Dear Sanga,
We hope you received our newsletter and had the time to read it. The many activities of the community reflect the vast potential of what yoga can offer to the world. In fact, every human being can benefit from yoga in some way. Provided one is ready to take charge of one's own health and wellbeing and is willing to commit to a life long journey of practice and self discovery!
The more we discover about ourselves and our relationship with the world, the better we learn to take care at all levels, a truly self-empowering journey! It is essentially all about our practice, which needs to impact us at many levels of subtlety, beyond the gross physical body. The Sanga and guidance from a good teacher is critical in arriving at such a practice.
Speaking of which, our Sangati series has become quite popular, with different teachers offering 4-5 group classes each month. This month is about exploring the Niyamas through practice, facilitated by Anita.
For Global Yoga Therapy Day that falls on August 14, I have been invited to talk on "Insights from Yoga and Samkhya to Deal with Pandemic-Related Stress". This is a free event hosted by the International Association of Yoga Therapists, with a request for support through donations.
Another in-person short study retreat is coming up at the end of August. It is a valuable refresher for teachers and therapists on the fundamentals of designing personalised practices: Viniyoga & Vinyasa Krama.
For the longest time, I have been wanting to do some substantial work with food and nutrition: not just information sharing but supporting people to make sustainable positive changes in food habits which is fundamental to yoga! Sandhya is curating a well-thought out training program spread across 4 months for us to embark on this journey of transforming our food habits. We are hosting an introductory webinar for the program tomorrow, 5 August.
The Pranayama monthly series is going well with attendees coming from across the world! It is really heartening to see so many people interested in understanding and practising pranayama with inspiration from our ancient texts. The focus is to facilitate a more natural and intimate relationship with your breath and your Prana!
In September 2023, I will be visiting the US for three weeks. I plan to offer a workshop in San Francisco on September 9 (on Changing Samskaras) and in New York at the Integral Yoga Institute, NY, on September 16 & 17 (on Pranayama and Yoga Therapy). If you live anywhere close by, it will be a great opportunity to meet you in person. We will share the exact details of these events shortly.
Until we meet again in person or in the many Zoom rooms, stay connected with your breath and each other!
Warmly,
Saraswathi