Photos from Workshops in 2009

Photos from Workshops and Retreats held in 2009

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Upcoming Workshops

A brief overview of Prasad’s schedule for the year 2010. Various workshops and retreats have been scheduled in Belgium, Austria, Hong Kong and India and still more are being planned. Further information and details will be made available on the website as and when more workshops and retreats are confirmed.

DATES	PLACE	TOPIC	FURTHER INFO
6 to 12 February	Cherai Beach Resort, Kochi, Kerala (India)	Yoga & Stress Management	Status: Fully booked
25, 26 February	Singapore	Yoga – Detox and Purify	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
20, 21 March	HongKong	Deeper into Yoga	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
15, 16 May	Munich (Germany)	Self-Transformation Through Yoga	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
18 to 20 May	Bergen (Norway)	Yoga workshop in Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, www.nerse.no	Status: Fully Booked
29, 30 May	Mediterana Luxury Health Spa, Cologne (Germany)	Yoga – Detox and Purify	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
4 to 6 June	Ayurveda Verein – Nexenhof (Austria)	Yoga Nidra Seminars	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
10 to 13 June	Ayurveda Verein – Vienna (Austria)	Yoga Tantra Retreat	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
19, 20 June	Yogakula – Vienna (Austria)	Yoga Workshop	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
22, 25 June	www.santosha.be	Hip Opener Workshop	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
26, 27 June	European Commission – Belgium	Transformation Yoga Workshop	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
2 to 4 July	Prague (Czech Republic)	Yoga Retreat	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
10, 11 July	Athens, Greece	The Art of Self-healing through Yoga and massage	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
15 to 27 July	Israel	Yoga Workshops and retreat with Israeli Yoga Teachers Association	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
30 July to 8 Aug	Koh Samui – Thailand	Yoga Vacation – Retreat, Relax, Recharge	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in
30, 31 Oct	Bangkok – Thailand	Speaking engagement at the Yoga Journal – Yoga Conference	Write to yoga@yogaprasad.in

Missing Tools

(Retreat account of a dedicated Yogini)

The answers and the tools for life exist for each and every one of us. However it can be challenging to find them from our minds. Sometimes there are people who come into our lives and see the answers and needed tools more clearly than we do. Then we need the courage to stop and be open-minded for the changes.

I am deeply grateful to Prasad. In his retreat he helped me to find my missing tools for life. There began the real development of self-knowledge towards a stronger balance and genuine love.

I realized many things in Prasad’s retreat in Finland. One of the main insights was that in my life, I had great deal of memories, people and things that I had not accepted. Without noticing I had in my mind a huge, energy-consuming war going on – just because I could not accept those things. I had built a huge wall between myself and others. Loneliness seemed to me a safe choice but the wall also took enormous energy, as well as closed behind it many interesting possibilities. In the retreat I found my internal courage and strength and the wall – now useless – began to break down. At the same time, I got a stronger grip on my own life.

It’s been incredible to see the huge change in life which results from cleansing the mind, the body and the environment. I was able to identify the greatest problems in my life from which the other problems emerged. Ever since the retreat I’m working daily on those issues. Day by day I feel stronger and more complete, both psychologically and physically. I have learned to draw my own lines, believing in myself and my strength, loving and nurturing myself, and hence also the others. You need courage to abandon yourself to the driving force of life.

Prasad spoke to us a lot about saving and targeting energy. His advice has been of tremendous benefit. The more I observe and control my thoughts (their quality, quantity, direction) the more I have energy for other things. Now I begin my day calm, focused and present, with yoga.

When you get a great insight, it is always a new opportunity. In the retreat I got a lot of insights. When you truly realize the power of acceptance and release, in life you open the doors for light. I even got out of tobacco, after 12 years of smoking. After the retreat when I got home, I lit a cigarette by old habit. I looked at the cigarette and I asked myself: “Why am I not able to stop?” I remembered what Prasad said in the retreat as a general example: “If you’re a heavy smoker, accept that you smoke, but accept also the fact that it destroys your health.” I understood that I had no other choice than to accept it. So I accepted it and asked myself with all my heart: “Do I really want to damage my precious body in this way?” I realized that no way. I stubbed out the cigarette and wondered what on earth had I done for 12 years. The strangest thing is that it really ended my craving for tobacco. Insight, acceptance, and letting go. I would never have believed quitting to be so easy. When the idea was felt with emotion it turned into a real insight and resulted in action. It is very important what kind of ideas you plant in your mind because they will give you the fruits to harvest in life. The power of thought is unspeakable. Every day is full of possibilities and options.

Yoga Workshops – Bergen, Norway

“We, the staff at the Nansen Center, had the pleasure of being taught Yoga during a week workshop in May 2009 by Prasad. He is an outstanding teacher of Yoga, including motivation. He got us very interested in the wisdom of Yoga, and got us highly motivated to continue doing Yoga, so that we can use Yoga in our work and science, which includes important problems dealing with climate and global warming.”

- Ola M. and Bente E. Johannessen
Leaders of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center,
affiliated with the University of Bergen, Norway

Gratitude

Two weeks ago, in India we celebrated the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the elephant God. This particular deity has always been very special for me for various reasons, primarily because of His appearance; He is the wise one whose head is that of an elephant and the rest of the body of a human. As a child He was an object of curiosity and wonderment. Just like me He is the favorite of everyone, especially the little children.

Lord Ganesh is invoked prior to all occasions. He is the source of confidence and strength, it is said that invoking Lord Ganesh takes care of all the obstacles in the path of any desired course of action.

The most important and beautiful part of this invocation is expressing gratefulness for existence. That’s why in India everything has become a deity, the Sun, the Stars, the wealth and the wisdom, all essential components of life are worshiped as deities. The reason behind this was always to be grateful for what IS and for what you have, and my short note today revolves around this topic. The essentiality of “Being grateful”. Read more…

Asana of the fortnight : Parivratta Janu Sirshasana

Step-by-step
Sit on the floor with right leg extended at 45 degrees outwards facing the corner of the room and the left leg folded so that the heal is in front of the perineum.
Extend the right hand and hold the right big toe, bring the right elbow either to the floor in front of the right knee or keep the elbow on the right knee depending on level of flexibility.
Raise the left arm up and stretch the arm towards the sky.
Slowly and with awareness bring the left hand closer to the right foot, so that the left elbow is pointing towards the sky.
See to it that you open up the rib cage by pushing the shoulder blades back and looking upwards.
Breath deeply and normally.
Retain the posture for 10 deep breaths.
Repeat on the other leg.

Benefits
Deeply stretches the sides of the body
Removes lethargy from the lower part of the body
Helps in developing hip flexibility

Video of the Month – September 2009