Leading yoga exponents convene at workshop

Event focussed on interpretation of yoga in the modern community, MADHUCHANDA DAS reports.

Spirituality, knowledge, peace and harmony were in the air at the Oakleigh Hall in Melbourne on August 29 at the 3rd Annual Yoga Workshop organised by Vasudeva Kriya Yoga under the able guidance of Shri Rajendra Yenkannamoole. Shri Rajendra Yenkannamoole, the founder of Vasudeva Kriya Yoga, has deep and fervent passion for Yoga and currently runs five centres in Melbourne and one in Bangalore.

In India, each year he teaches yoga in the Bangalore prison, schools, villages and yoga schools. Thousands of people have attended his workshops.

The highly successful event themed Yoga for Health, Harmony and Self Realisation focussed on bringing awareness about the traditional practices and interpretation of yoga in the modern community. This remarkably relevant and significant one day intensive workshop sought to generate a powerful experience of yoga in its most complete sense with the objective of finding ways to energise, harmonise and de-stress the human system and unveil the Self with the powerful practice sequences of asana, pranayama and meditation. It also focussed on learning simple but powerful techniques which could be incorporated into home practice of yoga, mastering the delicate art of self enquiry and imbibing the often neglected rules for social and personal conduct which form the foundation of yoga – the yamas and the niyamas. Meeting up with other people on the yoga path was another focus. 

It was a unique experiment in which local yoga institutions like Vasudeva Kriya Yoga,

Yoga in Daily Life, Art of Living and Shiva Yoga shared a common platform and thereby strengthened ties and interactions. The day of intensive and complete yoga practice included pranayama, asana, meditation, self enquiry and practical yoga philosophy and was facilitated by leaders of four authentic yoga traditions. They were Shri Swami Gopal Puri, senior yoga instructor of Yoga in Daly Life; Shri Swami Atmananda, teacher of Learn to Meditate Courses at Shiva Ashram, Mt Eliza; Shri Chris Dale, teacher of Art of Living and Sahaj Samadhi Meditation and Shri Rajendra Yenkannamoole, yoga teacher and the founder of the Vasudeva Kriya Yoga School.

The inaugural session was conducted by Shri Swami Gopal Puri who spoke on Asana-

The Psychosomatic Approach, dwelling upon asanas or exercises that use the body to influence the mind rather than the other way around.

Shri Rajendra Yenkannamoole deliberated on the Foundation of Yoga-Yama and Niyama, opining that in the present times, the basic spirit and essence of yoga seemed lost and had assumed gym-like manifestations. He emphasized on the eight levels of yoga and the importance of the foundations of yoga, stating that the practice of yoga took one away from sorrow and led the Self towards happiness.

Shri Yenkannamoole averred that the underlying mission behind this annual seminar was dissemination of the true meaning of yoga to the community by bringing varied yoga schools on a common platform. Equally important were attempts to add value and provide service to the wider community through individual core competencies.

Shri Swami Atmananda who reflected on Meditation and Self-Enquiry said yoga meant taking responsibility for one’s life. Yoga should never separate us from what we term as a normal layman’s life, it should improve upon it. Self enquiry made one look at every area of one’s life to examine what the problem was from a spiritual perspective and then unblock it.

Shri Chris Dale discoursed on Sri Sri Yoga: Awakening Your Full Potential through a Complete Yoga Practice.

The audience listened in rapt attention to the inspirational speakers, diligently emulating the demonstrations or spiritedly jotting down notes on health tips and information on current research findings. The tasty vegetarian lunch that was served indeed tantalized the taste buds. The popularity of the workshop was clearly evident by houseful attendance and the palpable sense of happiness and calm written largely across the faces of the audience. Indeed, it was an overwhelming experience – soaking in the richness of ancient wisdom and enlightenment to enliven the present and future.