The second day of the Internationa Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan began from 4:00 am and lasted til 9:30 pm with more than 70 revered saints, yogacharyas, presenters and experts teaching 150 offerings throughout the week.

The beautiful morning began with 4:00 am Kundalini Sadhana by Gurushabd Singh Khalsa followed by the pre-breakfast classes including: Kundalini Yoga with Bijay Anand, Osho Dynamic Meditation by Chandanni Miglino and Chris Miglino of Los Angeles, USA, traditional hatha ashtanga yoga with Sadhvi Abha Saraswati and recovery from addiction through yoga by Tommy Rosen of California, USA.

Tommy Rosen said, “”Feelings left unprocessed are buried alive! They will act as an energetic blockage to the happiness and health of an individual. Later, if left unprocessed, these energetic blockages will cause a variety of emotional and physical symptoms, which will get more and more serious unless the person shifts onto a path of healing. The minute you start to look away from discomfort, pain and trauma is the minute you allow the seeds of addiction to be planted. We habitually avoid the present moment. That has become our addiction. In the final analysis, we are primarily addicted to looking away.”

After breakfast, the morning intense asana classes took place with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa of California, USA teaching Kundalini yoga, Jules Febre of New York, USA teaching Jivamukti Yoga, as well as CM Bhandari, former ambassador to Poland and UAE, originally of Ranikhet region of Uttarakhand,
India teaching the Marma chikitsa. Laura Plumb of San Diego, USA taught Hanuman Namaskar – including asana, mantra and kirtan.

While teaching Hanuman Namaskar, Laura Plumb explained: “As the Son of Vayu, Hanuman represents the power of prana, and the power of a mind turned inward to the light of the heart. Focus your mind on that light within, and breathe into that power. Feel your divine self alive and true.”

At 11:00am, more yoga classes continued, including Shinto Yoga, a therapeutic practice that blends Hatha Yoga with Japanese ancient Shinto techniques, taught by Hikaru Hashimoto from Japan. Kia Miller from Los Angeles, USA led a beautiful Kundalini yoga class, and Sharon Gannon, the founder of Jivamukti Yoga from NY, USA taught Jivamukti Yoga.

After enjoying their lunch in the sunshine, some highlights of the afternoon included a talk on naturopathy by Andrea Paige from Bali, Indonesia, meditation by Maa Gyaan Suveera of India, a special talk by Rujuta Diwekar, bestselling author, famous nutritionist and dietician to the stars, titled “Mitahar – the yama of eating,”Diwekar, classical Hatha Yoga with Sadhvi Abha Saraswati and Indu Sharma and Kundalini Yoga with Sukhmandir Singh Khalsa.

Rujuta spoke passionately and convincingly about the correct way of eating which is the exact opposite of the deprivation and restriction so many “diets” espouse. Rujuta explained: “It is so important to bring back the lost wisdom about food. Yoga inspires us to eat local, seasonal, fresh food using timeless recipes handed down from one generation to another.

This allows us to have both the inner and outer environments in a state of balance and harmony, bringing us closer to the very purpose of yoga.” Her talk was hugely popular and everyone walked away looking at their daily menus and their relationship with food in a brand new way.

Quotations from participants:

Chuck Lazaro Hipo, from the Philippines said: “Yoga in the Philippines is mostly asana based. I’m here to learn and be with yogis from the Source of Yoga who have a more spiritual view, and ask them questions about how yoga can solve things like health, poverty, etc.”

Viktoria Ahlman – Sweden: “I came here looking for something and I have already found out that what I am looking for is within me. Now, I can just enjoy the moment and the great festival.”

Caroline S. Kell, USA: “The Yoga Festival is blissful, inspiring, and heart opening…It is really like coming home, to the home of our hearts!”

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