March 21, 2009
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
April 25, 2009
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm

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The Ancient Secrets Wellness Center in Pahrump, Nevada will host two screenings on Saturday, March 21st and Saturday, April 25th, both at 6:00 p.m. The screenings are free and open to the public. For more information please contact: Linda Sampson, 775-212-1602.

Ancient Secrets Wellness Center
1230 S. Loop Rd
Pahrump, NV 89048
1-775-727-0999

Map/Directions: Map/Directions: http://tinyurl.com/dfe4yt

August 21, 2008
7:00 pm	to	8:30 pm

I completed Basic Integral Yoga Teacher Training on May 17th and went back to my hometown in Ojai, California to write my business plan for my studio/shop/counseling center.  When I submitted my plan to the bank I gave the banker a copy of “Living Yoga” and said “watch this before you read the plan”.  She watched it and absolutely loved it.  It also helped her understand the importance of what I am trying to bring into our community and she granted the loan!

I have just completed my qualifying class for Intermediate Teacher Training.  I will fly back home and my studio will open on August 22nd.  I plan to advertise a free showing of “Living Yoga” for the grand opening and I am feeling excited about bringing Swami Satchidananda’s teachings and Integral yoga to our area.

Screening:  Friday at 7:00 p.m., August 22nd
at:  52 Weeks of Peace, 960 E. #52 Ojai Avenue, Ojai CA 93023

Contact:  Prashanthi (Shareen)  805-746-2341      Email:

The New York premiere of Living Yoga, hosted by the Jivamukti Yoga School, raised a large sum of money for The Farm Sanctuary. In honor of Sri Gurudev, the New York Integral Yoga Institute donated the proceeds, $4,500, to the organization that rescues and advocates on behalf of farm animal, with sanctuaries in New York and California.

At the end of April 2008, I took Dr. Mala Cunningham’s Cardiac Yoga® course in Charlottesville. That Saturday, a group of us drove down to Yogaville.

I took the course so that I would be better able to put together a pilot study we’re planning to do at the hospital here in Greenville, North Carolina. I’m working with the hospital’s Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehab Center to put the program together. It will consist of 10 sessions each 90 minutes long and will focus on rehab patients who have completed their rehab sessions. Initially we want to see if certain functions continue to improve, to see if the participants will participate and do their assignments regularly, and for us to get practice in running these classes. At this point I’m primarily interested in using LIVING YOGA’s “Healing With Yoga” section of the DVD in our first meeting and then using Richard Cripe’s account of his experiences in dealing with heart disease in the second session. I think that these two sections are very powerful.

Thank you so much for allowing us to use the DVD for this purpose.

Don English

This informal advice is offered by Karuna Kreps, following her experience with a showing in Austin, TX.

After watching the film, people asked if they could buy books and many wanted to buy the DVD.

I wished I had downloaded the press kit from the website and printed it out so people could have looked through it. Ideally, one could produce a PDF of a program for the film.

Collect email addresses from those who would like to to hear more from Integral Yoga. If you have a local mailing list, you can invite them to join that list and also invite them to subscribe to Weekly Words of Wisdom. If you type up and send a list of the email addresses to [email protected] with the subject SUBSCRIBE, we will send an invitation to each person to get the weekly mailing). If you don’t have a local mailing list, you can easily set one up on yahoogroups.com and send invitations to each person who signs the list.

Welcome the audience, thank them for coming and to introduce the film. You may want to say:

LIVING YOGA: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda is a film written and co-produced by Joshua M. Greene and directed and co-produced by Shiva Kumar. It is presentation of Stories to Remember and Integral Yoga International.

Let people know they can learn more about the film and order a copy from LivingYogaMovie.org. Thank the hosts of the venue. Introduce the organizers of the screening and the Integral Yoga teachers who are present. You may want to mention where people can learn more about Swami Satchidananda and the teachings he offered. Have printed flyers that say:

You can learn more about Swami Satchidananda and his teachings by visiting these sites:

http://yogaandpeace.org ( a portal to all things having to do with Integral Yoga)
http://iymagazine.org (Subscribe to this excellent, quarterly print journal, Integral Yoga Magazine. Receive four advertising-free issues each year for just $25)
http;//livingyogamovie.org (more info about the film, including a complete press kit and trailers. Please tell your friends about how they can order the film themselves)
http://swamisatchidananda.org (a site all about the Guru and his teachings)
http://lotus.org (a site all about the Light of Truth Universal Shrine, which was conceived of and built by Swami Satchidananda)
http://shakticom.org (order books, DVDs and tapes by Swami Satchidananda and others)

Subscribe to weekly words of wisdom
Send email with the subject SUBSCRIBE to [email protected]

Film director Joshua Greene answers questions after the screening.

Brahmi Romero, Joshua Greene, and Paul Orum (Chairman of the Yoga Center Board)

IYTA member Christine Brahmi Romero, director of the St. Mark’s Yoga
Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC., hosted a premiere on May
15th as part of its 30th Anniversary Celebration. The screening of
the film was followed with a discussion with filmmaker Joshua M. Greene.

Brahmi reports:

Our screening went well. Everyone was very moved by the film and
asked such wonderful questions of Joshua at the end. His responses
were amazingly informative and inspiring. He is a truly wonderful
man and we very much enjoyed meeting him.

People were very impressed by the film and the message of Integral
Yoga and Gurudev. As one of the audience members said last night to
Joshua, thank you so much for the service to all that this film
represents.

Seeing the film on “the big screen” was even more impressive. I think
my favorite part of the film is Dr. Amrita’s explanation of the
Integral Yoga class. She is so clear in her description.

Several people sought me out afterward to ask specifically about
taking IY classes. One young woman wants to go to Yogaville for
Teacher Training.

In July, we will do another screening at a local arts venue. (check
back on our event calendar for details)

Saturday, April 26th, Living Yoga premiered at A.R.E., the Edgar
Cayce center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The program opened with a kirtan led by Shastri Dilip Upadhyay,
priest of the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads, Chesapeake, VA, formerly
a resident of Mahatma Gandhi’s Ashram in India who has been
conducting pujas and aratis daily at the Temple and leads bhajans
every Sunday morning, since 1996. He played the harmonium accompanied
by Ancil Patel on tabla. Two other members joined to provide vocals.
This was all organized by Integral Yoga teachers Bhavani & Shankara
Osborn.

Then, Dr. Graham Schweig (who appears in the film) introduced the
film, which was followed by a panel discussion that also included
Swami Priyaanandaji from Yogaville and Dr. Sandra (Amrita) McLanahan
(also from Yogaville), who is featured in the film. Dr. Schweig
reported that:

“The premiere tonight was just great. The house was full and then
some. Packed! Good questions and comments from the audience. I would
say that it was more successful than anyone could have anticipated.
Sri Swamiji has a way of drawing people together, and this was seen
by tonight’s event. Everyone loved the film. The audience is drawn
into his mystique and approachable nature. All in all, it went over
just beautifully! Congratulations on a production that is so
attractive.”

The monks are from the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in VA Beach.

An electronic press kit is now available for download from this website. See the menu choice in the column on the left of every page. If you know someone in the media who might be able to publicize the film, please direct them to this press kit. Thank you.

Here is an example of what one Yoga teacher, Richard Cripe (who is featured in the film) is doing to promote Yoga in a local university in conjunction with the release of the film, Living Yoga. I hope it will inspire you to copy the approach in your communities. He included as an attachment the film’s press kit.

Partnership Proposal

Summary

Satchidananda Ashram (Yogaville) is interested in partnering with the University of Virginia’s Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures to provide a day-long seminar on Yoga philosophy, practice and the teachings of Integral Yoga’s founder, H. H. Sri Swami Satchidananda. In terms of scheduling, one option would be to schedule the event shortly before the beginning of final examinations this semester and in coordination with the world-wide release of the documentary “Living Yoga: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda.” Alternately, the event could be scheduled in September, 2008. The seminar would be open to UVA students and the general public. The seminar would include various lectures on Yoga philosophy and workshops on meditation, Integral Hatha Yoga, yogic breathing practices (Pranayama) and a screening of the documentary, Living Yoga. All sessions would be taught or moderated by senior monks and instructors from the Ashram. Advertising would be provided by the Ashram and the University. The University would make available the required physical facilities.

Background

In 2006, Integral Yoga International (www.yogaandpeace.org) celebrated its 40th anniversary. The focus has been on providing venues for education regarding Yoga and the teachings of Integral Yoga’s founder, H. H. Sri Swami Satchidananda (see Attachment I biography) and the principles of peace, selfless service and healthful and balanced living. One major initiative in this regard has been the development of a feature documentary, “Living Yoga” (livingyogamovie.org). Note Attachment II for a review of this documentary by Yoga + Joyful Living magazine. The documentary includes footage and interviews with Dr. Mehmet Oz, Larry King, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Dean Ornish, Rabbi Gelberman, Brother David Steindl-Rast and others influenced by Swami Satchidananda and his teachings. As a culmination of our year-long effort, it is our desire to release this documentary in all major cities in the U.S. And in the several countries throughout the world where Integral Yoga centers are located. The creation of a day-long event of education and the practical applications of Yoga is consistent with our mission of education and sharing the tools of Yoga for healthier, happier and less stressful living.

Contacts:

Rev. Prem Anjali, Ph.D. 434-969-1420 [email protected]

Richard G. Cripe 434-361-1124 [email protected]

Attachment I

H. H. Sri Swami Satchidananda (Sri Gurudev) is respected worldwide as one of the major pioneers of the interfaith movement and as one of the most respected Yoga Masters of our time. Sri Gurudev’s teachings and spirit guide us toward a life of peace and to religious harmony among all people. Invited to come to the West in 1966, Sri Gurudev was quickly embraced by young Americans looking for lasting peace during the turbulent 1960′s. In 1969, he opened the Woodstock Festival. The peaceful atmosphere that prevailed throughout the event was often attributed to his message and blessings.

Sri Gurudev was ordained as a monk in 1949 by his master, His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Maharaj, founder of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. From the beginning of his spiritual service, Sri Gurudev was a leader in the interfaith movement. His motto, “Truth is One, Paths are Many,” is an essential part of his teachings.

Sri Gurudev founded and is the guiding light for Integral Yoga® International. Integral Yoga, as taught by Sri Gurudev, combines various methods of Yoga, including Hatha Yoga, selfless service, meditation, prayer, and a 5,000-year-old philosophy that helps one find the peace and joy within. Today more than 50 Integral Yoga Institutes and Integral Yoga Teaching Centers throughout the United States and abroad offer classes and training programs in all aspects of Integral Yoga.

In 1979, Sri Gurudev was inspired to establish Satchidananda Ashram—Yogaville®. Based on his teachings, it is a place where people of different faiths and backgrounds can come to realize their essential oneness. Yogaville is the home of The Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS). This unique interfaith Shrine honors the Spirit that unites all the world religions, while celebrating their diversity. People from all over the world come there to meditate and pray.

For more than fifty years, Sri Gurudev sponsored interfaith worship services and conferences. His teachings advocate respecting and honoring all faiths and he was invited to share his message of peace with many world leaders and dignitaries. Over the years, Sri Gurudev received many honors for his public service. Among recent awards: the 1994 Juliet Hollister Interfaith Award presented at the United Nations and in April 2002 the prestigious U Thant Peace Award. In addition, he served on the advisory boards of many world peace and interfaith organizations.

Sri Gurudev is the author of many books, including Integral Yoga Hatha, To Know Yourself, The Living Gita, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and The Golden Present. He is the subject of three biographies, Apostle of Peace, Portrait of a Modern Sage, and Boundless Giving. Many more books, CDs and DVDs of Swami Satchidananda’s teachings can be found at Shakticom – Integral Yoga Multimedia – www.Shakticom.org.

Attachment II

Review of Living Yoga: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda

Published in Yoga + Joyful Living Magazine

March-April 2008

Integral Yoga founder Swami Satchidananda became known as the “Woodstock guru” after giving the opening address to 500,000 people at the 1969 music festival. Amidst the upheaval of the ‘6os, he taught how to find inner peace and contentment through yoga and meditation. This enjoyable documentary—divided into five sections: asanas, nature, balance, wellness, and interfaith—takes us on a whirlwind tour of his life and teachings, with video footage and stories from a few of the people whose lives he touched: Peter Max, Felix Cavaliere, Dr. Oz, Dr. Dean Ornish, Rabbi Gelberman, Brother David Steindl-Rast, as well as his senior monks and ashram residents. Lively, informative, and inspirational, Living Yoga is a lovely tribute to a highly revered yogi of the 20th century.

—Irene Petryszak

Please spread the word about screenings, offer your assistance, and join in. Many of the screenings will include after film discussions and some will be larger events in local theaters or universities. Some of the premieres will be benefits for local charities or nonprofits.
For more information about these events, see the individual listings.

If you are able to host a screening, recommend the film for inclusion in an event in your area or for broadcast on a local cable channel in your area, please contact Rev. Prem Anjali at: [email protected]