting monthly workshops in
Jammu for Power Grid employees at their employer development centre.
The Centre was busy for 15 days with Kids Camp in June. We performed
Guru Pada Pooja on Guru Poornima day. We are making the necessary
preparations to open the new branch in Noida, Sector 50. It will be
open from September 8th 2015 (Swami Sivananda’s birthday). We com -
pleted the flooring of the entrance starting from the main gate to the
back rooms.
www.sivananda.org/delhi/home.php
NEW YORK, USA
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre
inspiration. After this, many more guest speakers have been infusing our
evening public satsangs with a lot of inspiration on different topics
related to our yogic practices.
www.sivananda.org/ny
REITH, TYROL, AUSTRIA
Sivananda Yoga Retreat House
The summer of 2015 was
exceptionally long and warm
and we spent all our time
outside, be it for yoga classes
and lectures on the cedar
platform, relaxing on the
Ganesha platform, tending to
our ever flourishing garden or
taking silent walks in nature.
The weather also provided the
perfect conditions for our most popular programme, Yoga and Mountain
Magic. Amidst the clear skies, the vast views of the mountains are breathtaking
and the mountain meadows were in bloom with an array of colourful
mountain flowers until the end of August.
We were very blessed to learn from several very dedicated and knowledge -
able teachers. Most fascinating was the way the ancient and the new
were woven together like a fine tapestry. This included ancient knowledge,
like the vast science of Ayurveda or contemplations from the Raja Yoga
Sutras on what true freedom means. The Bhagavata Saptaha presenting
the teachings of wisdom of the Srimad Bhagavatam encased in elevating
sound structures. The study of Yoga, Mind and Brain then showed that
one can directly change the structure of our brain through yoga practices
of asanas, pranayama and meditation.
If we learned one valuable lesson this summer it is this, that yoga
is a living entity never losing its roots but always willing to grow.
www.sivananda.org/tyrol
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre
The reception area received a new face-lift
With the grace of Master and Swamiji the attendance of classes has been
building up well this year. Special classes like deaf yoga, gentle yoga,
pregnancy and advanced asanas keep building up a solid attendance.
This summer season has been very busy at the Centre. Karma yogis have
been working hard on backyard renovations. We continue in our efforts
to freshen up the appearance of the Centre and this year our main focus
has been on our boutique, which has now been re-stocked with many
new items. Our reception area also received a face-lift with the addition
of some comfortable seating which has already proved very popular with
students and visitors.
In the month of July we started to receive a wave of special visitors
coming to stay at the Centre. We first welcomed a big group of senior
staff from the Bahamas led by Swami Swaroopananda. Swamiji gave a
satsang which was as usual full of energy, great humour and a lot of
After 27 years on Arguello
Boulevard in a rented building,
by the grace of guru, the San
Francisco SYVC was blessed to
find a new permanent home
in the Outer Sunset area of San
Francisco, one block from Stern
Grove park, 1.5 miles to the
beach (visible from the front door) and 3 miles from the former location.
The large, 800 square foot main Yoga room and temple with its red oak
floor accommodates all sizes of yoga classes and workshops and offers
a warm ambiance for ceremonies, Satsangs and concerts. During the May
2015 Grand Re-Opening with Swami Vasishtananda’s vastu and guru
pujas, Swami Sitaramananda and current director Sankari Chaitanya
reminded us all how this is one of the oldest yoga Centres in this yoga
city and that it is a historical Centre as Swami Vishnudevanandaji set foot
in San Francisco in 1957 to start his mission in the west! All are welcome
to visit. Residential facilities are limited.
www.sivanandasf.org
YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015 73