Thursday, June 28, 2012

Bali Yoga Teacher Traning 2012 completed successfully!

Dear friends & Yoga enthusiasts,

I have been travelling all over the world, across the oceans every few months to conduct our Yoga Teacher Training Programs. And the last one at Bali was an experience of a lifetime!

What a beautiful place Bali is! So allow me to rewind this awesome & spiritual experience of conducting our 1 month Yoga Teacher Program in Bali. It took 1 year of sincere planning, hard work and a lot of dedication to arrange our Yoga Teacher Training course in Bali.


Green rice fields and mountains view from the rooms!

It was in 2011 that we (myself Jeenal, Daniel and Stefano) met in Ubud - Bali to discuss our plans and started to look for a suitable place for our students.

A place which is a blend of natural beauty and comfort for our students. And finally we found Shanti Loka! This stunningly beautiful resort which was our private paradise during the course. Set in the middle of acres of green rice fields and with sea & horizon at a distance. Lovely cool nights and sunny days with birds, insects, flowers and fauna all around us. This was our place for Yoga! Blissful!

Deity of a Balinese God

Twilight..sea..rice fields..sunset from the balcony of the room!

We had wonderful participants from all over the world and as soon as they met each other, their friendship began. So many smiles...and the journey had commenced! The early mornings were filled with meditation, asana & breathing practices.

A lot of learning & sharing happened every moment. It was an intensive course and demanded sincereity and dedication towards Yoga.

The students learnt so much: Asanas, Pranayamas, Yoga philosophy, Samkhya - Metaphysics of Yoga, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Phisiology and Anatomy, Kriyas - Detoxification techniques besides Yoga Methodology and Teaching Practice to improve thier teaching skills. And to go along were weekly assignments, group projects and presentation.

Having a very organised approach and a great synergy between the our teachers, we guided the students to the best of our capacity and all the students made through....really well!. It was definitely a lot of hard work which was highy rewarding and had a deep positive effect in everybody's life.


Students having a philosophy class with Stefano.

Students having an Asana class with Jeenal.

Everybody enjoying healthy vegetarian food!

The food served was healthy and delicious. All were happy eating vegetarian food and for some of them it proved to be a real life changing experience. Vegetarian food is a very important part of Yoga and in our course we do our best to make the diet nutritious and balanced.
It was a blend of fresh fruits, vegetables and salads, so many different juices, a lot of soya tempe and tofu for protein, coconut juice and milk, nuts, brown rice and of course plenty of water! Yes...everyone was nourished!

Outings to Balinese temples and lakes on Sundays!

And, then comes weekend holidays!!
We give equal importance to recreation, rest and fun! So on weekends our group went to beach, traditional Balinese hot springs, to different temples and lakes and other cultural places of interest.

Some liked to relax and sleep while some liked to venture out on weekends. And Bali is so beautiful, an island with so much color, culture and art. It was worth to see Bali during the course. The participants were able to absorb Yoga better in a spiritual and a natural place like Bali. It was lovely to observe and learn new things and meet new people!

Jeenal with the Sarah, Gabriela and Cammie
enjoying the rice fields on Sunday off!

Pranayama class with Daniel! Lot of sincerity and discipline!

And finally the days went by so quickly. Final written and practical examinations were near. With the help pf  Yogic practices & concepts everything went smooth and the students did really well.

It was an accomplishment to know how much they learnt with Yoga.


After the exams were over!

Happiness expressed! Yoga is love! Yoga is joy! Yoga is freedom!

The last two days were filled with celebration and bidding farewell to each other and thanking the lovely staff of Shanti Loka. Many smiles, may hugs, may tears! On the last night we had an awesome Balinese dance presentation and we all danced while enjoying the special Balinese coconut drink.

Everybody experienced deep friendship and love for each other. It was a cherishing experience indeed!

Celebrating together with the Shanti Loka staff
and students during the Certificate Ceremony!
All the students receive their certificates! Fresh yoga graduates!

Bali has touched our hearts so deeply that Wise Living Yoga Academy has already announced another course in May 2013. We wish that you too remove time from your busy schedule and join us to live with us an amazing experience of a lifetime. Yoga can change lives, bring love and so many smiles!

Namaste,
OM Shanti
Jeenal

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Wise Living Yoga Academy conducts Yoga Teacher Training Courses (200 hours) following the Methodology & Didactics of The Yoga Institute of Santacruz. The course is recognized by The International Board of Yoga - India and accredited by Yoga Alliance - USA (RYS-200 Level).

Please follow the links to know more about our YTT courses 200 hours in 2012/2013:

Yoga Teacher Training Course in Minas Gerais, Brazil
Yoga Teacher Training Course in Bali, Indonesia
Yoga Teacher Training Course in Chiang Mai, Thailand


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Yoga - Key to Better Living

This is an advanced age; an age of nuclear energy and jets.

We think that it has made our lives easier.  After all, don’t we have the radio, the telephone, the television, the wide-screen theatre?  And we also can have luxurious vehicles, or circle the globe in just a few hours.  This is the material progress of science.


Other advances have wiped out epidemics of malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis and many baffling diseases.  Surgery has enabled mankind to substitute new, healthier organs for old, disabled ones.

 Yes, it appears to be a healthier age! But it only appears thus.  In fact, it also brings about worry and, therefore, other of ill-health.

The world is such that we run a regular rat-race in our daily lives, a race against time, against the inroads that all street noises, telephones, work deadlines and newspaper headlines make.  We try to do one better than our neighbor, and fall prey to worry, to new ills.  Heart trouble, ulcers, allergies are common.

Psychological and psychosomatic disorders are the order of the day.  Almost all of us suffer from some such ailments.


And then, as a salvation we dream of running away from all this hoping to find a remote island, a Shangri-la.  We cannot really solve our problems by hiding ourselves as the ostrich hides the head.  There really is no new haven beyond the horizon.  It is all there with you and within you.

What we really want is the return to those qualities which make each one of us a loving calm, warm human being; a respected and liked human being.

And this can be obtained only through yoga.  The key, the only key, to such well-being, to better living, is yoga.  It is the only education for personality integration.




Excerpt & Illustrations from:
Key to Better Living - written & published by The Yoga Institute of Santacruz, Mumbai, India.