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My Teachers
Over the past twelve years, I have had some pretty amazing yoga instructors and it would be very difficult to
mention all of them here, but I will list a few who stand out from the rest, in order to give you an idea who
has shaped me yogically and influenced me and my teaching.
Of course my guru, Swami Sivananda, has had the biggest impact on me. By studying at his ashrams in India and
through his many books, he has guided me even if indirectly in my deep, spiritually enlightened path or Sadhana.
I also continue to be inspired by his disciple, Swami Vishnu Devananda, to do asanas and meditate regularly. I
am definitely a better person thanks to these two great men and if I could change with their help, then so can
you!
The yoga instructor who influenced me the most in the Western World was Irena Strelow in Berlin. She encouraged
me to do a yoga teacher´s traineing course in the first place.
As I go to India every year to learn and experience authentic yoga in its true sense I would like to tell you
about three of my Indian teachers who have especially helped me in different ways to progress in yoga over the
years.
Bharath Shetty, a young man I met originally in Kerala who is now located in Mysore, teaches an eclectic mix of
yoga styles and really leads an exemplary life according to the ancient texts in the Bhagavad Gita. He is
confident, yet modest and although he is quite young, he has much experience and is very proficient. Bharath
has a positive attitude towards teaching and you can tell he enjoys what he does very much.
Sheshadri, an Ashtanga yoga teacher, oversaw the three-week course I attended at the Mysore Mandala in Mysore.
The Ashtanga Yoga Mysore Method was quite new for me and I was greatly impressed by Sheshadri´s deep commitment
to teaching and his dedication to yoga. His warm and playful character made doing asanas fun and his generosity
and hospitality were very welcome.
What can I say about Rakesh in the holy city of Varanasi? The pictures here speak for themselves. I was lucky
to participate in a daily one-on-one intensive course up on Rakesh´s rooftop which has an awe-inspiring view of
the Ganges river. Rakesh and I practiced asanas, mantras and Kriyas together and it became clear to me early on
in our lessons that the millennia-old tradition of passing down yoga from father to son was healthy and taking
place right under my nose. Even Rakesh´s youngest son was proficient in singing mantras, meditating and of
course doing fantastic asanas as seen here in the photos.
Yogiraj Rakesh Pandey.
contact No-home- +915422275797
cell/mobile:-+919415817882
Address
B 4/35, Hanuman Ghat Varanasi-1
U.P. India.
Being able to share in Bharat´s, Sheshadri´s and Rakesh´s family life provided me with an invaluable and rare
view of yoga in practice and I am grateful to them for their generosity.
Prahlad
My latest yoga instructor whose teaching I enjoyed and profited by was a trainer at the Sivaanada ashram in
Kerala India in March 2008: Prahlad. He taught us asanas two hours twice daily and although he was very strict,
he taught us with devotion, energy and humour which you can see in this picture. One day we were visited by the
students of a yoga institute for children and Prahlada presented us with the youngest member of the yoga school
for children before they began with their demonstration.
Many people ask me why I go to India every year to do yoga.
They always say that India is so loud and chaotic.
They say that there is so much material poverty everywhere.
They say that India is so far away and you can continue to learn more about yoga here in the West.
But I try to explain to them that the yogic qualities which I need to learn and aspire to, can only be found in
India where there is a highly charged spiritual energy floating freely and abundantly. In a place where highly
developed yogis like Sat Guru Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnu-Devananda and Mahatma Ghandi lived and created
great influence.
"Be the change yourself, that you wish for this world." - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
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Bharath and Dale in Mysore
Sheshadri adjusting a student at the Mysore Mandala
Rakesh's rooftop in Varanasi facing the Ganges where we did asanas at dawn
Rakesh
Sunrise on the Ganges
Rakesh in front of his yoga studio
Rakesh's youngest son
My yoga teachers in the ahsram in 2010, Udayan and Janaki. jill_stock@hotmail.com |
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