Special training Program for Yoga Trainers at S-VYASA Yoga University in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India June - July 2016 A report by Sandra Clares García, from Mexico
Intro As a yoga teacher who appreciates Indian culture, I was very pleased when I was accepted for the Special training Program for Yoga Trainers at S-VYASA Yoga University in Bengaluru, Karnataka in South India. I had been in India before and had studied under Indian teachers, so I was quite excited about it; but little did I know, that this program was beyond all my expectations and life experiences. The whole experience, including the people, places, teachings, food, activities, and mainly, the spiritual connections, have been a magnificent gift and I am truly grateful for it. It all happened very fast. I applied for the scholarship on May 16th; the course was to start on June 16th 2016 to end on June 13th 2016. It was announced as a special scholarship under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), a Program of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. On May 24th I was informed that my candidature had been accepted; I sent a letter accepting the offer and from then on I decided to simply surrender to whatever came from this experience. I am so glad I did. I flew from Mexico city on June 14th via Houston-Frankfurt, arriving to Bangalore on June 16th at 1:30 AM. I arrived to Kempegowda airport and around 2:30 AM I came out to the exit. Mr. Nagendra was waiting for me at the airport exit and he kindly sent me in a taxi together with Mr. Yogendra, one of SVYASA s intern. The airport is about 70 Kms from SVYASA so we arrived at the University campus at almost 4 AM. Mr. Moorli was there to welcome me, help me register and bring me to my room. I was registered in the housing called Sahana (Sanskrit word for patience; to bare, tolerate) room 4B. We were told to rest and go to the dining hall Sampurna (Sanskrit word for fulfilled; whole, absolute) for breakfast at 7:30 AM. We went there; the food was delicious, people at the dining hall were very kind and the view into nature was magnificent; from then on everything was like magic. By 11 AM I realized I was in a large, theater-like, interesting looking room called Tapas (Sanskrit word for penance) filled with people from different nations, religions, ages, backgrounds and languages. We all had been invited by our respective Indian Embassies back home. 1.
We were an amazing group of 54 people from 37 different countries: Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Botswana, Chile, Congo, Ethiopia, Fiji, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Palestine, Romania, Russia, Seychelles, Serbia, South Africa, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Adding to this mix of people our Indian mentors, teachers and friends, was just the perfect combination into understanding one of India s most essential parts of Her philosophy: Unity in Diversity, which is actually yoga in action. Not everyone could speak or understand English; some could only understand Russian, or Spanish, or Arabic, or Nepali, or Hindi or French; but, in a short period of time, I realized we all spoke the language of yoga and love. That is the most important learning I embrace from this experience. Report During the first three days we were given the schedule that we were to follow during the upcoming month, the materials we would need, such as yoga mat, notebooks, pen, books, blankets, towels, soap, etc; and were introduced to the kind staff who were there to guide and help us: Mr. Lokesha, our head coordinator, Gayatri, Meenakshi, Ashwath, Siddharth, Nirbhay, and Pritika among others. Our activities started at 5:30 AM and ended at around 9:30 PM. It was a busy, but fun and interesting schedule. I enjoyed every bit of it and learned from every single activity, lecture, and experience. To pass the course we had to present a handwritten report on a topic of our choice (from the list provided by the University); a handritten Worksheet (Asana) based on the Eight Step Method Teaching Technique (both written format and viva) and a few examinations: one in the middle of the course and three more at the end including Pranayama and Cyclical meditation exam, kriya (cleansing techniques) exam and the final written exam. I chose the topic Be and Make for my report. During our stay we followed the schedule for most part of that month, except for some days, which were special: On June 16th, during the afternoon, we had the inauguration ceremony for our program. On June 21st we went in two buses to BMS College of Engineering for the International Day of Yoga special event. We left early in the morning, around 5 AM; it was a rainy day so it was conducted 2.
inside the complex of the College. It consisted of a yoga class following the Yoga Protocol, breakfast, and some presentations such as kriya and advanced asana demonstrations. Also, there were free medical check up, yoga therapy, diabetics and hyper tension consultations, naaditarangini analysis and paid aura analysis. On June 24th some representatives from ITEC came to visit and ask about our experience in SVYASA. It was really nice talking to them and sharing our experiences. Then we had a special lunch with them. On June 29th we had our first examination, which lasted for 2.5 hours. Also, on that evening we attended the Happy Assembly of the regular YIC group. The Happy Assembly is like a graduation party; in groups, everyone should prepare a yoga presentation and some other kind of presentations, such as dancing, singing, playing an instrument, or any performance to present to the SVYASA community. It is actually very interesting and a lot of fun. On June 30th afternoon a tailor and his assistants came to take our group ladies measurements for a saree we would wear during our graduation ceremony on July 12th. On July 2nd afternoon, each one of us was given an envelope with the amount of 14,600 INR for our personal expenses during the upcoming outings. On July 3rd we went outside the University campus to visit Dodda(Big) Ganapathi Temple in Basavanagudi Bangalore and the Bull Temple which is next to Ganapathi Temple. Then we went to visit ISKCON Temple and before going back to campus, we went to MG (Mahatma Gandhi) Road for shopping. On July 5th and 6th we went to Mysore. We had an amazing road trip to visit Mysore city and Mysore Palace. The group was divided into two groups according to the hotel we would stay at; we stayed overnight in two different four star hotels. The first day (July 5th) we visited Sri Chandra Moulyeshwaraswamy Temple, we went for lunch and then we had some free time for shopping to then go to our hotels. I got to stay at the Royal Orchid Metropole hotel in the centre of the city; we had dinner at the hotel s buffet; it was an unforgettable, joyous evening. The next day, early morning, our yoga teacher and tutor for that trip,yogacharya Dr. Gurudeo, taught us an interesting yoga class at the hotel; then we had breakfast and on that 3.
day we visited Mysore Palace, which is one of the most famous tourist attractions in India. It is an astonishing palace with beautiful gardens and a long history. The interior is breathtaking; I felt blessed of having the opportunity to visit such a place in company of our group and coordinators. On that same day we went to visit Shweta Varahaswamy Temple and then went for lunch. After that we went to Tipu Sultan s Summer Palace and before going back to campus we visited Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. On July 8th we were divided into our groups (4 of them) so each student could present his/her report; then we had pranayama and cyclical meditation exams. On July 9th, 10th, and 11th each group had to teach pranayama and asanas at 5:30 AM. On July 10th we had the final written exam, which lasted for three hours. On July 11th in the evening we had our Happy Assembly. Each group presented asanas demonstrations, some fun sketches, singing, mantra chanting and dance choreographies. It was amazing! There were professional dancers and choreographers in our group, so it was simply wonderful to be part of it. There were African, Indian, and Arabic dances and presentations of all our different cultures and talents. Also, it was really nice and a special event for all SVYASA s community attendees. On July 12th early morning we had a special Fire ceremony at the Ganapathi Temple inside campus conducted by Dr. Sushrutha. We received a saree as a special gift to wear on our graduation ceremony, so on that day some girls came to help all the ladies in our group wear the saree. At 12 PM we had our graduation ceremony to receive our certificates and then we had a special lunch. We officially met Dr.H R Nagendra for the first time and also to give our certifcates Vicechancellor Dr. G. Ramachandra Bhat, Dr. R Nagarathna and Prof. K Subrahmanyam were present. Conclusion It has been an unforgettable, uplifting and inspiring experience. I know there is no conclusion to it; this is just the beginning of something great India has resumed doing; that is, sharing Her elevating and spiritual teachings to the world once more, now with this new yoga scholarship. This experience has ignited in each of us, participants and teachers, to go on teaching and sharing life in a better way, but mainly to go being and making as Swami Vivekananda said and as one of our 4.
lecturers, Dr. Manjunath, told us whatever you preach you should first follow it; otherwise you have no strength to speak ; which is also an important aspect in Indian philosophy. All I have left to say is that I express my deepest gratitude to Bharat, the great nation, for sharing Her elevating and spiritual teachings to the world and in her quest to do so, making me part of it. It is an honor to be part of the SVYASA family through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ITEC. I thank all the representatives of the Indian government in Mexico; especially, Ambassador Shri Muktesh K. Pardeshi, Mr. M. R. Qureshi, Director of the Indian Cultural Centre, Mr. Vijay Ganesh, Yoga teacher at the Cultural Center, as well as the Mexican nationals who collaborate with them. I am truly grateful to every single one at SVYASA for Being an Making. Knowing them and sharing this piece of life with them, has been an enlightening and inspiring experience; I have shared and been witness of beings who have taken up an idea, have made it into a life and live on it, as taught by Swami Vivekananda; including all teachers, staff at the dining hall and kitchen, administration, housing, laundry and cleaning services, library, bookshop, pharmacy, hospital, therapy, research, transportation and security departments; even visitors, students and patients; we all, inevitably, get influenced by SVYASA s motto: Be and Make. Also, from the bottom of my heart, I thank my YIC international course mates for having created such an amazing community of ambassadors to bring the true knowledge of Yoga back to our countries: Armine from Armenia, Ashis from Bangladesh, Alexandra from Belarus, Chandra, Palmo, Penjor and Sonam from Bhutan, Pauline from Botswana, Alejandro from Chile, Nelson and Stany from Congo, Happy from Ethiopia, Sangeeta from Fiji, Sol from Honduras, Melinda from Hungary, Panji from Indonesia, Rula from Jordan, Diana and Diana from Kazakhstan, Tau from Kiribati, Lamia from Madagascar, Iswari and Sivashanker from Malaysia, Oumar from Mali, Beantpal from Mexico, Magdalena from Montenegro, Ganpati, TP, Himlal and Anand from Nepal, Majdal from Palestine, Rafael from Romania, Sima, Olga and Zoia from Russia, Ingrid from Seychelles, Branka and Marija from Serbia, Ansuyah from South Africa, Mandy and Sharon from Suriname, Hanan from Syria, Dilshoda from Tajikistan, Nihel and Soufiane from Tunisia, Suna and Bahar from Turkey, Michael from Uganda, Nargiza and Anjelika from Uzbekistan, Amadeo from Venezuela, Thang from Vietnam, and Jonathan from Zimbabwe. Certainly, there is much more to this experience than what has been mentioned in this report; it is difficult to express into typed words how beautiful it all was and thus, is. I can simply and humbly say Dhanyavad (Thank you); India has my love, respect and admiration. Please see the enclosed images and documents relevant to this report in the following pages. 5.
Topics for report writing
Invitation for the International Day of Yoga event