Bhadra Yoga

Shock or Surprise?

bhadrakali — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:07:28 +0000

“I’m from New York City, so Omaha (living in) is a shock to me…” So said Pamela Seina, one of my yoga students at Bhadra Yoga. We were discussing, along with another student, Marc Schnitker, the wonderful experience of visiting an ashram. Marc and I are both Sivananda practicioners; meaning we come from the discipline and lineage of Swami Sivananda who lived from 1887 until 1963. He never came to the United States, but he sent his two best disciples Swami Vishnu-Devananda and Swami Satchidananda to teach yoga here in the late 60′s. Devananda started two Sivananda Ashrams here in the States; one in Grass Valley, CA called “The Yoga Farm;” the other located in Woodburne, N.Y. called “The Yoga Ranch.” The other two ashrams (that are not in India or Europe) are located in Val Morin, Quebec, Canada called “The Yoga Camp,” which is headquarters for the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. Lastly, my personal favorite which is where I took my 30-day teacher training; the Sivananda “Yoga Retreat” located on Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The “shock” part of the conversation was my comment about training in the Bahamas…..out of the 95 people that came for the training that year (2003, January), 10 of them left within the first week. I took note that most of the 10 people that went home did not read the details of the brochure beyond “Teacher Training in Sunny Bahamas!” They came based soley on sun, sand and blue surf. What they didn’t realize was that it is an ashram; a living community of yoga. Ashram means “where a guru lives and teaches.” Guru means “bringer of the light;” also, “personal spiritual teacher.” The atmosphere is like that of India; there are pictures of Hindu deities. There are pictures of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-Devananda. There are ritual Hindu activities like chanting, meditation and prayer. People who purposefully go to an ashram to visit or to train do so to immerse themselves in another way of thinking and living day-to-day. You do not need to become a Hindu to be a yoga teacher or to visit an ashram; you simply need the desire to become open to the new experiences of a different culture. The overall experience can be a wonderful….surprise.

December 2010 Class Schedule

bhadrakali — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:53:09 +0000

Mondays closed

Tuesdays 12:00 – 1:00p.m. Yin Yoga (drop-in) w/Melanie

6:00 -7:30p.m. Vinyasa Yoga (drop-in) w/Amy

Wednesdays 12:00-1:00p.m. Vinyasa (drop-in) w/Melanie

5:30-7:00p.m. Hatha (drop-in) w/Melanie

Thursday 8:00-9:00a.m. Vinyasa (session December 16th – January 20th)

5:30-7:00p.m. Hatha (drop-in) w/Amy

7:30-8:45p.m. Vinyasa (drop-in) w/Denise

Friday 9:00-10:15a.m. Vinyasa (session December 17th – January 21st)

12:00-1:00p.m. Vinyasa (drop-in) w/Melanie

5:00-6:15p.m. Yin Yoga (drop-in) w/Melanie

Saturday 9:00-10:30a.m. Vinyasa (drop-in) w/Melanie

12:00-1:30p.m. Beginning Yoga (session December 18th – January 22nd)

Sunday 2:00-3:30p.m. Restorative Yoga (by appt. December 12th and 19th) w/Melanie

Schedule

admin — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:02:59 +0000

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