FROM Hawaii to Japan, yoga fans gathered in north India to take part in courses and classes by renowned teachers in Rishikesh, by the foot of the Himalayas.
Some 600 participants from 50 countries are being taught yoga and listening to discourses by spiritual leaders at the International Yoga Festival in Parmarth Niketan in north India. Its spiritual head, His Holiness (HH) Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji (HH Pujya Muniji), said the festival, which is growing every year, is a “wonderful way to show that this holy land of Uttarakhand is both safe and sacred”.
HH Pujya Muniji said: “The International Yoga Festival is not only a festival of yoga, but the festival itself is ‘yoga,’ a union of North and South, East and West, a union of countries, cultures, creeds and colors, coming together to imbibe the divine nectar of yoga on the banks of Mother Ganga and the sacred Himalayas."
At the inauguration of the festival last Saturday (March 1), there were talks by some yogacharyas, among them Laura Plumb of San Diego, USA; Gabriela Bozic of Germany, Deepika Mehta of Mumbai and Tommy Rosen of Los Angeles.
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan said: “People come from all over the world, drawn by the power, the divine shakti of Mother Ganga. Otherwise, one can learn yoga in any city of any country across the globe. Why come here? Because there is a divine, sacred, holy energy here which pulls people from every corner of the Earth. In other parts of the world one must "practice" yoga and meditation. Here, by the grace of Mother Ganga, yoga and meditation just happen automatically."
There are classes from 4 am until 9.30 pm with participants performing Kundalini Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Bharat Yoga, Deep Yoga, Shintoh Yoga and Somatics Yoga as well as lessons in meditation, mudras and reiki.
Cultural programmes, including dance and music performances, are also part of the festival.
Last Friday (February 28), on the occasion of the Indian festival of Mahashivratri, participants took part in a special prayer, and also remembered those who lost their lives and livelihood in the tragic Uttarakhand floods last year.
Jenny Flynn, age 32, Brighton, UK: “I am opening my mind in the foothills of the Himalayas with so many great people, in such a beautiful place. It’s wonderful.”
