Trip to Devlali

For those who are unaware of Swadhyaya's regular activities, we conduct two trips a year for all our members and their family. Trips provide us with the much needed break from monotonous life and also give us a refreshing and new perception to things. 

The recent trip to Devlali on 6th January, 2012 was a great way to start the new year. It provided us with an opportunity to get to know our fellow teachers better. It helped us bond, share experiences, and simply have some fun together. 

Our bungalow apartments at Kothari Sanatorium, Devlali

Devali (aka Deolali) is a small hill station near Nashik. It is the home of the School of Artillery and not many are aware of the amazing mineral museum nearby known as the Gargoti Museum. Due to its dry and cool air many people come to stay in the sanatoriums in Devlali for weeks and even months to recover from health conditions, especially those related to the Respiratory System. 

Swadhyaya Members

The Swadhyaya members also gave a surprise birthday party to one of our members. The party was preceded with a hilarious game of cards which tested our observation powers and concentration. We shared many jokes and laughs over each other's mistakes. After all, laughter is really the best medicine.

Happy Birthday Ankita



Artillery Park

We visited the Artillery Park nearby which was beautiful and peaceful. We even got to watch some people play golf in the nearby golf course from a vantage point.

Sunset Point

Devlali is a great place to be one with nature. There is greenery everywhere. The roads are clean and one gets to experience all elements of nature very closely.

The Elements of Nature

The Great Warrior- King Rama, Sita And Laxman

The Ramayana is given great importance here. It is believed that there is a cave in Devlali where Sita was hidden by Ravana. There is an old temple which is believed to be almost 500 years old which contains an idol that is believed to be worshiped  by Ravana himself.

Devlali is filled with Jain temples and sanatoriums. We visited some beautiful temples with breathtaking idols and architecture. One of them was a Digambar temple which had a picture museum of the different stories in Jainism. A young Bhramachari lady who lived there explained the stories to us.

We were very moved when we learnt about the stories which correlated so much with the Yogic concepts that we have learnt about. Most of them talk about how a small incident instigates a seemingly ordinary man or even animal to mentally detach with the material world (Vairagya) in order to attain the highest, which is our goal.

Jain God

Engrossed in the Soul

The above picture is that of a Jain God sitting in deep meditation. It is believed that when a person gets so  engrossed in the Atma (Soul) and so detached from the body, he continues to experience pure bliss even if wild animals come and start eating his flesh.

Samosaran


Sermon in the Heavens

Samosaran is the word given in Jainism to the congregation that assembles when God speaks. When God gives his sermons, millions of Lives come to listen to the holy words. It is believed that those who hear the words achieve Kaivalya. Even animals and other creatures come to listen. This congregation is held in the skies where large spaces are converted into beautiful lush lands where Lives can come. Some find the place so mesmerizing that they roam about among the creations, rest under the trees and wander about. These Lives miss out on the holy words and remain stuck in material attachments. One must overcome the attachment to such material things if we want to learn the holy teachings. 

Swadhyaya Group

Returning refreshed and inspired from our visits to such a spiritual place, we all must get back to our routine work. After all, "nothing lasts forever and everything is changeful". However, today, the members of the alumni association present at the trip and their families share a great bond of friendship and happy memories and can't wait for the next trip to come. 

Teaching Yoga in Schools

Mrs. Sudarshan Saigal

Teaching children is a challenge by itself and teaching them Yoga … even a bigger challenge. This challenge is very well experienced by all of us and so, on the 13^th of November 2011, one of our senior teachers Mrs. Sudarshan Saigal shared her experience and advice on teaching yoga to children in school.

She very rightly started by saying that the key is to ‘Accept’ the challenge. Not only teaching the children, but managing relations with other staff members in school will also be challenging. 

Not everyone has the knowledge of yoga. You, as a yoga practitioner, a teacher, have to educate and inform them. And to do so the first and foremost thing is to follow the yogic path yourself. Yoga is to be learnt, not taught. We can learn even from an innocent, naughty and yet smart child! Be friendly with the children, teach them concepts, attitudes, leadership qualities, awareness, alertness, concentration. etc. Doing Asanas only should not be given too much importance.

Break the ice by making them feel important: ask them to teach you for eg. Being from a Hindi medium school Mrs. Saigal asked the students of a high profile English medium school to correct her English language if she makes mistakes in the class. That broke the ice and the children felt so happy. They knew that here was a friend and not just a teacher.

To improve their concentration powers make one of them start reading a chapter and quickly ask another student to continue reading from there. So they don’t have time to think also and they are very alert, thinking that they might be the next one to read.

If there is loud music going on outside the examination hall, they can just close their eyes and quietly count 1-10, start breathing in and out and visualize their lesson.

They should always sit with their spine erect and carry their bag on both the shoulders to maintain their posture.

They can be taught all the concepts with games, like counting spaces, juggling; stories, like ‘The Five Gurus’ and a lot more of activities, like singing, dancing, drawing, etc. Be creative and they will love it. Yoga will be fun learning and not boring for them.

A Report by Geeta Udasi.

Trip in January

Dear Members,

Wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Hope this new year brings us closer to our goal and helps make us grow in our practice of yoga.

Please note that there will be no meeting at The Institute this month as we are going on a trip to Devlali.

The registrations and bookings are complete. We hope that the members who are unable to join us this time will be able to do so next time.

Looking forward to having a great winter holiday together in Devlali.

Once again wishing you a Happy New Year!

SMC.

Talk on Application of Yoga in specific Health Problems

The next Swadhyaya Talk is on the Application of Yoga in specific Health Problems.
The talk will be taken by Mrs. Pallavi Shanbaug.

Date: Sunday 11th Dec 2011.
Time: 11:00am- 12:00 noon
Venue: The Yoga Institute.

All members are invited.
If you wish to become members or renew your membership, you can do so before the meeting.

About the Speaker
Mrs. Pallavi Shanbaug completed her yoga teacher training course in 1997.
Since then she has taught in the TTC and takes children's yoga classes at The Yoga Institute.

PLEASE NOTE: 
Swadhyaya is planning a 2 day trip for all members to Devlali on 8-9 January 2012. The details will be put up soon. 
As booking needs to be made well in advance, please contact us at swadhyayatyi@gmail.com if interested in joining us.
Members can also give their names during the next meeting. 


See you on Sunday!

Healing Through Dance

The founder Shri Yogendraji, brought yoga to us householders. He also introduced simple breathing techniques in the Yogendra Pranayamas. He was a great lover of music.

Shri Yogendraji 

On his 114^th birthday this year, The Yoga Institute was graced by a very talented teacher and dancer par excellence, Ms. Aparna Ramaswamy. She is a hypnotherapist, trained in EMI techniques in cases like depression, schizophrenia, etc. She is also a qualified Reiki healer. She’s currently pursuing healing through dance, specializing in Bharat Natyam.

Ms. Aparna covered three aspects, first being a little demonstration of the dance. She then connected dance and its movements to the principle of Ashtanga Yoga. Lastly she explained that as Samadhi is the final step in yoga, in her life through dance, she believes one’s life purpose should be to utilize one’s skill/ knowledge to help and heal others. She started her dance with the traditional Namaskara, seeking blessings from Mother Earth, following a graceful invocatory dance for Lord Ganesha, seeking his blessings for a successful completion and inviting the divine energy to enter the stage.

Bharat Natyam physically involves perfect form and it can thus be likened to the physical aspects of Yogasanas, Pranayamas, Yamas, Niyamas, etc. Dance also involves experience i.e the transition from the external world to internal preoccupation…Pratyahara. While physically dancing, breath awareness is as important as Pranayama (correct breathing) is while doing Asanas. There is a Shloka in Bharat Natyam:

“Yatho Hasta Tatho Drishti, Yatho Drishti Tatho Manaha,

Yatho Manaha Tatho Bhavo, Yatho Bhava Tatho Rasaha”

This Shloka literally translates as: Where the hands go, the eyes will follow; where the eyes go, the mind will follow, thus followed by Bhava and finally the dancer achieves complete immersion into the dance.

The purpose of Natya (dance) is therefore complete immersion of the Self. The dancer’s job is to listen to the music. The emotion and the Bhavas harnessed from that music tap into the energy from the dancer’s organic body, keeping the mind isolated. The eyes of the audience are thus engaged by the dance, the ears engrossed by the music, the brain captured by the language of dance, thus taking the audience into a meditative state.

Yoga and dance are the integration of the practitioner’s energy. If the physical self is dominant, the dancer is self-conscious, so it is impossible to focus fully on the dance. On complete Ishwar Pranidhan there is intense manifestation of Dharma. She also explained that the road of the dancer is not to act but to BE. viz. it is difficult for an audience to connect with a rasa if the dancer fakes the emotion.

One can use Natha (melody) to achieve balance in emotions and harmonize one’s energy. It can help transcend one’s anxieties. Ms. Aparna urged the audience to know how to manage their human emotions as a currency, positively, and get over them. One should ask whether that frame of mind actually depicts his true self as God made him.

- A Report by Vyoma Chauhan

"Teaching Yoga in Schools" Talk by Mrs. Sudarshan Saigal, 13th Nov 2011

An ongoing battle between students and yoga has proved to be a great challenge for most yoga teachers. How does one maintain discipline and generate an interest in children towards yoga? How does one bring forth the message of yoga to those who have a pre-conceived notion that yoga is boring?

Find out at the next Swadhyaya talk which will be held on Sunday, 13^th November, 2011.

Topic: Teaching Yoga in Schools

Speaker: Mrs. Sudarshan Saigal

Time: 11am – 12 noon (after Satsang)

Venue: The Yoga Institute, Santacruz.

All members are welcome. Those who wish to become members or renew their membership, please read the membership details on the blog by clicking this link- http://swadhyayatyi.blogspot.com/p/membership-details.html

About the Speaker:

Mrs, Sudarshan Saigal completed her Yoga Teacher Training course in 1989, following which she travelled to Kuwait to design a sponsored yoga program. Then, since 1990 till today, she has been teaching yoga to secondary school children of J.M.L. Secondary School, Khar, Mumbai.

She has also travelled to Madhya Pradesh to teach yoga at a cement factory, Haryana and Rajasthan for yoga workshops and has taught yoga to MTNL employees. She co-ordinates and teaches in the Hindi 7 Day Health Camp. She also conducts classes for ladies at the Guru Nanak Mandir on Linking Road and has experience in teaching a Parkinson’s Disease patient, a Cancer patient and a patient with an operated spine. 

Important Note:

Due to the new TRAI regulations, many of our members have stopped receiving SMS announcements from Swadhyaya as their numbers are registered in DND. If you wish to start receiving the messages again, please visit this link- http://site6.way2sms.com/jsp/dnd.jsp

Hope to see you on Sunday!

Regards,

Swadhyaya Managing Committee.

Talk on Basic Understanding of Chakras

Swadhyaya is happy to announce the much awaited talk on:

"Basic Understanding of Chakras and Why to Keep Them in a Balanced State" 

Speaker: Mrs. Jagruti Thaker

Date: Sunday 9th October, 2011

Venue: Yoga Institute, Santacruz.

This talk will give us a basic idea on: What are our 7 major Chakras? How are they formed? What are the areas of our body and mind they have effect on and why it is necessary to keep them balanced. 

About the Speaker

Mrs. Jagruti Thaker, age 46 is a Trained Yoga Therapist from the Yoga Institute. She has completed 3 years in Foundation, Diploma and Advance Yoga from Mumbai University and Passed four Examinations in Clinical Hypnotherapy.

She is also adept at Crystal and Spiritual Chakra & Aura Healing and Distance Healing.

She conducts workshops on Self Chakra and Aura Management, How to Understand the Power of Our Mind and use it for our best...

Hope to see you on this Sunday for a fruitful learning experience.

P.S. Those members who have registered for DND on their mobile phones cannot receive our sms announcements for the talks. We request you to de-register from DND if you wish to continue with our sms updates.