Namaskar - July 2016

namaskar 

A VOICE FOR THE YOGA COMMUNITY OF ASIA July 2016 

STARBUCKS YOGA 

More styles of yoga is not necessarily better, 

suggests one yoga teacher.............................p19 

PARENTING & YOGA 

How learning to teach kids yoga can help you be 

a better parent................................................p24 

FAMOUS YOGIS, PART II 

Meet five teachers who have helped define the 

yoga we know today.....................................p28 

Christina Mae Borges in Gomukhasana variation, photo by Melinda Juang

2 NAMASKAR

NAMASKAR - JULY 2016 

LETTER FROM 

THE EDITOR 

Amazing teachers are all 

around, if only we are willing to 

see them. 

On the cover - Originally from the US, Christina has 

been studying and practicing yoga for 6 years. She 

teaches in Hong Kong at Yoga BamBam or Blue Door 

Studio. christinaborges45@yahoo.com 

This issue is dedicated to A.T., an amazing woman 

who passed away, symbolically, on the 

International Day of Yoga, 21 June. 

Though not a teacher in the usual sense of the word, she nevertheless taught and inspired 

those knew her, especially during the last nine months of her life. She had been diagnosed with 

terminal cancer and given just three months to live. She could have given up. But no, she faced 

the illness head-on, embarking on traditional as well as alternative therapies. She tripled the 

time the doctors had given her, which gave her the time to prepare her husband and four 

children for life without her. She planned her own funeral down to the last detail so they would 

not have to deal with it, while grieving for her. 

One lesson yoga teaches to take care of ourselves so we can take care of those around us, as 

A.T. did so selflessly! 

I hope the dristi articles herein about famous yogis prompt you to reflect on how you can 

inspire by example. And while you might not find the courage of A.T, or as well known as 

Pattabhi Jois, Sri Sri Anandamurti, Milrepa, Naropa, Tilopa, J. Krishnamurti or Adi 

Shankaracharya, you can help and inspire in your immediate circle. 

Children’s yoga teacher and mother of two, Jenny, share her own experience of how teaching 

kids has helped her be a better mom. Astrologist and yoga philosophy teacher, Srav suggest the 

stars may explain why people from very different backgrounds seem so similar. 

Andy Willner lays down the proverbial gauntlet, with his strong opinion on the proliferation of 

different styles of yoga diluting the traditional yoga teachings. If you have a different 

perspective which you’d like to share, please email me fgairns@netvigator.com 

Thank you to all our other contributors for graciously sharing their experiences and 

knowledge with our community. Hope you have an inspiring summer. 

In This Issue 

DRISTI - FAMOUS YOGIS 

PATTABHI JOIS 28 

SRI SRI ANANDAMURTI 31 

MILREPA, NAROPA, TILOPA 32 

J. KRISHNAMURTI 34 

ADI SHANKARACHARYA 34 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

STARBUCK’S YOGA 19 

Are all the differents styles of yoga hurting or 

helping the tradition of yoga? 

BANDMEMBERS & BHAKTAS 22 

Could the commonality between rockers and 

yoga devotees be in the stars? 

YOGA & PARENTING 24 

What one kids yoga teacher has learned about 

being a better parent 

REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS 

KULA UPDATES, WORKSHOPS, 

RETREATS, TEACHER TRAININGS 6 

PHOTO ESSAY 14 

MUDRAS IN BRIEF 40 

BOOK REVIEW 40 

RECIPE 46 

DIRECTORY 48 

ABOUT NAMASKAR 

ADMINISTRATION Carol Adams, carol@caroladams.hk 

NEWS EDITOR Wai-Ling Tse, wailing.tse@gmail.com 

CIRCULATION Angela Sun, angela.sun@gmail.com 

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Frances Gairns, fgairns@netvigator.com 

Namaskar provides a voice for the yoga community in Asia and 

around the world. The publication is an opportunity for 

practitioners on a yogic path to selflessly offer their knowledge, 

learnings and experiences with others. 

We welcome unsolicited submissions, therefore the opinions 

expressed within these pages are not necessarily those of Namaskar or 

its volunteers. 

Articles and photographs in Namaskar are contributed at no 

charge. Advertising income covers production, distribution, 

administrative costs and discretionary contributions to selected 

charities and causes. 

Namaskar, is published quarterly in January, April, July and October. 

About 5,000 copies are printed and distributed for free to yoga 

studios, teachers, fitness centres, retail outlets, cafes and yogafriendly 

outlets. Mostly distributed in Hong Kong, with 1,500 copies 

mailed to readers in 32 other countries. 

July 2016 3

CONTRIBUTORS 

ANDY WILLNER 

take care of her 9-year-old son. 

carol@caroladams.hk 

CLAYTON HORTON 

Yoga, a school focused on 

children’s yoga in Hong Kong. 

info@geckoyoga.com or 

www.geckoyoga.com. 

KRISHNAA KINKARIDAS 

KELLY FIELDING 

Andy teaches yoga at Pure Yoga in 

Hong Kong. andy@pure-yoga.com 

ANGELA SUN 

Clayton teaches Ashtanga yoga at 

Pure Yoga in Hong Kong. 

clayton@pure-yoga.com 

DYLAN BERNSTEIN 

Kelly has been in the world of raw 

food and vegan cuisine for almost 

10 years. Initially training with raw 

chef Elaina Love in Ubud, Bali, she 

has worked in raw and health food 

establishments in Australia, 

Canada, Indonesia, the U.S. and 

Thailand. 

info@bellaandbhakti.com 

Krishnaa lives in London. She 

studied with B.K.S. Iyengar and 

now runs classes in London and 

teaches Sanskrit and Mudras for 

Yoga for the Yoga Alliance and 

British Wheel of Yoga. She has 

written nine books on Bhakti Yoga. 

kinkaridasi@hotmail.com 

MAHADEV 

KIM ROBERTS 

Angela takes care of the 

distribution and circulation of 

Namaskar. Originally from New 

York, she has been practicing yoga 

for 10 years. She currently teaches 

privately. 

asunwellness@gmail.com 

CAROL ADAMS 

Dylan has helped foster Ashtanga 

practice in Hong Kong, teaching 

here for the last 7 years. He now 

also runs a seasonal program at 

Ashtanga Yoga Bali Research 

Center. Additionally, he continues 

to travel and teach around the 

globe. www.stillnessinaction.com 

JENNY SMITH 

Kim is a graduate of Naropa 

University’s M.A. Contemplative 

Psychology program and a student 

of Ashtanga yoga and Dharma since 

1992. She spent 15 years living in SE 

Asia and now makes her home in 

Crestone, Colorado. She coaches 

yoga teachers via Skype, and is the 

founder of Your Fab Yoga Life e- 

course. 

www.toolsforevolution.org 

Mahadev is a spiritual teacher of 

the Vedanta philosophy. He 

mostly travels around Southeast 

Asia, holding sessions and retreats 

in different places 

www.vedantaspiritualretreat.com 

MARY DIMEGLIO 

Carol takes care of the Namaskar’s 

administration, advertising and 

billing. She works from home 

which gives her the freedom to 

Jenny is a yoga teacher, yoga 

therapist and founder of Gecko 

Based in Philadelphia, US, Mary is 

a certified teacher of SpiritDance 

4 NAMASKAR

SoulSong. 

mary@movingventures.org, 

www.spiritdancesoulsong.com , 

www.movingventures.org. 

MELINDA JUANG 

Prabhupada in 1971 she has studied 

yoga with senior teachers in the 

Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois 

traditions. She taught hatha yoga in 

Taiwan and Hong Kong where she 

also conducted teacher trainings. 

www.LifePath.am 

TIA SINHA 

namaskar 

Melinda is a Taiwanese living in 

Hong Kong. A freelance yoga 

teacher, writer and photographer. 

She believes that every single 

photo taken is not meant to be 

perfect but certainly evolving along 

a path to a personal calling. 

melinda.juang@gmail.com 

MONO XIAO 

Mono is based in Shanghai and 

photographs yoga, music, 

performance, culture and 

portraits, both documentary and 

commercial. 

monoxiao@gmail.com or 

www.monophotocenter.com. 

SRAVANIYA DIPECORARO 

Tia spends most of her time in 

retreat in Himachal, teaching yoga 

asana, philosophy and Tibetan 

Buddhist techniques of meditation 

and translating and editing for 

lamas. Onlytia2@yahoo.comin 

WAI-LING TSE 

Wai-Ling practices and teaches 

mindfulness, therapy and is Kula 

editor for Namaskar. 

yogawithling@gmail.com 

Now on-line at: 

www.issuu.com/namaskarasia 

Back issues still at: 

www.issuu.com/caroladams 

October’s dristi: 

BEYOND ASANA 

For this dristi, we are looking for articles on how yoga asana 

practitioners can start to practice the philosophies of yoga in their 

lives. 

• What has worked for you? 

• What hasn’t worked and why? 

• Are certain teachings easier to incorporate than others? 

• Are certain teachings more important to practice than others? 

• Which texts are more helpful on this progression? 

• How your non-yoga community reacted when you’ve tried to live 

your yoga teachings off the mat? 

If you are interested in contributing on this subject, please email me 

first on fgairns@netvigator.com to discuss your theme. 

Contributions are also welcome on other topics. Final articles are 

welcome before September 10. 

Srav is a yogi, an astrological 

consultant and medium. Initiated 

by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 


KULA 

Updates 

CHINA 

SpiritDanceSoul 

Song Classes 

25-31 July 

Zhipu Holistic Health Centre, Fuzhou 

Ellen Watson and Daphne Tse will 

help you discover your body as a 

musical instrument through 

singing and dancing. 

For more information 

contact@movingventures.org / 

(86) 591-88888388 / 

(86) 13705001842 

For more information (852) 

2363 1112; 

info@breathesmile.org; 

www.breathesmile.org 

Yoga Fest and 

Hanuman 

Carnival 

9 June 

Central 

The Hong Kong Chinmaya 

Foundation’s (HKCF) Sundown 

YogaFest was a free event, held at 

the Central harbourfront 

The HKCF, a registered charity 

in Hong Kong, is a part of the 

Chinmaya Mission, a global nonprofit 

organization with a 

mission to share the ancient 

wisdom of the Hindu scriptures 

for spiritual growth and 

happiness, enabling individuals to 

become positive contributors to 

society. 


www.chinmayamission.com 

The Joy of 

Devotion Yoga 

Music Concert 

with Giridhari 

Swami 

16 July (3:30-5:30pm) 

Sheung Wan Civic Centre 

Organised by the International 

Yoga Institute, cost HK$50 per 

person. 

Naam Yoga 

Classes in Hong 

Kong 

October 

The Landmark Mandarin 

Oriental, Central 

Led by Anastasia Williams, 

Naam Yoga involves a synthesis 

of yogic asana (movement), 

mudra (hand postures), breath, 

rhythm, stretching, acupressure 

and vocal vibration infused with 

Universal Kabbalah. Anastasia 

also specializes in Harmonyum 

Healing, a unique gentle form of 

bodywork that helps connect 

physical, mental, emotional and 

energetic intelligence, 

consciousness and collective 

functions. 

For more information (852) 2132 

0011 / 

www.mandarinoriental.com/ 

landmark/spa/ 

Monks from Plum Village blesseing the newly-opened Smile and Breathe Mindbody 

Wellbeing Centre in Hong Kong 

HONG KONG 

Breathe and Smile 

Mindbody 

Wellbeing Centre 

Sham Shui Po, Kowloon 

The Breathe and Smile Mindbody 

Wellbeing Centre opened on 10 

April with the aim to promote the 

wellbeing of individuals, families 

and society through offering 

professional and clinical services 

that integrate the mindfulness 

practice of Plum Village tradition 

founded by Zen Master Thich 

Nhat Hanh. 

alongside the Hanuman Carnival 

to celebrate Indian culture with 

over 250 people coming together 

for 108 sun salutations, 108 

chants and 1008 seconds of 

guided meditation. 

Bringing families and the 

community together to have fun, 

explore the joy of balance and 

movement and to experience an 

inter-connectedness of spirit. 

The carnival, which saw over 

7,000 people attending through 

the day, featured free interactive 

games, story telling, live 

entertainment, a vegetarian food 

festival and an ethnic shopping 

village. 

For more information Rai Kaun/ 

Sitarani (852) 2369 6696 / 

whatsapp (852) 9022 1445 

Kirtan at 

International 

Yoga Institute 

(IYI) 

29 July (7-8:30pm) 

International Yoga Institute, 

Tsimshatsui 

Enjoy an evening of kirtan 

followed by a light vegetarian 

dinner. Cost is HK$80 per 

person (includes dinner). 


Sitarani (852) 2369 6696 / 

whatsapp (852) 9022 1445 

Yoga, Music & 

Meditation 

Festival 

1-5 October 

Cheung Chau Island 

This festival combines Yoga and 

Meditation with workshops on 

natural health, spirituality and 

ecological living. Guided by 25 

experienced teachers from 

different continents to 

synchronize body, mind and 

spirit. Offering vegetarian food, 

performances by musicians, 

singers and dancers and even a 

yogic wedding. 


6487 9875 / 

meditationcentre.hk@gmail.com / 

meditationcentre.hk/events 

6 NAMASKAR

John Scott (left) and Dario Calvaruso (right) are just two of the many yoga teachers participating in photographer Richard Pilnick’s project to create an online resource for high 

quality, large format photographs of yoga asana. 

Pilates / Yoga / 

Personal Trainer 

Openings 

Yoga Privates provides private 

Yoga, Pilates and Personal 

Training sessions across Asia. 

They are looking for registered, 

experienced instructors to join 

their team. 

For more information visit 

www.yoga-privates.com / 

info@yoga-privates.com / (852) 

65044280 

INDIA 

India Yoga Trip 

19-30 October 

Mumbai, Risikesh, Vrndavan 

Organised by the International 

Yoga Institute in Hong Kong, 

cost HK$12,500 including 

accommodation, 3 vegetarian 

meals per day, transportation, 

visa and insurance (excludes air 

ticket). 


Sitarani (852) 2369 6696 / 

whatsapp (852) 9022 1445 

SWITZERLAND 

European Union 

of Yoga 

Conference 

21-26 August 

Zinal 

With presenters from around 

Europe, the theme of the 

conference is the state of wellbeing 

known as Svastha in 

Sanskrit. With guests of honour 

A.G. Mohan and family. 


www.europeanyoga.org/ 

congress 

UNITED KINGDOM 

Yoga Photograph 

Kickstarter 

Campaign 

International Yoga photographer, 

Richard Pilnick is launching a 

kickstarter campaign to fund the 

creation of a global resource of 

yoga photographs (free for 

viewing and downloads) of all 

known yoga asana.The aim is 

community based, to share and 

showcase yoga postures and 

make them available to view on a 

global scale. 

John Scott, Laruga Glaser, Danny 

Paradise, Dr Ronald Steiner and 

many others are participating in 

the project which hopes to build a 

community who believe Yoga is an 

integral part in transforming 

society today. 


www.yogaphotography.com / 


KULA 

Workshops 

CHINA 

Holotropic 

Breathwork 


Shanghai 

This technique 

uses the breath to allow access to nonordinary 

states of consciousness 

to find healing and wisdom. 


11287514@qq.com / (86) 137 

8891 2655 

A Taste of Esalen 

Massage & Dance 

with Ellen Watson 


Shanghai 

The practise includes 

Esalen Massage, Touching 

Essence, SpiritDance SoulSong, 

5Rhythms, breath work 

and sounding. 


11287514@qq.com / (86) 137 

8891 2655 

SpiritDance 

SoulSong 

Weekend Workshop 


Shanghai 

Through singing and dancing, 

learn to find joy, healing and selfexpression 

by discoverin 

g your body as a musical instrument. 


11287514@qq.com / (86) 137 

8891 2655 

HONG KONG 

A Guided Study on 

the Yoga Sutras 

with Sravaniya 

DiPecoraro 

23 September-11 November 

(Every Friday: 7-8:30pm) 

Yoga Central-Iyengar, Central 

25 September-13 November 

(Every Sunday: 4:15-6pm) 

In-Motion Studio, Tsim Sha Tsui 

An overview of the Yoga Sutras, 

explore the Eight limbs 

(Ashtanga) of Yoga, summary and 

revision . Fee: HK$2,400 

includes handouts, excludes 

textbook: Light on Yoga Sutras 

by BKS Iyengar. 

For more information Karen 

yogacentralhk@gmail.com / 

Sravaniya info@LifePath.am / 

(852) 9856 0799 / 

www.lifepath.am 

Hammock Yoga 

for Teens with 

Cindy 

5 July-9 August (Every Tuesday: 

3:30-4:30pm) 

The Yoga Room, Sheung Wan 

For 11 to 15 year old teens 

to explore Yoga, learn 

mindfulness and self-regulation 

strategies to help them to develop 

both mentally and physically. 

Cost: HK$1,080 for whole 

program; HK$220 per drop in 

class. 


www.yogaroomhk.com / (852) 

2544 8398 

Yoga & Art For 

Children with 

Priscilla 

First Workshop: 11, 13, 15 July 

Second Workshop: 18, 20, 22 

July 

9-10:30am (5-8 year olds); 11am- 

12:30pm (9-13 year olds) 


This workshop allows students 

to explore their bodies, work on 

focus and balance, and find joy 

expressing through art. Through 

a mix of Yoga, mindfulness 

exercises, games, stories and artmaking, 

students will learn more 

about themselves and connect 

with others. Cost for each 

workshop HK$850. 



2544 8398 

Dharma Yoga: 

Body Aware Yoga 

Intensive - Rose 

Erin Vaughan 

22-24 July – Pure Yoga Hong 

Kong 

Rose Erin Vaughan, MSAc, is an 

experienced Acupuncturist, 

Trigger Point Therapist, and 

Yoga Tantra Teacher. She has 

studied thousands of hours with 

Master Yogi Dharma Mittra and 

other renowned healers. 


www.pure-yoga.com 

“I Care” Practice - 

Sin Hee MaCabe 

2-7 August – Pure Yoga Hong 

Kong 

Forrest Yoga designates a spot in 

the body that needs attention or 

healing. In this yoga practice, Sin 

Hee will teach practitioners to 

experience contentment by 

bringing caring energy to the 

breath and poses. This will 

soften habitual gripping places 

and succeed in deepening the 

practice. 



A Weekend of 

Mindfulness with 

Janet Lau 

3-4 September 


Learn to understand the 

motivation behind your actions, 

strengthen your awareness, and 

develop equanimity to help you 

face the challenges in 

life. Includes Yin Yoga, 

meditation, lecture and selfreflective 

exercises. 



2544 8398 

Ashtanga Yoga 

Second Series 

Intensive - 

Clayton Horton 

24-25 September – Pure Yoga 

Hong Kong 

Curious about the Intermediate 

Second Series of Ashtanga Yoga? 

Been Practicing the Primary 

Series for a while and ready to 

move on? 

This workshop is for students 

who have been practising the 

Primary Series and are looking to 

progress and deepen their 

practice to the next level. 

8 NAMASKAR



INDIA 

5-Day Spiritual 

Workshops for 

Rapid Spiritual 

Growth 

8-12 July; 22-26 August; 20-24 

September & 4-8 October 

The Spiritual Research Centre 

and Ashram, Goa 

The Spiritual Science Research 

Foundation (SSRF) and the 

Maharshi University of 

Spirituality are hosting these 

workshops in Goa which are open 

to all. They provide a forum to 

participate in an intensive 

program which paves the way for 

deeper insights about oneself and 

to help get direction for rapid 

spiritual growth. 


www.spiritual.university/ 

workshop/ 

www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org 

INDONESIA 

Morning Mysore 

& Immersion with 

Dylan Bernstein 

September 2016-January 2017 

Ashtanga Yoga Bali Research 

Center, Bali 

Dylan will host daily Mysore 

practice and five-day 

immersions. 

For more 

information ashtangayogabali.com / 

dylanyo@gmail.com 

SINGAPORE 

Anatomy 

Connections - 

Yoga Anatomy 

with Dr. Trish 

Corley 

29-30 October 

New Angle Yoga 

Gain a clear understanding of 

yoga anatomy and put it into 

action on the yoga mat. The 

workshop consists of interactive 

lectures with anatomical models 

and illustrations; and integrated 

with full asana practices. 


www.newangleyoga.com 

Trish Corley leads anatomy and yoga 

workshops in Singapore 

Assist & Empower 

- Yoga Assists with 

Dr. Trish Corley 

5-6 November 


As a student, gain understanding 

of alignment and the possibilities 

of the poses. As a teacher, learn 

how to confidently 

assist students and empower 

them to deepen their experience 

in each pose. 



TAIWAN 

Advancing 

Practice the 

Iyengar Way with 

Peter Scott 


Space Yoga, Taipei 

Learn the unique methods 

created by BKS Iyengar that 

makes the advanced poses 

accessible and safe. 


www.withinspace.com 

Ashtanga Yoga 

Summer Camp 

with Adarsh 

Williams 

2-5 August and 9-12 August: 4- 

day Intensive 

6-7 August and 13-14 August: 

Weekend Workshop 

Experience Ashtanga with Adarsh 

and take away practical lessons 

you can immediately implement. 

Learn to master the primary 

series, go deep into the 

intermediate series, incorporate 

the latest movement research 

into your yoga practice, and 

integrate the Eight Limbs into 

your daily life. 



Easy Breezy Yoga 

Sutras with Janet 

Lau 

20-21 August 

Yoga Journey, Taipei 

Learn the Yoga Sutras in the 

simplest term, and how to apply 

them into your daily lives so that 

we can live a more harmonious 

life with yourself and 

others. Class will be conducted 

in Mandarin. 


www.yogajourney.com.tw/2016- 

janet-lau-workshop/ 

Unlocking 

Therapeutic 

Wisdom with 

Doug Keller 

23 September - Philosophy Talk: 

Understanding Tantra as a Hatha 

Yogi 

24-25 September - Weekend 

Workshop 

26-30 September - 5-day 

Immersion 

SPACE Yoga 

Go beyond the physical aspect of 

the practice and explore asana as 

mudra - an enhancement of 

Australian Iyengar teacher Sue Scott will be in Taiwan 

energy that contains therapeutic 

and meditative insights. Discover 

the craniosacral perspective on 

the bandhas to the sushumna and 

chakras, and their role in our 

emotional life and well-being. 



Full Spectrum of 

Iyengar Yoga 

with Sue Scott 

12-13 November: Weekend 

Workshop 

14-18 November: 5-day 

Immersion 

SPACE Yoga 

An opportunity to study all the 

essential Iyengar principles with 

Senior Iyengar teacher, Sue 

Scott. Establish a solid 

foundation as a new student to 

Iyengar Yoga. If you are 

experienced, gain clarity and 

deepen your understanding of the 

intricacies. 




KULA 

Retreats 

AUSTRALIA 

Retreat to Byron 

Bay 

Offering 8-day and now 5-day 

retreats that includes Yoga and 

meditation classes, wellness and 

philosophy sessions plus time to 

relax by the heated mineral salt 

pool. Also individual massage 

treatments and vegetarian food, 

much of it grown on site in their 

organic gardens. 


wwwbyronyoga.com 

Francesca Regala leads a retreat to 

Cambodia with Lee Grane 

CAMBODIA 

Sadhana of Self 

Discovery: The 

Yoga of Myths and 

Virtues 

27 October-1 November 

Navatu Dreams Resort & Spa, 

Siem Reap 

Led by Francesca Regala and Lee 

Grane. Includes Yoga classes and 

group discussions, daily trips to 

temples of Angkor, round trip 

airport pick up, accommodation 

and breakfast. 

For more information www. 

sadhanaofselfdiscovery.com/ 

cambodia-retreat 

HONG KONG 

PranaVidya Retreat 

with Swami 

GyanDharma 

30 September-4 October 

Salesian Retreat House, Cheung 

Chau 

Swami-ji will teach every 

morning on how 

to understand PranaVidya, and 

apply this knowledge into 

practice in the afternoon. 

Plus Q&A session as well as 

mantra chanting and kirtan at 

night. In between there will be 

asana, pranayama, meditation and 

Yoga Nidra practice. Swami 

GyanDharma is based in the UK, 

he has practised Yoga for 40 

years and travels around the 

world spreading Yoga knowledge. 


wellness@hkcf.org 

Urban Retreats 

with Landmark 

Mandarin 

Oriental 

7-9 October and 14-16 October 

The theme of these two retreats 

will be ‘Vitality and Vibrancy in 

the Modern World’ and ‘Courage, 

Confidence and Self- 

Love.’ Includes morning and 

afternoon yoga sessions, access 

to the hotel’s spa heat and water 

facilities, use of yoga mats and 

props, morning smoothies and 

lunch. 

For more information (852) 2132 

0011 / 

Swami GyanDharma (l) will be leading a retreat on Cheung Chau in Hong Kong 

www.mandarinoriental.com/ 

landmark/spa/ 

INDONESIA 

Finding the Path 

to Wholeness and 

Joy with Bernd 

Windhofer 

24-29 August 

Desa Seni, Bali 

Bernd will lead a wide variety of 

practices, including yoga asana 

and pranayama, chanting, and a 

cycle of meditations designed to 

open the heart fully and without 

reservation. 

For more 

information info@desaseni.com 

Tantra Retreat for 

Couples with 

Angela Perez 

21-25 September 

Desa Seni, Bali 

Relationships can be powerful, 

deeply connecting and 

transformative places for you to 

evolve, if you learn to cultivate 

and expand your soul union. 

Offering tools for you to find 

your way through the challenges 

that arise in the relationship, 

discovering several Tantric 

techniques to facilitate a deeper 

connection with your partner. 

For more 

information info@desaseni.com 

5-Day Vedanta 

Spiritual Retreats 

with Mahadev 

16-21 September; 14-19 October; 

18-23 November - Lombok 

23-28 September; 21-26 October; 

25-30 November - Bali 

Suitable for people who 

are drawn to attaining selfrealisation 

or enlightenment, are 

confused about what to do in 

life, want to be able to open their 

hearts and love better; and want 

to know more about what deep 

spirituality is and how it works. 

Includes Vedanta philosophy plus 

chanting and meditation. 

10 NAMASKAR


9338 8931 / 

www.vedantaspiritualretreat.com 

JAPAN 

Touching Essence 

Island Retreat 

6-8 August 

Niijima, Tokyo 

Learn Touching Essence, 

inspired by Esalen Massage. All 

levels of experience welcome. 

Taught in English, with an 

experienced Japanese translator. 

For more 

information holiken.net / 

esalen@holiken.jp 

THAILAND 

YogaCoreCycle 

Flexible dates, available all year 

Samahita Retreat, Koh Samui 

Samahita Retreat welcomes all to 

join their all-inclusive, integrated 

yoga and functional fitness 

program YogaCoreCycle. It 

combines cardio and specific 

strength training, alongside yoga 

poses, breath work and 

meditation practices to help 

achieve this balance. 


www.samahitaretreat.com 

50-Hour Samkhya 

Yoga Intensive 

10-16 July; 23-29 October; 27 

November-3 December 

Wise Living Yoga Academy, 

Chiang Mai 

People often speak about Yoga 

without realizing it forms an 

integral part of a composite 

Samkhya-Yoga Philosophy, the 

oldest philosophical system in 

the world. Includes theory and 

practice of Yoga techniques; and 

vegetarian meals. 


825467995 / 

info@wiselivingyoga.com / 

www.retreats.wiselivingyoga.com 

100-Hour 

Samkhya & 

Bhagavad Gita 

Intensive 

10-23 July; 23 October-5 

November; 27 November-10 

December 


Chiang Mai 

In addition to the study of 

Samkhya and many traditional 

practices and techniques, will 

also explore the Four Paths of 

Yoga, namely Raja, Jnana, Bhakti 

and Karma Yoga as explained in 

the Bhagavad Gita. Includes 

theory and practice; and 

vegetarian meals in residential 

basis. 


825467995 / 


www.retreats.wiselivingyoga.com 

Yoga & Holistic 

Healing Retreat 

with Anouk Prop, 

Tracy McDonald 

& Manuel Molina 

de la Torre 

24 September - 1 October 


Presenting several different 

modalities – tools – for helping to 

deal with our “shadow side,” and 

the past traumas, issues and 

emotions that we hid away in 

places in our physical body. 

These tools will always serve to 

help you process things as they 

come up for you, through yoga 

Arm balance specialist David Tilston will be at Samahita Retreat 

practice, bodywork, etc 

• Craniosacral 

• Somatic Experiencing 

• Reiki 

• Chakra Balancing 

• Family Constellations 

• Communication Skills 

• Movement Therapy 

• Art Therapy 

• Polarity Therapy 


www.samahitaretreat.com/yogaholistic-healin-retreat.html 

Marilou van Hoek will be teaching at 

Samahita Retreat 

Connect to the 

Essence of your 

Practice with 

Marilou van Hoek 

15 – 22 October, 2016 


This week will re-treat you from 

your daily life away from 

distractions and busy-ness, 

immersing in your practice, 

giving you all the opportunity to 

effortlessly forget time and 

space to rebalance and reconnect 

with your body, mind and spirit. 

free, while Tuesday and Thursday 

evening there is Meditation. 


www.samahitaretreat.com/ 

essence-practice.html 

From the Ground 

Up:Inversions & 

Arm Balances 

with David 

Tilston 

15 - 22 October 


This week long retreat 

is designed to build confidence 

on your hands, allowing you to 

add inversions and arm balances 

to your practice, regardless of 

experience. Utilising various 

props you will be shown how easy 

it is to support yourself and 

work up into handstand, arm or 

forearm balance whilst 

maintaining a strong awareness 

of the breath. Upon leaving 

Samahita a structured practice 

guide will be prepared for you to 

continue your inversion and arm 

balance journey at home. 


www.samahitaretreat.com/ 

inversions-arm-balances.html 

Angela Perez will lead a Tantra Retreat at Desa Seni in Bali 

The mornings will start with 

chanting, kriyas and simple 

breath work (pranayama) which 

will be followed by Ashtanga Led 

class. Afternoons will be a mix of 

lecture and discussions on 

topics, explorative and playfully 

learning asanas, restorative yoga 

and pranayama. Wednesday is 


KULA 

Teacher Trainings 

HONG KONG 

300-hr Advanced Yoga TT (in 

Chinese) with Ann da Silva and 

Keiki To 

Master Curriculum (Mandatory): 

from 15 July (rotational) 

10-18 September - Yin and 

Restorative Yoga TT 

29 April-7 May 2017 - 

Pregnancy Yoga TT 


Suitable for Yoga teachers with 

200-hour foundation training. 

Training modules can be taken 

individually without joining the 

full program. Graduates of full 

300-hr program will qualify as 

RYT500 with the Yoga Alliance. 

training by Yoga Point HK and 

Yoga Vidya Gurukul (India) 

in Cantonese. Yoga training and 

knowledge from the ancient yoga 

scriptures and a specially added 

30+ hours of practical Karma 

Yoga to give service to the 

community. 

For more information Micha 

(852) 9344 8589 / 

yogahchim@yahoo.com 

Pre- & Post-natal 

Yoga Teacher 

Training with 

Samantha Chan 

7-16 November – Pure Yoga Hong 

Kong 

This training offers an in-depth 

review of the anatomy and 

physiology of pregnancy, labour 

and birth. Trainees will gain 

extensive experience with asanas 

well suited to pregnant women 

and a thorough understanding of 

contraindications during 

pregnancy. 



2544 8398 

300-hr Advanced 

Yin Yang Vinyasa 

Yoga TT with 

Janet Lau 

27 July-6 August - 90-hr Living 

our Yoga 

23-29 October and 8-17 

December 2017 - 150-hr 

Mindfulness Yoga 

6-12 November - 60-hr Healing 

our Hearts 

The Yoga Room, Sheung wan 

Designed for those who do not 

just want to teach, but also to 

transform themselves inside and 

out so that they can share the 

experience with others. Using the 

essence of mindfulness and 

spiritual teachings from different 

lineages woven into the Yogic 

teachings and your everyday life. 


info@yogaroomhk.com / 


2544 8398 

Iyengar teacher Brian Legere will be at 

Pure Yoga in Hong Kong and Taiwan 

Alignment, 

Adjustment 200- 

hr TT with Bryan 

Legere 

1-27 August – Pure Yoga Hong 

Kong 

The 200-hour yoga teacher 

training is about learning what 

yoga has to offer that can enhance 

your everyday life. You will learn 

yoga anatomy and philosophy. 

You will be introduced to Asana, 

Pranayama and meditation. 



250-hr 

Classical Hatha 

Yoga TT with 

Micha Chan 

September 

Flex Studio 

Micha will lead this first 

Jimmy Barkan brings his own form of hot 

yoga to Hong Kong 

Barkan Method 

Hot Yoga Level 1 

14 September – 1 October – Pure 

Yoga Hong Kong 

This training is designed to 

certify students to teach The 

Barkan Method Hot Yoga 

Sequence. Students will learn: 

Yoga Posture Alignment, 

Anatomy, History, 

Communication Skills, 

Philosophy and Basic Sanskrit. 



This course is delivered using a 

combination of face-to-face 

lectures, practicum, your own 

research, observation of classes, 

teaching practice and 

assignments. 



50-Hour Yoga for 

Kids TT with 

Jodi Komitor 

25-27 November for 2-7 year 

olds 

28-30 November for 8-13 year 

olds 


A practical and experiential 

environment, filled with live 

demonstration classes, lesson 

planning opportunities and 

ready-to-use teaching tools. 

Including age-appropriate poses, 

animated breathing exercises, 

guided visualizations, thematic 

classes, child development 

principles and behaviour 

management techniques. 


12 NAMASKAR


2544 8398 

INDIA 

Level 2 TT with 

Julie Martin & 

Emil Wendel 

20 November-17 December 

Brahmani Yoga, Goa 

Daily immersion into the depths 

of asana, philosophy, Pranayama 

and meditation. Through 

practice, interaction and 

feedback participants will learn 

to integrate skills and knowledge 

beneficial not only for teaching, 

but also for an advanced 

understanding of Yoga. 


www.brahmaniyoga.com/yogateacher-training/level-2-yogateacher-training-julie-martinand-emil-wendel 

INDONESIA 

The Collective 

200-hr TT 

2-30 October 

Desa Seni School of Yoga, Bali 

Led by teachers in different 

traditions of Kundalini, 

Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow, Anusara, 

and Hatha to share, educate, 

nurture all those interested in 

becoming a teacher or deepening 

their practice. 


info@desaseni.com 

Esalen Massage & 

Bodywork 175-hr 

Training 

16 October-9 November 

Mimpi Menjangan, Bali 

Led by Ellen Watson and Jessica 

Fagan, this style of massage is 

known for its long, integrating 

strokes, and for deep relaxation 

that supports the body’s natural 

ability to self-heal. 


www.movingventures.org / 

contact@movingventures.org 

Specialized Esalen 

Massage Training 

10-15 November 

Mimpi Menjangan, Bali 

Advanced training 

with Ellen Watson. Suitable 

for anyone who has completed a 

certified massage training with 

them or has an equivalent level 

of experience or qualification. 


www.movingventures.org / 

contact@movingventures.org 

MYANMAR 

Roots to Wings 

200-hr TT 

Immersion 

1-22 October 

Inle Lake, Myanmar 

Join Tristina Kennedy and 

Michael Fong to discover how the 

path of Yoga deepens and expands 

your life. Completely commit to 

your practice and absorb the 

beauty and richness of Myanmar. 


www.yangonyogahouse.com / 

www.tristinak.com 

PHILIPPINES 

200-hr Hatha 

Vinyasa Yoga 

TT with Bruce 

Chung & Steve 

Roberts 

19 September-15 October 

Cebu City 

Develop the essential s 

kills to intelligently sequence a 

nd deliver yoga classes to all stude 

nt levels. Key topics include: 

teaching methodology, posture 

clinics, anatomy, and philosophy. 

You will develop a teaching voice 

unique and authentic to you, 

and graduate with a portfolio 

that showcases your development. 


asanayogamovement@gmail.com / 

www.asanayogamovement.com/ 

overview.html 

SINGAPORE 

Power to Lead: 

Vinyasa Yoga TT 

with Dr. Trish 

Corley 

14-23 and 29-30 October; 5-6 and 

12-13 November 


Based on Baptiste Yoga, through 

the practice of Yoga and selfexploration, 

gain the tools to 

confidently lead Yoga classes and 

to access new possibilities in 

your practice, teaching, and life. 



TAIWAN 

Pre- & Post-natal 

Yoga Teacher 

Training with 

Samantha Chan 

19-28 September – Pure Yoga 

Taipei 

This training offers an in-depth 

review of the anatomy and 

physiology of pregnancy, labour 

and birth. Trainees will gain 

extensive experience with asanas 

well suited to pregnant women 

and a thorough understanding of 

contraindications during 

pregnancy. 

This course is delivered with 

face-to-face lectures, practicum, 

your own research, observation 

of classes, teaching practice and 

assignments. 



Alignment, 

Adjustment 200- 

hr TT with Bryan 

Legere 

7 November – 3 December – Pure 

Yoga Taipei 

The 200-hour yoga teacher 

training is about learning what 

yoga has to offer that can enhance 

your everyday life. You will learn 

yoga anatomy and philosophy. 

You will be introduced to Asana, 

Pranayama and meditation. 


Paul Dallaghan at Samahita Retreat, Thailand 


THAILAND 

200-hr Yoga TT 

10 July-5 August; 23 October-18 

November; 27 November-23 

December 


Chiang Mai 

A full immersion experience in 

traditional Yoga studies in an 

“Ashram-like” environment. 

They provide a foundation on 

Classical Yoga philosophy and 

practices, including meditation, 

asanas (postural training), 

pranayamas (breathing 

techniques) and simple kriyas 

(cleansing techniques). All 

programs are residential and 

include vegetarian meals. 


825467995 / 


www.teachertraining. 

wiselivingyoga.com 

An Education in 

Yoga: Foundation 

Level I 

6 August – 3 September & 29 

October - 26 November 


A one-month residential 

trainings, preceded by precourse 

assignments and 

preparation. This is an 

immersion in a focused learning 

environment — live the practice. 


www.centeredyoga.com/yogateacher-training.html 


PHOTO ESSAY 

DANCE & THE 

ART OF TOUCH 

At BaliSpirit 

Festival 2016 

TEXT BY MARY J. DIMEGLIO, PHOTOS BY MONO XIAO 

For nine years, yogis, seekers, dancers and musicians from around 

the world have gathered in Bali, Indonesia, to share asana, 

movement, sound and healing during the BaliSpirit Festival. 

World-renowned teachers and performers attract a dedicated 

international tribe to the festival every year. 

A major sponsor of the festival, MovingVentures proudly shared 

Esalen Massage and Touching Essence, teaching the art of 

touching others with care and presence. While in SpiritDance 

SoulSong workshops, the ancient medicine of song and dance 

came to life as ecstatic festival-goers discover their bodies are a 

musical instrument. This moving meditation invited students to 

realize physical and metaphysical fitness by exploring their breath 

and opening their heart. 

In a safe space, the throat chakra opens. Natural pranayama 

invites sound from all parts of the body, opening space, new 

vitality and balance. 

14 NAMASKAR


16 NAMASKAR


18 NAMASKAR

OPINION 

STARBUCKS YOGA 

More styles, Less depth? 

BY ANDY WILLNER 

Server: How would you like your yoga today? 

Miss Anorexic: Reeeeaaaallllly hot, otherwise 

I just can’t get a good sweat going! 

Server: Any cream with that? 

Miss Anorexic: No thanks, I come here twice 

a day to lose weight! 

Server: Next please, how would you like your 

yoga today? 

Mr Agitated: Yogalates for me with extra 

foam. 

Server: Certainly Sir. We do have to charge a 

bit extra for Yogalates with extra foam. 

Mr Agitated: No problem. My mind adores 

the extra foam, it’s great to feel all stirred up 

after yoga, otherwise it just feels so boring 

and still! 

Server: Next please, how would you like your 

yoga today? 

Mr Distracted: Hmmm, what would you 

recommend? 

Server: Well, today’s special is Meditation 

with Pranayama. 

Mr Distracted: Oh, I don’t really like 

meditation, I can’t sit still, and as for 

Pranayama, I already breath all day, I don’t 

think I need any of that. How about some 

Vinyasa level 5 with really loud music? 

Ok, the above scenarios are fictitious, but 

sometimes contemporary yoga seems like 

going to Starbucks. Not just because of the 

myriad styles of hatha yoga, but we now have 

a complete smorgasbord of hybrids - 

Acroyoga, Yoga Sculpt, Crossfit yoga, Aerial 

yoga, Naked yoga (yup, classes being offered 

in New York), Glow In The Dark yoga 

(hopefully never to be combined with Naked 

yoga!), Rage yoga (where u can swear your 

head off and scream a lot), Broga (for men 

only) the list goes on. 

So maybe it is time to take a pranayamic 

breath and ask ourselves what actually 

constitutes Yoga, and what has become of it 

in the rush to consumerize this ancient 

practice. 

The oldest surviving definition comes from 


20 NAMASKAR

Let them come to real yoga once they are ready, 

rather than dumbing it down 

to the point of being unrecognizable. 

the Katha Upanisad around 700BCE, which 

defines yoga as “holding the senses steady”. 

Roughly 200 years later, Panini defined yoga 

as samadhi, which literally means “bringing 

everything together”. 

Down the chronological line, the Bhagavad 

Gita written around 200-300 CE talks of 

yoga being “skill in action”, or how to act in a 

manner that does not give you more karma, 

“balance/evenness” and “separation of the 

union with pain” - which refers to the pain 

caused by samsara (the cycle of birth, death, 

rebirth). 

Subsequently in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras we 

find yoga defined as “stilling/restraining the 

movements of the mind”. There are several 

more definitions of yoga in the historical 

texts, but I think this is sufficient to highlight 

an important point: there are no definitions 

stating Yoga to be “getting more flexible and 

stronger”, “losing weight”, “improving 

cardio”, “gaining greater self confidence 

(read: ego)”, “performing amazingly difficult 

poses to impress those around you”. 

My teacher, Carlos Pomeda, talks about Yoga 

being the pursuit of freedom from our 

conditioning (karma). We try to deconstruct 

our identity, not switch one with another. 

Hopefully we come realize this pure blissful 

consciousness is our fundamental nature. It 

seems obvious to most genuine yoga 

practitioners that seeking this connection 

can only begin to take place if we internalize, 

which requires introspection and a lot of 

patience, since for most this journey of 

discovery is a long one. 

So I return to the original enquiry whether 

the “Starbucks yoga” of today is really 

leading students towards this path. 

Moreover whether all the hybrids are Yoga at 

all, or rather an entertaining form of 

exercise! 

I suspect this statement may have some 

practitioners leaping off their mats in 

defense of their hybrid, but to assert an 

activity is truly a Yoga practice, there needs 

to be some genuine link to the purposes of 

Yoga as outlined above. When yoga practice 

is all about performing rather than 

informing, is it Yoga? I argue not. If we define 

yoga as anything that incorporates poses 

resembling asana, without any regard of the 

true purpose of performing asana – which is 

to prepare the body for a journey to restrain 

the fluctuations of the mind - then we risk 

diluting and trivializing this wonderful and 

ancient art/science/philosophy. When the 

by-products of yoga practice such as 

improved strength, flexibility, balance 

become the raison d’etre for attending yoga 

classes, then we have, in the 21 st century, 

stolen a wonderful tradition and altered it 

beyond recognition to fit the cultural tastes 

of our times. 

This article does not permit the time or space 

to address every hybrid individually, so I 

shall focus on a couple that are relevant to my 

own personal experience- martial arts and 

aerobics/fitness training. I taught and 

competed in martial arts for many years 

before discovering Yoga, and I would 

challenge anyone to argue that the ultimate 

goals of martial arts and Yoga are equivalent. 

Even slow moving forms of Tai Chi are 

focused on precise bodily movement to 

enable ones chi (prana) to move effectively 

and thus enhance ones physical and mental 

health, but there is nothing stated in any of 

the leading tai chi organizations’ literature 

that refers to the spiritual goals of yoga. 

Let me also take a moment to address 

possible objections to my contentions: 

Argument 1: hybrids attract newcomers, who 

might not otherwise discover yoga as they 

would not choose to attend a hatha yoga 

class. Whilst newcomers might indeed try 

one of these funky fusion offerings, it is 

misleading to suggest it bears any 

resemblance to Yoga. 

To me this argument does not hold water - 

taken to its logical conclusion one could call 

anything Yoga - “xyz-yoga” maybe circusyoga, 

soccer-yoga, train spotting-yoga saying 

it will open the door for participants to 

discover the real practice of Yoga. If it does 

not look, feel, smell, taste or sound like Yoga, 

then it probably isn’t Yoga. If people are not 

ready for a real Yoga practice, that’s fine. Let 

them come to real Yoga once they are ready, 

rather than dumbing it down to the point of 

being unrecognizable. 

Argument 2: sankalpa (intention) behind the 

activity, not the activity itself, is what 

determines whether it is Yoga or not. 

Absolutely! The intention of both teacher and 

student is very important. Is a hatha yoga 

class really Yoga if practiced with wrong 

intention? But when hatha yoga, which has 

been tried and tested for hundreds of years, 

is practiced with right intention then the 

fruits of that practice flower in the way the 

student thinks, speaks and acts, both within 

and beyond the yoga studio. This ultimately 

assists them in their evolution towards selfrealization. 

The recent trend towards various hybrid 

yoga practices offers nothing additional in 

assisting students in this journey. 

How does wearing florescent tubes round 

your wrists in a dark room enhance one’s 

inner journey? How does focusing on a 

partner in Acroyoga assist you in the 

introspective journey of Yoga? It might help 

the practitioner develop trust in others, but 

so does rally car racing where the life of the 

driver is in the hands of the navigator reading 

the map, but nobody calls it “Rally Car Racing 

Yoga”. How does using weights to sculpt 

your body whilst forming shapes that 

simulate yoga poses lead the practitioner 

away from the most superficial of koshas 

(layer of being), the physical kosha? 

I contend they do not, and are merely 

marketing gimmicks to attract the modern 

man/woman, with a very short attention 

span, looking for the next cool fad. 

In conclusion, saying anything that brings 

people into the yoga fold is beneficial, as 

these students will eventually find their way 

to a deeper understanding is wrong. Those 

within the yoga community who value the 

origins and essence of Yoga should be 

skeptical that this misrepresentation of Yoga 

will lead students towards the path of selfrealization. 

If what is being taught has 

nothing to do with Yoga other than the label 

of the class, then it is unlikely students will 

find their way through these classes to any 

deeper understanding, and in so doing we 

perform a dis-service to genuine Yoga. 

When you add caramel, cocoa powder, 

whipped cream, marshmallow, rainbow 

sprinkles and mint flavouring to your coffee, 

there comes a point when it is no longer 

recognizable as coffee. Let’s wake up neo- 

Yogis and smell the coffee...the real coffee! 


ASTROLOGY 

BAND MEMBERS & BHAKTAS 

Astrology & Bhagavad Gita Intersect 

BY SRAVANIYA DIPECORARO 

I cannot get over how many of my god 

brothers were musicians before they took 

up Krishna consciousness or Bhakti yoga. 

And that’s not all. For the past quarter 

of a century, whenever I have looked at the 

birth horoscopes of any god brothers 

and sisters, I have noticed nearly all of us 

have Neptune in aspect with the 

Sun or Moon in our charts. 

What has one got to do with the other? As an 

astrological counselor and student 

of Vedic philosophy, connecting the dots is 

something I do regularly. If you are 

up for it I can explain the energetic 

connection between these two seemingly 

unrelated things. 

THE INFLUENCE OF NEPTUNE 

“On the psychological level,” says astrologer 

Liz Greene, “Neptune reflects our 

need to lay down the lonely burden of 

material existence and experience the 

bliss of union with something greater.” 

Sounds like a concise description of the 

urge toward self realization, doesn’t it? And 

with this energy flowing through 

one’s identity - as aspects to the Sun or Moon 

indicate - the chances are good this 

motivation will be a dominant theme. 

Don’t get me wrong. I do not mean Neptune 

is causing this but, rather, that 

those bhaktas were each born at a particular 

time for a purpose. I am reminded 

of Bhagavad-gita where Lord Sri Krishna 

tells Arjuna (6.41-43): 

“The unsuccessful yogi, after many, many 

years of enjoyment on the planets of the 

pious living entities, is born into a family of 

righteous people, or into a family of rich 

aristocracy. Or he takes his birth in a family 

of transcendentalists who are surely great in 

wisdom. Verily, such a birth is rare in this 

world. On taking such a birth, he again 

revives the divine consciousness of his 

previous life, and he tries to make further 

progress in order to achieve complete 

success, O son of Kuru.” 

In other words even if one cannot achieve the 

perfection of yoga in one lifetime one will get 

another chance to take up where he or she 

left off, and be drawn to it naturally. 

Since the conjunction is most intense 

indicator of the energy dynamic, I will share 

some of those excerpts from noted 

astrological authorities. 

SUN CONJUNCT NEPTUNE 

“You like to pretend and create worlds in 

your mind in which you can do anything you 

want. But it is very important to learn the 

great difference between the world that you 

create in your mind and the one outside that 

you share with others. If you train your 

creative mind properly, your fondness for 

fantasy can help you produce significant 

poetry, art or music.” - Robert Hand 

“When your attention is focused on art, 

poetry, music, or drama you are extremely 

creative and inspired. There is a mystical 

quality to your artistic expression that sets it 

apart from that of the average person. You 

have special gifts, but you must have training 

in order to use them constructively … You 

should choose a profession that will provide 

you with sufficient freedom to use your 

creative abilities… In such professions as 

education, medicine, social work and religion 

you would derive as much benefit as those 

you serve. It is important to remember that 

you must face life’s realities, which are 

unusually abrasive to your sensitive nature. 

Do not project unrealistic expectations, or 

you will be unnecessarily disappointed.” - 

Robert Pelletier 

MOON CONJUNCT NEPTUNE 

“You are very sensitive to the emotions of the 

people you are with. You pick up their moods 

and make them your own, so it is very 

important to be with people who are good for 

you emotionally. 

You are a dreamer and not very practical, 

preferring to sit by yourself and play in your 

private fantasy world. Your vivid imagination 

makes these daydreams quite real to you. But 

you should be careful not to retreat into your 

little world every time you want to avoid the 

problems of the real world.” -Robert Hand 

“You are inclined to offer assistance to 

anyone who seems to need help. …Your latent 

ability should find an outlet through publicoriented 

work, such as service and welfare, 

nursing, working with the mentally retarded, 

or rehabilitation of the handicapped. 

… Learn to accept people at their level of 

development and do not give them attributes 

they have not earned or deserved. You can 

express your imagination in artistic pursuits 

- designing, painting, music, or poetry.” 

-Robert Pelletier 

CONCLUSION 

It is fascinating to me that art, music, drama 

and religion all bask in the same dream-like 

illumination of Neptune. Of course it takes 

more than merely that one facet to manifest 

positive creativity in one’s life. A wellaspected 

Saturn, for example, can make all 

the difference between a successful yogi and 

a homeless drug addict. 

Yoga is to the individual what religion is to a 

group. Practice or sadhana is 

something a person has because it is 

something he does regularly, and the 

transcendental principles reveal themselves 

to one who perseveres. It starts with 

the guidance of a bonafide teacher and can be 

encouraged by the good association of others 

on the path. 

As for Bhakti yoga, Krishna says (BG 9.2), 

“This knowledge is the king of education, the 

most secret of all secrets. It is the purest 

knowledge, and because it gives direct 

perception of the self by realization, it is the 

perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it 

is joyfully performed.” 

That means it’s fun. It would have to be to 

have gotten all those guys to trade in their 

guitars and drumsticks for chanting beads. 

22 NAMASKAR


KIDS YOGA 

MINDFUL PARENTING 

Yoga Lessons Beyond the Mat 

BY JENNY SMITH 

As a children’s yoga teacher, I’ve shared yoga 

with hundreds of children. And every 

experience has taught me more about being 

present and focused as a teacher and parent. 

As a teacher, the present moment awareness 

practiced through my mediation translates 

into being flexible with my class plans if they 

don’t match the needs or abilities of the 

children in front of me. This flexibility 

develops with the understanding that our 

students are never the same, changing due to 

growth spurts, more or less school work or, 

busier social lives. 

As a parent, this present moment awareness 

is reflected as I stop what I am doing to 

actively listen to my children, and support 

them, as they share their day with me - 

respecting their courage to try a challenging 

new activity; admiring their personal 

expression through arts and crafts; 

commending their achievements in sports 

and play. 

The life skills we seek through yoga are not 

perfection, but an understanding of how we 

are right now, and what we can do to support 

our mind, body and spirit with the resources 

we have. This is what parents need to guide 

their children on a day-to-day basis and steer 

themselves through the landscape of 

parenthood. Just when you think you’ve 

mastered being a parent, something new 

presents itself that unsettles you, tests your 

patience and pushes you into unchartered 

waters! 

Children are born natural yogis, they are in 

samadhi when they enter the world. They are 

not aware of their hands or feet, let alone 

ego! As a yoga teacher who works with all 

ages, I see how the loss of connection to our 

innate state of present moment awareness at 

a young age affects older children. Yearning 

for what others have; seeking approval from 

others; or the changing educational systems 

influences our children. For all these reasons 

yoga can enhance children’s lives, by teaching 

them tools for life and by enhancing family 

life. 

Caring for family and friends, creating a noncompetitive 

community, while remaining 

aware of your inner voice and needs, are 

some of the benefits a parent can learn from 

a yoga practice. 

Working and living with children is never the 

same and always enlightening. Yoga practice 

becomes more of a lifestyle than a mat-based 

regime. Your meditative practices soon 

become real time in the hectic pace of 

parenting, consciously focusing on your 

breath and calming your mind for example, 

while dealing with the 5pm nightly toddler 

temper tantrums. Moving mediations can be 

invaluable when you’ve been called in to the 

school due to a child’s incident. 

The stillness and silence experienced while 

on your yoga mat is always there and your 

ability to find that peacefulness in unsettling 

circumstances takes your yoga to a whole 

The life skills we seek through yoga 

are not perfection, but understanding 

how we are right now 

new level. Linking mind, body, spiritual 

practices in how you conduct yourself on and 

off the mat, in and out of your classes, with 

or without your family, means that life 

becomes your teacher. 

Here are some more tools and practices I’ve 

developed teaching children yoga and being 

mum to two incredible children (and my 

most important teachers). 

1. Family yoga is one activity you can share 

with every family member. From mums and 

dads with young babies, toddlers with older 

siblings, children with grandparents, teens 

guiding their parents through new poses - the 

combinations and opportunities are endless. 

2. Use a combination of partner poses and 

yoga games, to build strength and flexibility 

and teach mental concentration and body 

awareness. 

3. For working parents who can’t bring their 

children to class, try family yoga time in the 

evening or weekend to practice together. 

4. Time allocated to bedtime stories can 

include Thai yoga massage, guided 

visualisation and yoga story books. 

Yoga is an innate state of being, interconnectedness, 

balance and feeling at ease, 

whether in challenging yoga poses or 

parenting situations. Savasana takes on an 

entirely different meaning, as you connect 

within and listen to what worked, what 

didn’t, how you can support your inner guide 

and how you can be fulfilled in all you do. 

24 NAMASKAR


26 NAMASKAR


28 NAMASKAR

DRISTI - FAMOUS YOGIS 

PATTABHI JOIS 

1915 - 2009 

BY DYLAN BERNSTEIN 

SRI SRI ANANDAMURTI 

The path of bliss........................31 

THREE KAGYU YOGIS 

Milrepa, Naropa & Tilopa....... ..32 

J. KRISHNAMURTI 

Anywhere to everywhere.........34 

ADI SHANKARACHARYA 

The World Guru........................34 


Shri Krishna Pattabhi Jois has become one 

of yoga’s great icons. His pictures hang in 

thousands of yoga shalas and homes around 

the world and his sayings have become 

memes, jewelry and yes, even the requisite 

yoga tattoo. 

Pattabhi Jois’s fame is well earned. The 

course of yoga has been forever changed by 

the teachings of Jois, his students and his 

students’ students. In fact, I think that only 

today are we are only beginning to see the 

magnitude and spread of his influence. 

K Pattabhi Jois, or Guruji as he is known by 

his students, lived a life bordering on the 

mythic. In full disclosure, I have told and 

discussed his story many times. Any student 

of Indian thought will realize the power of 

story. The more we tell it, the grander it 

becomes. I’ll do my level best to keep it 

straightforward and concise on this page. 

Pattabhi was born in South India in 1915 – on 

the night of Guru Purnima. This is the annual 

full moon that celebrates the Guru principle 

which guides us towards spiritual wisdom. 

He was born into a Brahmin family and 

learned Hindu rites and rituals. He was very 

attracted to the study of Sanskrit and the 

Vedic philosophies. From a young age, his 

family would encourage him to focus on 

chores instead of his esoteric leanings. 

At the age of 12, young Pattabhi witnessed 

and met Tirumalai Krishnamacarya at one of 

the elder’s travelling yoga demonstrations. 

Jois immediately undertook studies with 

Krishnamacarya. Krishamacarya left town 

after a few years and Pattabhi was 

temporarily separated from his Guru. 

At the age of 15, Pattabhi ran away from 

home, fearlessly and farelessly hopping the 

train to the city of Mysore. He arrived with 

two rupees and two good friends. Soon he 

was reunited with his Guru, 

Krishnamacarya, and would remain his 

devoted student for decades to come. 

Pattabhi Jois quickly went from student to 

adjunct professor to full professor to leader 

of the Sanskrit College in Mysore. He taught 

Sanskrit there for 35 years. 

During the 1970’s, around the time he retired 

from academia, Jois devoted more time to 

running a full-time yoga shala. More and 

more Western students were attracted to 

India and specifically to the man many of 

them would simply call Guruji. 

The method he taught emphasizes linking 

breath and movement in a discriminating 

way. The series of postures is linked by 

connective transition sequences built from 

Sun Salutations. The pedagogy also relies 

heavily on self-practice, monitored and 

assisted by a teacher. This “Mysore-style” 

has been named after the city. Instead of 

calling his methods Pattabhi Yoga or Jois 

Yoga, Guruji named the system Ashtanga 

Yoga. He clearly was referencing the 

meditative teachings of the Patanjali Yoga 

Sutra. When asked how he’d developed this 

system, he would consistently refer back to 

Krishnamacarya, Patanjali and other 

venerated scriptures and traditions. 

In short, the West deeply embraced his yoga 

practice. During the 1990’s, the core of 

Ashtanga spread to many fledgling styles of 

yoga. The breathing system and the related 

art of connecting postures became a 

mainstay of most modern asana practice. 

Today, even teachers who aren’t particularly 

aware of Pattabhi Jois’s life happen to be 

teaching techniques greatly influenced by his 

method. 

He passed from the worldly life in 2009. 

Many of us can remember where we were. 

We can recall the ceremonies that we led and 

participated in honoring the transition. 

Amazingly, the mainstream media failed to 

note the importance of his contribution at 

the time. The New York Times took days to 

publish an incomplete obituary. Similarly, 

the living Pattabhi avoided excess attention, 

instead allowing the practice to inform the 

students. 

Pattabhi Jois was an ardent scholar of 

Sanskrit traditions. However, in his later 

years, he would encourage us to remember 

practice as the most important aspect of 

yoga. Many of his most celebrated turns of 

phrase refer to this prioritization. 

Yet the memes and one-liners all fall short of 

encapsulating the light which Guruji brought 

forth. That light is to be experienced by the 

individual. The practice itself is the real 

teacher and that legacy is carrying itself 

forward, gaining momentum each day. 

Yoga is an internal practice, the rest is just a circus. 

K. PATTABHI JOIS 

Samahita Retreat in Thailand is strongly influenced by Pattabhi Jois, photo by Nigel Gregory 

30 NAMASKAR

DRISTI 

SRI SRI ANANDAMURTI 

1921 - 1990 

BY CLAYTON HORTON 

Sri Sri Anandamurti was born Prabhat 

Ranjan Sarkar in Bengal, India. At a very 

young age, he displayed signs of great 

spiritual wisdom and intelligence. His 

amazing life and work has proven to be a 

profound contribution in the fields of 

philosophy, science, natural health, social 

theory and yoga. He authored over 200 

books and his blend of historical perspective 

and social commentary has inspired social 

activists seeking progressive alternatives to 

capitalism and communism. 

In 1955, Anandamurti founded Ananda Marga 

(Path of Bliss) in India with the twin 

purposes of spiritual progress and social 

change. Ananda Marga soon became a multifaceted 

organisation of over one million 

followers worldwide with different branches 

dedicated to the uplifting of humanity 

through education, disaster relief, welfare, 

the arts, health, and ecology, Ananda Marga 

has founded hundreds of children’s schools 

worldwide with ashrams, yoga studios and 

health centres in over 130 countries. 

PARAMA PURUSHA, BIOPSYCHOLOGY 

& MICROVITA 

Adjusting the ancient science of Tantra Yoga 

and Vedic culture to meet the needs of this 

age, he developed a scientific and practical 

philosophy. The core of his philosophy 

combines Self-realization and social service 

with an emphasis on continuously 

recognising Parama Purusha, the divine 

consciousness in and around us. 

Anandamurti is well known for his work on 

Biopsycology which explains how the 

traditional tantric science of chakras 

(wheels) with their subtle energies, are 

related with the body through nerve plexi as 

physiologic counterparts, influencing the 

associated endocrine glands with the 

neuroendocrine system and the psychic part 

of the body. Ananda Marga yoga asana is 

based on the principle that the basic 50 

propensities (vrttis) of the human mind can 

be brought into balance by working with the 

hormonal secretion of the glands and sub 

glands that are expressed by the chakras. 

In 1986, Anandamurti introduced the theory 

of Microvita. His theory struck at the heart 

of conventional physics and biology, by 

pointing out that the basic buildings blocks 

of life, Microvita, are emanations of pure 

consciousness. He predicted Microvita 

would unite physics, biology, and 

mathematics towards an understanding of 

the true nature of the universe. 

SADHANA, 16 POINTS & THE SUPREME 

COMMAND 

Anandamurti describes Sadhana (spiritual 

practice) as “the transformation of fearful 

love into fearless love”. In the AM system, 

meditation is done twice daily, Devotees are 

initiated by an Acharya and taught meditation 

with six different lessons or levels of 

progression. Each lesson is increasingly 

more complex as the mind is brought into a 

more subtle state with breath, mantra, 

chakra awareness, visualisation and ideation. 

He developed a system of Sixteen Points to 

be followed daily; a system of spiritual 

practices to help initiate balance within the 

physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of life. 

The Supreme Command is read aloud at all 

Dharma Chakras (communal meditation 

gatherings) and states ‘by practicing sadhana 

twice a day regularly, the thought of Parama 

Purusha (divine eternal consciousness) will 

certainly arise in the minds at the time of 

death; their liberation is a sure guarantee….” 

MUSIC, DANCE & CHANTING 

A lover of music and the arts, Anandamurti 

wrote over 5,018 mystical song poems during 

his lifetime. He placed high priority on the 

devotional practice of Kirtan as a means of 

transcending the ego and connecting with the 

eternal love of the universe. 

SOCIAL SERVICE, KARMA YOGA & 

PROUT 

P. R. Sarkar (Anandamurti’s psuedonom for 

academic publications) brought great 

importance and attention to Karma Yoga 

(selfless social service) as a means of 

liberation. In 1958 He developed the 

Progressive Universal Theory or PROUT, as 

a response to immense government 

corruption in India. The Proutist economy as 

described by Sarkar is a form of cooperative 

and decentralised economy that looks more 

at the collective welfare rather than for 

profit. “Progressive Utilization” stands for 

the optimisation and maximum utilisation of 

natural, industrial and human resources on a 

sustainable basis for the entire ecosystem. 

Today, PROUT is gaining much attention 

worldwide as citizens of the world are 

recognising the increasingly large 

distribution of wealth between the wealthy 

and the poor; and the need for sustainable 

and Earth friendly communities. 

In 1963 He introduced AMURT (Ananda 

Marga Universal Relief Team) to render 

immediate relief from the disasters of fires, 

floods, typhoons, earthquakes and war. 

In India during the Indra Gandhi era of the 

1970’s, Ananda Marga’s social activism 

gained much momentum and attention. 

Anandamurti was falsely imprisoned and was 

poisoned in an attempted assassination by 

the prison doctor. After fasting on only one 

glass of milk per day for five years in a 

protest against false accusations and his 

attempted murder, Anandamurti was 

released from prison when Indira Gandhi 

was voted out of power. 

Today the wisdom and teachings of Sri Sri 

Anandamurti lives on through the works of 

his organisation. Ananda Marga has its 

headquarters in Ananda Nagar, India. 

Ashrams, schools, orphanages and health 

clinics are worldwide. 


we all start with human obstacles 

to deal with, 

but we all possess 

the seed of enlightenment 

top right Tilopa, right Naropa, above Milrepa 

32 NAMASKAR

DRISTI 

THREE KAGYU YOGIS 

Milrepa, 1052 – 1135, Naropa, 1016 - 

1100, Tilopa, 988–1069 

BY KIM ROBERTS 

When I was a graduate student at Naropa 

University, we studied the lives of Tibetan 

yogis. These legendary stories are such an 

integral part of the spiritual education in 

Tibet they have a name for them: namthars. 

Namthars of the great Indian and Tibetan 

saints serve as examples for how to heal 

from the affliction of believing everything 

your mind tells you. Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, 

Milarepa and Gampopa—the forefathers of 

the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism— 

worked through their particular 

circumstances through trials and 

tribulations to wake up from the dream of 

delusion. 

These men were real people with real 

suffering. Marpa had calluses on his bottom 

from sitting in meditation for so long. His 

student Milarepa performed back-breaking 

physical labor, building towers out of stone 

and then tearing them down, over and over 

again, until he got it right, and that was after 

killing off half of his family. 

Milarepa’s father died, leaving him and his 

mother to the mercy of greedy relatives who 

stole his inheritance. Milarepa left home to 

study sorcery to avenge his mother’s loss. 

While his evil aunt and uncle were throwing a 

party (using the riches from the inheritance 

his father had left to him) to celebrate their 

son’s marriage, Milarepa summoned a deadly 

hailstorm that killed most of the party, 

including his aunt and uncle. 

So Milarepa became a mass murderer. 

Despite this heavy karma, because of the 

strength of his devotion and the power of the 

yogic practices, he became one of Tibet’s 

greatest yogis and saints. 

To me this was so encouraging, because 

haven’t we all done things we wish we hadn’t? 

Another of the stories that intrigued me 

most was the story of the great Buddhist 

saint and scholar Naropa. 

Naropa was an Indian prince born in the 

11 th century, who became one of the most 

famous scholars of his era. One day as he was 

studying the Buddhist texts, an old hag—the 

deity Vajrayogini in disguise—appeared to 

him and asked if he understood what he was 

reading. He answered, “yes,” and the woman 

seemed pleased. Then she asked if he 

understood the real meaning of what he was 

reading. Wishing to please her, again he 

answered yes, and she threw a fit. He didn’t 

understand the inner meaning at all. 

So Naropa quit his prestigious position at the 

university to search for a guru who could 

teach him the inner meaning. He finally found 

the man who would become his guru, Tilopa, 

eating fish heads by the side of a river. 

Naropa asked Tilopa to be his teacher, but 

Tilopa refused and ran away. 

Finally, Naropa caught up with Tilopa, who 

was sitting on a high cliff. Again he asked 

Tilopa to be his teacher. 

Tilopa said: If you were really desperate and 

determined to learn about the teachings, you 

would jump off this cliff without any 

hesitation because you would be able to 

understand how important it is to follow the 

commands of your master. 

So Naropa jumped. He broke every bone in 

his body. When Tilopa found him later, he 

instantly and magically healed Naropa’s body. 

But still Tilopa would not accept Naropa as a 

student. 

Naropa spent years trying to convince Tilopa 

to become his teacher. He was tested in every 

possible way to prove his worthiness as a 

student. Naropa was so hungry for a 

teacher’s guidance that he stole food for 

Tilopa, got beaten for it, and still came back 

for more. After twelve years of this kind of 

abuse, Naropa was destitute, but 

determined. Once again he asked Tilopa to 

give him the profound teachings. 

Tilopa said: You are not yet pure enough to 

be introduced to the nature of mind! In a fit 

of fury, Tilopa removed his slipper and 

slapped Naropa’s face so hard that Naropa 

fainted and attained a state of realization. 

When he awoke, Tilopa lovingly explained to 

Naropa why he had to be so wrathful and 

subject him to so much suffering. 

He said: Your negative karma could not be 

purified by your own effort alone. Only by 

actually experiencing hardship could you 

purify the negative karma that prevented you 

from realizing the ultimate nature of 

Buddhahood. In this way you were able finally 

to overcome the conflicting emotions and 

experience realization. 

It’s like trying to clean a rusty tin can. The 

rust—our delusion—is so rough that trying to 

remove it with a soft cloth would take ages, 

lifetimes. The quick way to remove the rust is 

to find another substance even rougher than 

the rust, like steel wool. If you rub the can 

with this, then the rust can be removed. 

Similarly, the negative karma obscuring the 

true nature of mind cannot be removed by 

softness or gentleness, nor can the 

achievement of realization occur if a teacher 

is overly kind. Sometimes harshness is 

needed to wake up to reality—to see what 

we’re not seeing. 

These stories brought home the truth that we 

all start with very human obstacles to deal 

with in this life. But with dedication to 

practice and the guidance of a great teacher, it 

is possible for all of us to wake up from the 

delusion of conditioned existence, because we 

all possess the seed of enlightenment. 


DRISTI 

J. KRISHNAMURTI 

1896-1986 

BY MELINDA JUANG 

J. Krishnamurti was once asked if practicing 

Yoga could awaken kundalini. Instead of 

replying with a yes or no, he invited the 

audience to think about what Yoga actually is. 

He explained Yoga in the past was to live a 

holy and moral life. As far as he was 

concerned, the “Yoga” in modern times is 

more like an exercise, which is practiced in 

order to not only have a healthy body but also 

to force, discipline, and control, in order to 

increase energy. J. Krishnamurti expressed 

we could do this kind of Yoga exercises for a 

whole lifetime and still would not awake 

spirituality within. He stressed higher energy 

can only come when there is absolutely no 

sense of the Self, which is in constant conflict 

and therefore energy-draining. 

If we imagine the human mind as a tree 

nurtured by the soil of past experiences, J. 

Krishnamurti goes to the root of the 

question rather than giving a direct answer to 

the symptomatic tree leaves of our 

conditioned mind. His scientific approach by 

carefully observing the nature of our thought 

processes provides a simple point of view, 

not persuasive in the beginning, but 

penetrating if you allow him to go further. 

For that, it requires great attention and 

sensitivity to the consciousness, which is 

meditative in essence; only in this, can we be 

free from our known conditionings and make 

new discoveries in the unknown. 

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born in a small town 

in south India and went on to be one of the 

greatest Indian philosophers. Proclaimed by 

many, Krishnamurti was to be the World 

Teacher. He was adopted in his youth by Dr. 

Annie Besant, then president of the 

Theosophical Society. 

In 1929, despite the grand title and standing, 

he renounced his role and returned all the 

money and assets that was donated for the 

work. From then on, he travelled 

throughout the world giving talks and 

holding discussions on the things related to 

our daily life. The purpose of his teaching is 

to set men unconditionally free through the 

understandings of their own minds. He 

believed that “Truth is a Pathless Land” and 

people cannot find it by relying on any 

organization, authority, knowledge or even a 

Guru. From his viewpoint, truth is 

unlimited, unconditioned and 

unapproachable by any known path. J. 

Krishnamurti stood for everyone to begin 

finding the truth from within as a result of 

sowing this seed will lead them to whatever 

was truly in their heart. 

What is the connection between 

Krishnamurti and Yoga? He is not a Guru in 

a traditional sense and even disregarded the 

stature of being one; however, his teachings 

are all about how to live a conscious life with 

total freedom. He had learned Yoga from 

several teachers including B.K.S. Iyengar. He 

not only practiced asana and pranayama 

regularly, but most importantly, lived Yoga 

throughout his life. 

Despite of disagreement and criticism on 

Krishnamurti’s way of teachings, Osho made 

a comment on his death: 

“…If you hear him, if you allow him, if you 

open your doors to him, he is pure fire. He 

will burn all that is rubbish in you, all that is 

old in you, and he will purify you into a new 

human being. It is risky to allow fire into 

your being—rather than opening the doors, 

you immediately close all the doors...” 

In the name of Yoga, we may agree on the 

same principle but decipher it differently 

depending on our experiences and 

knowledge. 

I found it very interesting that some 

personalities studied under both J. 

Krishnamurti and B.K.S. Iyengar at the same 

time. As I see it, their teachings have the same 

quality in analytical thinking while pursuing a 

life of consciousness. In seeking of intuition 

and awareness, J. Krishnamurti believed we 

should examine and observe our mind closely 

to be free from the conditionings of the past. 

In traditional Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar used 

props innovatively and scientifically so 

practioners can have the same therapeutic 

benefits and develop an awareness within 

each pose without the physical struggle. 

Only with such awareness and sensitivity in 

every aspect of living, Yoga is the pathless 

path, starting from anywhere and leading to 

everywhere. 

DRISTI 

ADI SHANKARACHARYA 

788 - 820 

BY MAHADEV 

The realisations of the Guru Adi 

Shankaracharya made him peerless in his 

day, and the results of his work still form the 

foundation of deep spirituality in India today. 

He defeated in debate all the masters of all 

the other philosophies who preached from 

the point of view of knowledge, thus showing 

Advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta to be the 

only accurate description of metaphysical 

truth, and thereby making clearing the way 

for seekers of Self-realisation. 

He also invigourated Shakta worship, in 

which the divine is seen in the form of the 

Goddess. By so doing, he presented a way to 

develop spiritually for normal devotees to 

whom the high ideals of non-dualism seemed 

out of reach, as well as describing technical 

devotional and meditative practices for 

advanced aspirants. 

As well as all this, he established four 

monasteries, one in each corner of India, to 

act as guardians and propagators of Vedantic 

knowledge. He took the dasanami lineages of 

sannyasa (renunciation) and reinvigorated 

34 NAMASKAR

Photo by Mitter Bedi and courtesy of Krishnamurti Foundation Trust England 

Krishnamurti believed we should examine our mind 

closely to be free from the conditionings of the past. 

them, associating each lineage with a 

monastery, his best disciples becoming the 

first heads of these monasteries. 

Shankara had studied the scriptures and 

been trained in spiritual disciplines, but 

knew Self-realisation was not possible 

without a Guru. Hence, when little more than 

a child, he took sannyasa, left home and went 

roaming around India, searching for one. 

In those days, there weren’t always good 

roads, and so he sometimes had to walk alone 

through pathless jungles. Eventually he heard 

of a Guru, called Govinda Bhagavatpada, 

whose abode was a cave by the River 

Narmada. He had reached the culmination of 

Vedantic realisation, and there seemed to be 

nothing left for him to do, so he went into 

longer and longer samadhis, which would 

eventually lead to him leaving the body. 

However, the knowledge came to him that he 

had to become the Guru of a Guru of the 

world. Unfortunately, that World Guru 

would only come after a thousand years. 

What to do for a divine seer while waiting for 


he presented a 

way to develop 

spiritually for 

normal devotees 

a thousand years? He found the cave by the 

Narmada, blocked most of the entrance with 

a big boulder so he wouldn’t be disturbed and 

went into samadhi. 

People who peeped into the cave could see 

the famous seer was in samadhi, so word got 

around, bringing hopefuls from far and wide, 

seeking blessings or spiritual initiation. The 

trouble was nobody could get him out of 

samadhi, so they all left disappointed. 

However, as soon as Shankara peeped into 

the cave, Govindapada’s samadhi broke, he 

opened his eyes, and asked, “who are you?” 

Shankara immediately made up a beautiful 

song about the nature of the Self on the spot, 

which showed deep Vedantic understanding. 

That song, Nirvana Shatakam, is still sung in 

ashrams, temples and homes all over India 

even today. Govindapada’s spiritual feeling 

rose up higher, the atmosphere in the cave 

crackling, laced with spiritual power. He 

asked, “what do you want?” Shankara said he 

wanted Self-realisation. 

Govindapada stuck his foot out of the cave 

and told Shankara to worship it. Shankara 

brought the worshipping materials and did 

so with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul, 

and fell into the depths of realisation in 

samadhi. It worked so fast for him because 

the austerity he had done had opened up his 

mind, and his huge longing had permeated 

every corner of it, resulting in his 

surrendering all his mind to that foot of 

Govindapada, keeping nothing back for 

himself. The attracting power of the Self in 

Govindapada could then suck Shankara’s 

intellect into samadhi. 

Shankaracharya challenged Mandana Mishra, 

a master of the Purva Mimamsa philosophy 

to debate. The only person they could find 

that they both agreed was wise enough to be 

their referee was Bharati Devi, who was 

Mandana Mishra’s wife. 

Before the start of the debate, she said the 

purpose of the debate was to ascertain who 

was more established in Truth, and the loser 

would have to become a disciple of the victor. 

Then she garlanded both Shankara and her 

husband. Legend has it they debated for two 

weeks without stopping. Then, Bharati Devi 

ordered them to cease, announcing 

Shankaracharya the winner. There was a 

storm of protest from the audience, claiming 

Mandana Mishra hadn’t been decisively 

defeated from the point of view of logic. 

Bharati Devi repeated the purpose of the 

debate and indicated the garlands. After two 

weeks, the flowers of her husband’s garland 

had wilted, but Shankara’s were still as fresh 

as at the start. She said in her husband’s 

mind there had been some excitement, but in 

Shankara’s there had been none, hence the 

power of the Self, the Absolute Existence or 

Truth, had arisen unobstructed, hence the 

flowers had been nourished. 

The referee lost her husband, as becoming a 

disciple of Shankaracharya meant becoming a 

renunciant. He changed Mandana Mishra’s 

name to Sureshwaracharya, who went on to 

achieve great realisations, and became 

installed by Shankaracharya as the head of 

the most prestigious of the four monasteries 

he had set up, the one at Shringeri. 

The lineage of my own Guru, Sri Bhagavan of 

the International Vedanta Society, passed 

through the Shringeri monastery in South 

India, whose three lineages have the role of 

propagating Vedanta. 

36 NAMASKAR


38 NAMASKAR


40 NAMASKAR

IN BRIEF 

MUDRAS 

BY KRISHNAA KINKARI 

With life as a teacher we will all have learnt 

there are two types of souls. The scriptural 

word is they are godly or ungodly! One easy 

interpretation is there are takers and givers: 

the selfish and the selfless. Givers know one 

can receive only through giving. 

This is particularly relevant to being a yoga 

teacher: the Guru must give their knowledge 

to the student; but in that selfless giving 

much more is received. Being a yoga teacher 

is a vital role in today’s society; teaching our 

students, by example, to give generously, 

receive with gratitude and learn from every 

moment of life; introspecting and controlling 

our reactions to situations and guiding 

others on the Path to spiritual contentment. 

Indeed, giving is a great quality, but one must 

be sure to have correctly studied and 

responsibly understood the real essence of 

yogic teachings. 

The theme this issue gives two very simple 

mudras to perform, which in themselves are 

great guides. Their energetic focus leads to 

contemplation and all absorbing meditation 

on these aspects of giving and receiving. Since 

the performance of mudra is very personal, 

these “tools of transformation within our 

hands” take us deep into our hearts. The 

whole of the subtle body is cleansed and the 

inner bliss can shine out through the 

windows of the eyes and be carried in the 

speech to those whom we have the privilege 

of guiding. 

Two mudras are collected under the title of 

Upasamhara Mudra, which means gathering, 

fulfilling and completing. 

SINHAKRANTA MUDRA 

As if repelling an attack by a lion. There is 

also the aspect of repelling attacks from 

one’s own Ego and lower, selfish nature and 

need for recognition. 

Lift up both hands to shoulder level, in front 

of the shoulders with the fingers slightly 

separated and the palms facing outwards, 

elbows down. Keep the back upright, the face 

totally relaxed the lips soft and joyous and 

the breath long, smooth, even and full. 

Smilingly give of yourself to the world both 

near and far. Calm generosity. 

MAHAKRANTA MUDRA 

Invaded by the most excellent: imbibing the 

Highest Power. 

Simply turn the palms to face inwards. Same 

as above, hands just in front of the 

shoulders. Shower yourself gratefully with 

all the glories the world has to offer: this 

giving to yourself, imbibing the universal free 

and positive energy, subsequently makes one 

a better giver. Giving is a privilege! 

Take time, these mudras are extremely 

rewarding. The best formula would be three 

times a day for 10 mins each. Nature’s best 

medicine! 

BOOK REVIEW 

THE WHEEL 

OF LIFE (A 

MEMOIR OF 

LIVING & 

DYING) 

by Elisabeth Kubler- 

Ross 

REVIEWED BY TIA SINHA 

It is impossible to live life at the highest level 

unless you get rid of your negativity, your 

unfinished business... your black bunnies. 

I think modern medicine has become like a 

prophet offering a life free of pain. It is 

nonsense. The only thing I know that truly 

heals people is unconditional love. 

- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004) 

This is the incredible story of an incredible 

human being who dedicated her life to 

helping people deal with the anger and tears 

in their lives. Particularly those on the verge 

of death and children and prisoners stricken 

with AIDS. Elisabeth Kubler Ross, the world 

famous author of On Death and Dying is 

credited with starting the hospice movement 

in the USA to provide emotional and spiritual 

support to those on their deathbeds, often in 

cold, clinical, negligent and sometimes even 

hostile hospital environments. She is also 

acclaimed for her controversial work with 

people who had near-death experiences 

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 

Born to a ‘typical upper-middle-class, 

conservative’ Swiss couple in Zurich, 

Elisabeth was the eldest of triplets. Her fight 

for an identity of her own, defying her 

autocratic father’s readymade plans for the 

lives of his children, began in school. Early 

on, when asked by her father to take her pet 

bunny, Blackie to the butcher and bring back 

the butchered bunny for dinner, she 

witnessed the cruelty that often comes with 

parenting by adults who have unresolved 

issues, their unfinished business and are 

thus blind and insensitive to the needs of 

their children. 

The shock and grief from this incident, 

suppressed as a child, were to surface many 

years later. As a child, she questioned the 

behaviour of the town’s Protestant minister 

who used to beat his children black and blue 

and send them to school hungry. When 

denied a chance to study medicine, and 

instead, expected by her father to help him 

with boring clerical work in his office, 

Elisabeth left home to work as a housemaid 

for a year, under harsh, exploitative 

conditions, eventually training as an 

apprentice at a bio-chemical research 

institute and working her way through 

medical school. These and many other 

experiences as a child and adult toughened 

her to make her own decisions about her life, 

abandoning the beaten path and forging her 

own despite tremendous opposition. 


The only way we can find peace 

is to let the past be the past 

In her early twenties, Elisabeth worked with 

AIDS patients in a hospital in Zurich, realizng 

they had emotional needs that were every bit 

as dire as their physical requirements. “They 

craved friendship and compassion, which I 

could provide, and in return they opened my 

heart as wide as my eyes.” During World War 

II, after the Normandy landings in 1944, 

refugees streamed into Switzerland and the 

chaos and all her experiences at the hospital 

prepared her for what was to come. Poland. 

Elisabeth flung herself into relief work in 

war-ravaged Poland, visiting the erstwhile 

concentration camp at Maidanek where over 

300,000 Jews had perished. Many years 

later, in the U.S., she arranged the adoption 

of hundreds of AIDs stricken babies. 

Elisabeth describes the turning point in her 

life during her encounter with Golda, a 

survivor at Maidanek. Golda had said, “There 

is a Hitler in all of us... If I used my life, which 

was spared, to sow the seeds of hatred, I 

would not be any different than him. I would 

be just another victim trying to spread more 

and more hate. The only way we can find 

peace is to let the past be the past...If I can 

change one person’s life from hatred and 

revenge to love and compassion, then I 

deserved to survive,” she had said. 

In her memoir, Elisabeth writes about her 

marriage with a fellow medical student, four 

miscarriages and bringing up two children. 

And surviving divorce and several strokes. 

Elisabeth was a Bodhisattva in action, a 

pioneer in many fields and incredibly zealous 

in diving into the midst of suffering and 

helping people deal with their unfinished 

business, drop their grudges and heal their 

hearts so that they could live more fully and 

happily and die peacefully. Hers was a life 

dedicated to serving others. She practised 

neither yoga asana nor fomal meditation. Yet 

she was a true yogini in action. 

To call Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ life inspiring 

would be an understatement. Her memoir is 

unputdownable, thought-provoking and 

heart-opening. 

42 NAMASKAR


44 NAMASKAR


RECIPE 

GREEN MATCHA CHEESECAKE WITH LIME, 

MINT & GINGER 

BY KELLY FIELDING 

This refreshing raw cheesecake is the perfect combination of flavorssweet 

and tart with a vibrant zing. Free from dairy, sugar and gluten it is a 

healthy and delicious dessert that is sure to please everyone. 

BASE 

1 cup dates, roughly chopped 

1 cup raw almonds 

1 cup desiccated coconut 

2 teaspoons honey 

2 teaspoons coconut oil 

METHOD 

For the base, process the nuts until they begin to break down. 

Add the dates, coconut, honey and coconut oil and process until the 

mixture comes together. 

Press the base into a spring form cake tin and set in the fridge. 

FILLING 

3 cups raw cashew nuts (soaked in water 2 hours) 

3/4 cup coconut oil 

1/2 cup lime juice 

1/2 cup coconut nectar 

1 teaspoon of vanilla 

Pinch of sea salt 

1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped 

A dozen fresh mint leaves 

3 green kiwifruit 

1 teaspoon of matcha powder 

METHOD 

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy. 

Pour the mixture on top of the prepared cake base and refrigerate for 3-4 

hours or until firm. 

Decorate with seasonal fresh fruit to serve. 

46 NAMASKAR

RECIPE 

YOGI BREAKFAST 

BOWL 

BY KELLY FIELDING 

This is a beautiful bowl to enjoy in the morning to nourish and energize 

you for the day ahead. You can prepare the chia seeds the night before if 

you like to make it very quick and easy to prepare. It is perfect for a 

recharge after your morning practice! 

INGREDIENTS 

3 tablespoons of chia seeds 

1 cup of coconut milk 

1 teaspoon of coconut nectar 

A small pinch of vanilla powder 

1 banana sliced 

1 kiwi fruit sliced 

A handful of fresh blueberries 

1 tablespoon each of desiccated coconut, flaked almonds, flax seeds, 

chopped dates, raisins and pumpkin seeds 

METHOD 

Prepare the chia pudding by adding the coconut milk to the seeds and 

whisking well. Allow this mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes to absorb, 

mixing frequently so it sets evenly and without clumps. Add the 

sweetener and vanilla and mix well to combine. 

While the chia absorbs, slice up your fresh fruit and set aside. In a small 

bowl mix together the desiccated coconut, flaked almonds, flax seeds, 

chopped dates, raisins and pumpkin seeds. 

When the chia is ready simply arrange the chia pudding, sliced fruit and 

the dried fruit, seeds and coconut in your bowl. You can drizzle with 

more coconut nectar or add a dollop of coconut yogurt if you desire. 


DIRECTORY 

Guide to yoga studios 

& teachers 

ANAHATA VILLAS & SPA 

RESORT 

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia 

s: group retreats, yoga for 

private & corporates. Yoga 

studio 

available for rent. 

l: Indonesian & English 

t: +62 361 8987 991/ 8987 992 / 

+62 21 70743366 

f: +62 361 8987 804 

e: sm@anahataresort.com / 

info@anahataresort.com 

w: www.anahataresort.com 

ANAHATA YOGA 

18/F Lyndhurst Tower, 1 

Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, 

Hong Kong 

s: Hatha, Ashtanga, Yoga 

therapy, Yin and more. Groups & 

privates 

t: +852 2905 1922 

e: enquiry@anahatayoga.com.hk 

w: www.anahatayoga.com.hk 

ANANDA YOGA 

33 & 34/F, 69 Jervois Street 

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong 

s: Private and Group Classes : 

Yoga Therapy (neck, shoulder, 

back, hip, knee and joints), 

Hatha, Power, Ashtanga, 

Vinyasa, Detox, Yin Yang, 

Kundalini, Chakra Balancing, 

Pranayama, Meditation 

l: English 

t: (825)35639371 

e: 

adm.anandayoga.hk@gmail.com 

w: www.anandayoga.hk 

Anna Ng 

Privates 

d: Hong Kong 

s: Hatha yoga 

l: Cantonese 

t: (852) 9483 1167 

e: gazebofl@netvigator.com 

BEING IN YOGA – 

SINGAPORE 

Teaching yoga in the tradition of 

T Krishnamacharya and TKV 

Desikachar. 

s: yoga therapy (customized 

personal practice), teacher 

training (Yoga Alliance RYS 500 

hours+), in-depth yoga studies, 

small group classes for children 

and adults, workshops, 

meditation classes, Vedic 

chanting, continuing education 

for yoga teachers. Certified 

Teacher Trainer – Yoga 

Therapist - E-RYT 500 

RYS 500 

t: +65-9830-3808 

e: beinginyoga@gmail.com 

w: www.beinginyoga.com 

B.K.S. IYENGAR YOGA 

ASSOCIATION OF MACAU 

174, Rua de Pequim, Edif Centro 

Com. Kong Fat, 7A, Macau 

s: Iyengar 

t:(853)2882 3210/6662 0386 

e:yoga@macau.ctm.net 

w:www.iyengar-yoga-macauchina.com 

Chloe Yates 

Private and Group Kid’s Yoga, 

Mindfulness and Meditation 

d: Hong Kong, Kowloon, New 

Territories and Outlying Islands 

s: Kid’s Yoga, Mindfulness and 

Meditation Mummy and Baby 

Yoga, Dance Therapy 

l: English, Cantonese 

t: 9543 1524 

e: chloe.yy.yates@gmail.com 

w: www.facebook.com/ 

humblewarrioryogaanddance 

Corinne Konrad 

Luxe Nova 68 Wellington Street, 

Central, Hong Kong & home 

visits 

s:Pre and Post-natal yoga, home 

classes as boutique yoga classes 

for beginners 

t: +852 9633 5573 

e: corinne@rawandrich.com 

w: www.rawandrich.com 

David Kim Yoga 

E-RYT 500+, Senior YogaWorks 

and Yin Yoga Teacher Trainer; 

International TTs, Workshops & 

Retreats 

d: Korea, Japan, Vietnam, 

Philippines, Sweden, Norway, 

USA 

s: Yin Yoga, YogaWorks, Vinyasa 

Flow 

l: English, limited Korean 

t: +1 310 480 5277 

e: david@davidkimyoga.com 

w: www.davidkimyoga.com 

FLEX STUDIO 

Island South 

Shops 308-310 One Island 

South, 2 Heung Yip Road, 

Aberdeen, Hong Kong 

s: Vinyasa, Power, Detox, Hatha, 

Pre-Natal, Kids Yoga 

t: + 852 2813 2212 

f: + 852 2813 2281 

e: info@flexhk.com 

Central 

3/F Man Cheung Building, 15- 17 

Wyndham Street, Central, Hong 

Kong 

s: Detox, Power, Pre-Natal Yoga 

t: + 852 2813-2399 

f: + 852 2812 6708 

e: central@flexhk.com 

www.flexhk.com 

PURE YOGA 

China 

L6-615 iapm mall, 999 Huai Hai 

Zhong Road, Xuhui District 

Shanghai 

t: +86 21 5466 1266 

Hong Kong 

16/F The Centrium, 60 

Wyndham Street, Central 

t: +852 2971 0055 

25/F Soundwill Plaza, 38 Russell 

St, Causeway Bay 

t: +852 2970 2299 

14/F Peninsula Office Tower, 18 

Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 

Kowloon 

t: +852 8129 8800 

9/F Langham Place Office 

Tower, 8 Argyle Street, Kowloon 

t: +852 3691 3691 

4/F Lincoln House, TaiKoo 

Place, 979 King’s Rd, Quarry Bay 

t: +852 8129 1188 

2/F Asia Standard Tower, 59 

Queen’s Road, Central 

t: + 852 3524 7108 

Level 1 The Pulse, 28 Beach 

Road, Repulse Bay 

t: +852 8200 0908 

3/f Hutchison House, 10 

Harcourt Road, Admiralty 

t: +852 8105 5838 

Singapore 

391A Orchard Road, #18-00 

Ngee Ann City Tower A 

t: +65 6733 8863 

30 Raffles Place, 04-00 Chevron 

House 

t: +65 6304 2257 

Taiwan 

151 Chung Hsiao East Road, Sec 

4, Taipei 

t: +886 02 8161 7888 

4/f Urban One, 1 Qingcheng St, 

Taipei 

t: +886 02 8161 7868 

Ling 

Yoga and Wellbeing, Private 

Yoga Teacher, Privates, Groups, 

Corporates, Free Yoga 

Community Event: Yoga in the 

Park with Ling 

www.meetup.com/ 

yogaintheparkhk 

d: Hong Kong, China 

s: Yoga Therapy, Sivananda, 

Hatha, Svastha, Mindfulness, 

Yin, Breathing (Pranayama), 

Guided Meditation, Total 

Relaxation (Yoga Nidra) 

l: English, Cantonese, Mandarin 

t: +852 9465 6461 

e: yogawithling@gmail.com 

w: www.facebook.com/ 

yogawithling 

RED DOORS STUDIO 

21/f, 31 Wong Chuk Hang Rd 

s. Gong meditation and training, 

labyrinth facilitation and 

construction, kundalini 

therapeutic yoga and 

complementary practices to 

elevate energy. Multiple studio 

spaces available to rent. 

t. +852 21110 0152 

e. info@red-doors.com 

w. www.red-doors.com 

SPACE YOGA 

s: Hatha, Ashtanga, Advanced, 

Flow, Yin, Yin Yang, Restorative, 

Hot, Yin/Meditation, 

Pranayama, Mat Pilates, 

Jivamukti, Universal, Myofascial 

Release Yoga, Mindful 

Yoga, Rope Wall Yoga, Yoga 

Nidra and Yoga Therapy 

l: English and Mandarin 

w: www.withinspace.com 

An-Ho Studio 

16 F, No. 27, An-Ho Road, 

Section 1 

48 NAMASKAR

Taipei, Taiwan 

t: +886.2.2773.8108 

Tien-Mu Studio 

#5, Lane 43, Tian-Mu E. Road, 

Taipei, Taiwan 

t: +886.2.28772108 

Kathy Cook 

Wellness Retreats, Workshops, 

Private Groups and Privates 

d: Hong Kong, Bali & Thailand 

s: Iyengar Certified (Junior 

Intermediate III) 

l: English 

t: +852 6292 5440 / +62 811 

387781 

e:kcinasia@gmail.com 

w: www.yogawithkathy.com 

THE YOGA ROOM 

3, 4, 6, 16/F (Studios) & 15/F 

(Office) Xiu Ping Commercial 

Bldg, 104 Jervois St, Sheung 

Wan, Hong Kong 

s: Hatha, Hot, Ashtanga, 

Vinyasa, Candlelight Yin, Yoga 

Therapy, Jivamukti, Hammock 

Yoga, Mindfulness Yoga, Detox 

Yoga, Pre-natal Yoga, Pre-natal 

Pilates, Mat Pilates, TRX, Kids 

Yoga and Mum & Baby Yoga 

l: English, Cantonese 

t: + 852 2544 8398 

e: info@yogaroomhk.com 

w: www.yogaroomhk.com 

KUNDALINI @SHAKTI 

7/F Glenealy Tower, 1 Glenealy, 

Central, Hong Kong. 

s: Kundalini, Reik healing, life 

coaching, Shamanic healing, 

Bowen Therapy, Angel Cards 

t: +852 2521 5099 

e: info@shaktihealingcircle.com 

w: www.shaktihealingcircle.com 

THE COLLECTIVE, DESA SENI 

SCHOOL OF YOGA 

Jl. Subak Sari #13, Canggu, Bali, 

Indonesia 

s: Full service resort, Ashtanga, 

Embodied Flow, Hatha, 

Kundalini, 

Restorative, Tantra, 

Therapeutics, Yin, Yang, 

Vinyasa, Buddhist Meditation, 

Vedic Meditation, all on a 

regular basis. Teacher 

Trainings, Intensives, Privates, 

Workshops, specialising in 

hosting retreats. 

t: +62 361 844 6392 

e: info@desaseni.com 

w: www.desaseni.com 

TRUE YOGA 

Singapore 

9 Scotts Road, Level 4, Pacific 

Plaza, Singapore 228210 

t: +65 6733 9555 

9 Scotts Road, Level 5, Pacific 

Plaza (Bikram Original Hot 

Yoga), Singapore 228210 

t: +65 6735 9555 

Taiwan 

337 Nanking East Road 

Section 3, 9 & 10/F, Taipei 

T: +886 22716 1234 

68 Gongyi Road, West District 

12 & 13/F, Taichung 

t: +886 43700 0000 

s: Ashtanga, Bikram, Flow, 

Gentle, Hatha, Kids, Power, Pre- 

Natal, Vinyasa, Yin, Yoga Dance 

e: operations@trueyoga.com.sg 

w: www.trueyoga.com.sg / 

www.trueyoga.com.tw 

Ursula Moser 

The Iyengar Yoga Centre of 

Hong Kong 

d: Central 

s: Iyengar Certified (Junior 

Intermediate III) 

l: English 

t: +852 2918 1798 / 9456 2149 

e: uschi.moser51@gmail.com 

WISE LIVING YOGA 

ACADEMY 

198 Moo 2, Luang Nuea, Doi 

Saket, Chiang Mai, Thailand 

s: Classical Yoga, Hatha Yoga, 

Yoga Therapy 

t: +66 8254 67995 

e: info@wiselivingyoga.com 

w: www.wiselivingyoga.com 

YOGA CENTRAL – IYENGAR 

CENTRAL 

s: Boutique studio with Iyengar 

Yoga classes; flexible timings for 

corporate wellness, small 

groups, and privates 

l: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, 

French, Malay 

t: +852 2982 4308 

e: yogacentralhk@gmail.com 

w: www.yogacentral.com.hk 

fb: Iyengar-Central 

namaskar 

4 times a year 

6,000 yoga practitioners 

32 countries 

DISPLAY ADVERTISING RATES & SIZES 

Outside back cover HK$24,300 210 mm x 297 mm 

Inside front cover HK$3,400 210 mm x 297 mm 

Inside back cover HK$2,600 210 mm x 297 mm 

Full page HK$2,100 210 mm x 297 mm 

1/2 page (horizontal) HK$1,400 180 mm x 133.5 mm 

1/2 page (vertical) HK$1,400 88 mm x 275 mm 

1/4 page HK$690 88 mm X 133.5 mm 

1/8 page HK$420 88 mm x 66 mm 

LISTINGS 

Individual listing HK$610 for full or partial year 

Studio listing HK$1,270 for full or partial year 

PUBLICATION DATES, BOOKING & MATERIAL DEADLINES 

Publication date Booking Deadline Material Deadline 

January December 1 December 10 

April March 1 March 10 

July June 1 June 10 

October September 1 September 10 

NOTES 

Advertising materials should in black & white and submitted as 300 

dpi high resolution .tif files (no pdf or ai files please) 

Listings should be submitted as text only (approx 35 words) 

PAYMENT 

Payments should be made in Hong Kong dollars to: 

Namaskar c/o Carol Adams, Flat 101, Block L, Telford Gardens, 

Kowloon, Hong Kong 

INFORMATION 

Carol +44 75432 55886 / carol@caroladams.hk 

Frances +852 9460 1967 / fgairns@netvigator.com 


50 NAMASKAR


52 NAMASKAR

Namaskar - July 2016

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