Guest guest Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 YOGA FOR EDUCATORS By Yogacharya Dr ANANDA BALAYOGI BHAVANANI M.B.B.S, A.D.Y, D.S.M, D.P.C, P.G.D.F.H CHAIRMAN: International Centre for Yoga Education and Research (ICYER), and Yoganjali Natyalayam, 25, 2nd Cross, Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry –13. ------------ A paper presented at the 2nd International Seminar on integral Yoga Psychology organised by the Pondicherry Psychology Association on 8th January 2005------------------------ Abstract: Yoga is the science of right-use-ness that teaches us to do the right thing at the right time and in the right way. This is an important aspect of education both for the students as well as the educators themselves. The word “Instruction” contains mostly the word “structure”, hence, when one speaks of teaching Yoga, one must realize that a large part of the teaching involves creating a proper structure. The proper structure for learning Yoga is neither in a gymnasium nor a classroom, but in a natural setting. If Yoga is to be taught through the educational system, the proper structure must first be created: a natural, clean, open, airy space, with plenty of trees, birds and fresh air and quietude. If this structure is not available, at least occasionally the students should be taken to parks, riversides, mountains, and the seaside to experience Yoga in a natural setting as practiced by our ancient Rishis. Yoga is first and foremost, a science of living naturally. Yoga is also the science of “educe-ment” – and the ability of the teacher to “draw out latent potentialities” is a true measure of the educationalist’s quality. Alas! Our modern educational system does the opposite! It “stuffs in” – useless facts and useless figures which most students are unable to digest. Yoga is the perfect medicine for this “educational indigestion”, if it is properly taught. As any good educationalist knows, the very best teaching method is through example, for the example shows the possibility of the theory proposed. Hence, I am attempting to present a model, which could be used as a prototype and adapted to various circumstances. Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri used numerous methods to create an interest and aptitude for Yoga amongst youth of Pondicherry and my attempt is to elucidate these methods and point out the success of this particular style of Yoga teaching for youth. --------------- Pondicherry is one of the most Yoga-literate States in India and perhaps, in the entire world. Hundreds of Yoga Schools exist in this relatively small town with a population of less than a million. Hundreds of Yoga teachers are working, in various schools, health centres, gyms and even in beauty shops. The Pondicherry Tourism Department is the only Government agency in the world to sponsor an Annual International Yoga Festival every year since 1993, attended by delegates from all over the world. The main credit for this extensive and enthusiastic interest in Classical Yoga goes to Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri, who for seventy of his eighty-seven years was one of the great propagators of India’s Yogic heritage both here and abroad. Swami Gitananda codified the classical Ashtanga Yogic tradition, learned in nine-years of study in the Gurukula of his master Swami Kanakananda. Swami Gitananda elaborated that system by structuring it in a scientific, rationale manner and giving medical explanations for all the practices. Swami Gitananda Giri was a world acknowledged authority on Yoga and was called by many, “The Father of Scientific Yoga”. He had written more than thirty books on Yoga, but the jewel amongst them is the comprehensive YOGA: STEP BY STEP, which is a fifty-two lesson Correspondence Course. Swami Gitananda founded a worldwide organization Yoga Jivana Satsangha (International) in 1968 and established its head quarters in Pondicherry, India. There are now 130 centres of this style of Yoga known as “Rishi Culture Ashtanga Yoga” (Gitananda Yoga) in twenty-three countries. Swami Gitananda had trained Yoga teachers in this lineage in a Six Month Intensive Residential Course held from October 2 to March 25, every year without a break, since its inception in 1968. Swami Gitananda had a great and deep love for children. One of his most beloved projects was the establishment of a programme to train local children in the art of Yoga. He included in this programme Bharat Natyam and Carnatic Music, both vocal and instrumental. He considered these South Indian cultural arts as Yogic-disciplines. He began this work in 1970 and this programme was expanded and developed into the Sri Kambliswamy Yoga and Cultural Arts Youth Programme in 1975. Nearly 1000 youth from Pondicherry and near-by villages participated in classes in Yoga, and the cultural arts on a weekly basis, also freely receiving food, medicine, educational aid and clothing. That programme continues even today, in an extended and refined form, under the name Yoganjali Natyalayam. Hundreds of young people, many from impoverished backgrounds, are now professional Yoga teachers, Bharat Natyam artists and Carnatic classical musicians, both in Pondicherry and abroad. It can be safely said that nearly every native Pondicherrian practicing classical Yoga in Pondicherry today, has either been trained directly through the work of Swami Gitananda, or by those trained by him, or at-least, inspired to the practice of Yoga by his work and example. Such was his immense impact that even today 11 years after his Maha Samadhi (December 29, 1993) his name is recalled with great gratitude even by our political leaders on public stages. For the purpose of this paper, the proceeding background was necessary, for Swami Gitananda had evolved a very unique, enthralling method of presenting Yoga concepts to youth, which made the ancient science not only highly enjoyable, but also immensely practical. Everything he taught was rooted in classical Yoga concepts and principles, and buttressed by solid medical and psychological facts. Yet, the youth loved their Yoga classes and flocked to them in hundreds, even thirty years ago, when the concepts of Yoga were still obscure for the average Indian. Swamiji used many devices to lure the minds and hearts of children to Yoga. He pioneered the concept of Yoga Sport that gives incentive to the physical practice and helps develop stage confidence and poise. He encouraged the performance of Yoga Dramas and Yoga skits. He taught the youngsters how to create Yoga Asana tableaus, with several of them in different postures to create beautiful visual pictures with their bodies. These tableaus were used as featured presentations at Yoga lectures, Yoga Conferences and social and religious events. He trained the young ones as Yogasana demonstrators, and thus gave them valuable personality training. He took the most talented amongst them all over India on pilgrimage and for programmes. He devised many kinds of “Yoga play” and “games” which taught the youth the intricate Yoga concepts in an easy and understandable manner. His Ashram was a beautiful natural oasis, filled with trees, animals, (a mini zoo) even a swimming pool in which children learned to dive and swim. He created the proper environment, first and foremost, in which Yoga could be and should be taught. The word “Instruction” contains mostly the word “structure”, Hence, when one speaks of teaching Yoga, one must realize that a large part of the teaching involves creating a proper structure. The proper structure for learning Yoga is neither in a gymnasium nor a classroom, but a natural setting. If Yoga is to be taught through the educational system, the proper structure must first be created: a natural, clean, open, airy space, with plenty of trees, birds and fresh air and quietude. If this structure is not available, at least occasionally the students should be taken to parks, riversides, mountains, and the seaside to experience Yoga in a natural setting as practiced by our ancient Rishis. Yoga is first and foremost, a science of living naturally. Yoga is also the science of “educe-ment” – and the ability of the teacher to “draw out latent potentialities” is a true measure of the educationalist’s quality. Alas! Our modern educational system does the opposite! It “stuffs in” – useless facts and useless figures which most students are unable to digest. Yoga is the perfect antidote for this “educational indigestion”, if it is properly taught. Swami Gitananda devised many unique methods by which young people were slowly and steadily led to proficiency in the classical Asanas and Pranayamas, with ever-expanding understanding of the true meaning of meditation and a spiritual meaningful life as they matured as human beings. These methods are still being used with great success in his Internationally famous institutes in Pondicherry, now headed by Yogacharini Smt Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani. In 1998, Education Department of the Pondicherry Government, commissioned Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani, Director ICYER to train 100 Physical Education Teachers in Pondicherry Government schools. The one-month long Training Session was intense. It included Hatha Yoga Class: 6 AM to 8 AM. Pranayama, Relaxation and Concentration Practices 11 AM to 2 PM. Theory Classes from 4 PM to 6 PM. These sessions were held daily for one month, with only Sunday holiday. The teachers were given written and practical work during the course. We were pleasantly surprised at the interest and dedication found amongst the physical education teachers, and felt that they were competent at the end of the training to teach basic Yoga practices in their schools. However, we also felt that they would need ongoing training and refresher courses periodically to upgrade their skills. Following this training, most of the physical education teachers gave Yoga classes in their own schools on a regular basis. Some of them become quite active, and even now regularly enter their children in Yoga Sport events or give Yoga demonstrations at Annual Day or Republic Day Parades. On January 1, 2000, Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani in cooperation with the Pondicherry Education in Department and the Tourism Department conducted a spectacular Millennium Sunrise Surya Namaskar Programme in which 3000 school children from 50 Government Schools performed Surya Namaskar in beautiful unison on the Bay of Bengal, as the sun rose, on the New Millennium on January 1, 2000 over the sea. All the Dignitaries of the State, including the Lt. Governor Dr. Rajini Rai witnessed the event. It was telecast nationally and internationally. This event was possible because the 100 Physical Education Teachers trained by Meenakshi Devi each drilled 30 to 50 students in their own school. All were then bused to the beach side of the Bay of Bengal on December 31, 1999 evening and performed in mass the traditional Surya Namaskar as the millennium’s first sun rose! The Secretary Education, Government of Pondicherry, has requested Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani to design a full-time project for implementing Yoga in Government Schools. The project is still at present in the planning stage and if implemented would be a model for similar projects nationwide. This prologue has been written to provide an example for proceeding with the very laudable project before us, to Implement Integral Yoga Education in our Nation’s educational institutions, using the techniques and concepts of our country’s greatest heritage – the Science of Yoga. As any good educationalist knows, the very best teaching method is through example, for the example shows the possibility of the theory proposed. Hence, in this paper I present a model, which could be used as a prototype and adapted to various circumstances. It is not the point of this paper to describe in detail the various methods and techniques which number in hundreds, which Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri used to impart the practices and theories of Yoga to youngsters. This could be done, however, if need arose, and in fact, one student of this Parampara has embarked on that rather ambitious project. It has been my brief, instead, to point out the success of a particular style of Yoga teaching to youth at a community level. CHALLENGES TO BE MET IN YOGA EDUCATION 1. There are many different styles of Yoga, different lineages and Paramparyas being expounded in the world today. Some of the Yoga Schools advocate highly contradictory theories and methods. There is no real uniformity in practice and approach. An expert committee would have to be set up to hammer out an accepted syllabus, and perhaps, a text book-cum-workbook could be written which could be translated in all our country’s languages and followed in all the schools. 2. There is a dire shortage of well-trained, intelligent Yoga teachers. Through our own experience, we found the Physical Education Teachers of Pondicherry capable of teaching Yoga once they were given an intense training. Training centres could be set up in each state and physical education teachers sent to those centres for training. Because such teachers already have some level of fitness and physical awareness as well as experience in teaching, they could be capable of teaching Yoga. Many also have an interest in Yoga. Or, alternatively, well-established Yoga schools could be identified in each state and asked to undertake the project of training Yoga teachers and setting syllabus for their own state. 3. In Pondicherry, we found our Physical Education Teachers complained they had no proper environment for teaching Yoga, not even a room with sufficient space and ventilation. 4. Motivation is a key problem, for the practice of Yoga techniques often meets with stuff resistance, unless the teacher is very skillful. 5. Yoga is a distillation of all that is best in Sanathana Dharma and the concepts of Yoga are found mainly in the Hindu scriptures. Some may object to this. However, this objection may be overcome, by undertaking comparative studies of Bible, Koran, Buddhist and Jain Scriptures. Local language scriptures like the Tirukkural in Tamilnadu and the Granth Sahib in North India may be studied for Yogic content, since it is often said that Yoga is the distillation of the essence of all religions. Yogic Ideas are the basis of all the world’s religions, and the older children could be much benefited by this comparative religion study. MOTIVATION Motivation is essential for Yoga implementation to succeed. Following are some suggestions that will help motivate the students to take up the study of Yoga with seriousness, enthusiasm and interest. 1. Each target school should conduct at least one Yoga Sport competition as well as Yoga essay and elocution competition ever year. 2. The State Government should conduct one annual State Yoga Sport Competition as well as Yoga essay and elocution competitions for all Schools. The winners from each school would be sent to this Competition. This is already being done in the field of Bharat Natyam, Music and Sports. 3. Each target school would have to hold at least three Yoga Lecture Demonstrations in some form each year. These forums could be the School’s Annual Day, Parents Day, and Children’s Day celebrations. 4. Seats in professional courses such as engineering and medicine should have at least one seat reserved for students excelling in Yoga. This reservation of professional seats for Yoga Sport champions is already seen in Karnataka State and in Bengal. Scholarships for excellence in Yoga should also be awarded on the same basis as they are now being awarded to sportsmen, chess champions and dance and music categories. 5. All schools should send a team for participating in the Pondicherry Tourism Department’s YOGA FESTIVAL held every year in January in Pondicherry. 6. Each school should have in its library, or under the control of the Yoga teacher, at least 25 books on the subject of Yoga, both in English and regional languages. These books can be lent to the students to encourage interest. 7. Each school should, at least three times per year, call in a Yoga Expert to give Yoga demonstrations and lectures. ADDITIONAL CONCEPTS 1. At all levels discussion groups should be instituted at least once monthly on the topic of Yoga with reports assigned. 2. Yoga Essays and elocutions should be assigned, especially in ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth standards to encourage creative thinking and expression of Yoga concepts 3. Practical exams should be given. Theoretical exams also should be given. The students will then take things seriously. 4. Regular inspection of classes should be made by Project Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator or Project Consultant. These should be surprise checks as well as scheduled inspections. 5. Students should be motivated to participate in Asana competitions, essay writing competitions, elocution competition on Yoga etc. There are many competitions at state, regional and national level. These could be sponsored by local benefactors. 6. Students should be asked to make stick drawings of all Asanas learned from the sixth standard itself. This will help them remember and serve as reference. They should keep a Yoga notebook, which should also be available for inspection on request. Students should be guided to keep a Yoga diary, which records daily personal practices. 7. Students could be taken on field trips to visit local Yoga centres and see classes in progress. 8. Classes should be of a minimum of one hour each. Less than that nothing can be accomplished. Classes could be held twice a week, after school or if circumstances permit, before regular classes. 9. The project should start with a limited number of schools so its feasibility can be assessed and any problems identified and resolved. 10. Motivation of both the teachers and the students is of prime importance. Art contests with Yoga as its subject can be held also on school and state level. Speech contests and essay competitions on Yoga are important motivational devices. 11. Visits to the school of good Yoga Asana Demonstrators is also an important part of the motivation and training as seeing is learning. Yoga Charts, photos of Yoga Asanas, etc. should adorn the walls of the Yoga classroom. If possible the school should have a room set aside solely for practice of Yoga. It would be highly desirable if each school could set aside a room for meditation for the children, which they could visit whenever they wanted to sit quietly. 12. Students can be given in addition to the syllabus, extra work in the form of preparation for difficult Asanas, which they could work on as projects in their homes. These Asanas could be used for demonstrations, conducting Yoga tableaus, Yogic dramas, Yoga competitions etc. YOGA AND THE EDUCATOR The science and art of Yoga, has for millennia guided man in his search for truth. Even in his personal and social life, Yoga has given him the tools and techniques with which he can find happiness, spiritual realization and social harmony. Various yogic concepts have guided man towards shaping his life and the interpersonal relationships in his social life. Vasudeiva Kudumbakam - The whole world is one family. This is an excellent concept, which helps one to understand that division on the basis of class, creed, religion and geographical distribution are all 'man made' obstructions towards oneness. One can then look upon all as his own and can bond with everyone irrespective of any barrier. Pancha Kosha - The concept of our five sheaths or bodies helps us to understand how all our actions, emotions and even thoughts can influence our surroundings and that "No man is an island". The concept of “Nara” or psychic disassociation helps us to be aware of why things happen to others and us in our daily life. Chaturvidha Purusharthas - The four legitimate goals of life tell us how we can set legitimate goals in this life and work towards attaining them in the right way, following our dharma to attain Artha (material prosperity), Kama (emotional prosperity) and finally the attainment to the real goal of our life, Moksha (spiritual prosperity). Chatur Ashramas - This concept of the four different stages in life, helps us to know how, what and when to perform the various activities in our life. Brahmacharya is the period for study, conserving the creative impulse and channeling it towards elevating spiritual pursuits. Grahasta is the period of responsibility, in which we learn to care about others in the family and the social network, fulfilling our dharma towards both the young and the old. Vanaprastha or retirement is the period when one's life can be played over again and again in the mind with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction having not to worry about anything at all. Sanyasa is the period of life when after performing our duties to the best of our ability and after having attained perfection in life we renounce everything for the Divine. Pancha Klesha: Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (ego), Raaga (attraction), Dwesha (repulsion) and Abinivesha (urge to live at any cost) are the five Kleshas or mental afflictions with which we are born into this human life. Through Yoga we can understand how these control our life and see their effects on our behaviour. These 'Kleshas' hinder our personal and social life and must be destroyed through the practice of Patanjali's Kriya Yoga consisting of Tapas, Swadyaya and Ishwar Pranidhana (Atman Prasadhanam). Nishkama Karma: Selfless action and the performance of our dutywithout any motive, are qualities extolled by the Bhagavad Gita which is one of the main yogic texts. Performing one's duty for the sake of the duty itself and not with any other motive helps us to develop detachment (Vairagya) which is a quality vital for a good life. Karmasu Koushalam: 'Skill in action' is Yoga says Yogeshwar Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. 'To do our best and leave the rest' is how Pujya Swamiji Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj used to describe the best way of life. Even if we don't practice the other aspects of Yoga, we can be 'living' Yoga, by performing all our duties skill fully and to the best of our ability. A great teacher can be a true Yogi by performing doing their duty to perfection and without care for the rewards of the action, even if they do not practice any Asanas or Pranayama. Samatvam: 'Yoga is equanimity ' says the Bhagavad Gita. Development of a complete personality who is neither affected by praise nor blame through development of Vairagya (detachment) leads to the state of "Sthitha Prajna" or "Sama Bhava". This is a state of mind, which is equally predisposed to all that happens, be it good or bad. Such a human is a boon to society and a pleasure to live and work with. Yama –Niyama: The Pancha Yama and Pancha Niyama provide a strong moral and ethical foundation for our personal and social life. They guide our attitudes with regard to the right and wrong in our life and in relation to our self, our family unit and the entire social system. An educator who follows these Yogic principles will be a beacon light (a real dispeller of darkness) to all the students that he educates in his teaching career. Pancha Yama: Ahimsa - Non - violence Satya - truthfulness Asteya - non-stealing Brahmacharya - proper channeling of the creative impulse Aparigraha - non – coveted-ness These are the "do not’s" in our life. Do not kill, do not be untruthful, do not steal, do not waste your god given creativity and do not covet that which does not belong to you. These guide us to say a big "NO" to our lower self and the lower impulses of violence etc. When we apply these to our life we can definitely have better personal and social relationships as social beings. Pancha Niyama Soucha - cleanliness Santhosha - contentment Tapas - discipline Swadyaya - study of one’s-self Ishwar Pranidhana (Atman Prasadhanam) - gratitude to the divine self. The Pancha Niyamas guide us with "DO’S" - do be clean, do be contented, do be disciplined, do self - study (introspection) and do be thankful to the divine for all of his blessings. They help us to say a big "YES" to our higher self and the higher impulses. Definitely a person with such qualities is a Godsend to humanity. Even when we are unable to live the Yama and Niyama completely, even the attempt by us to do so will bear fruit and make each one of us a better person and help us to be of value to those around us and a valuable person to live with in our family and society. These are values, which need to be introduced to the youth in order to make them aware and conscious of these wonderful concepts of daily living, which are qualities to be imbibed with joy, and not learnt with fear or compulsion. Educators can by example show their students the importance of these qualities and when students see the good examples of their teachers living there principles they will surely follow suit sooner than later. Other aspects of Yoga: Living a happy and healthy life on all planes is possible through the unified practice of Hatha Yoga asanas & Pranayamas, Dharana, Dhyana and Bhakti Yoga especially when performed consciously and with awareness. Asanas help to develop strength, flexibility, will power, good health, and stability and thus when practiced as a whole give a person a 'stable and unified strong personality'. Pranayama helps us to control our emotions, which are linked to breathingand the Pranamaya Kosha (the vital energy sheath or body). Slow, deep and rhythmic breathing helps to control stress and overcome emotional hang-ups. Dharana and Dhyana help us to focus our mid and dwell in it and thus help usto channel our creative energy in a wholistic manner towards the righttype of evolutionary activities. They help us to understand our self better and in the process become better humans in this social world. Bhakti Yoga enables us to realise the greatness of the Divine and understand our puniness as compared to the power of the Divine or nature. We realize that we are but 'puppets on a string' following his commands on the stage of the world and then perform our activities with the intention of them being an offering to the divine and gratefully receive HIS blessings. In Conclusion: Yoga is not just performing some contortionist poses or huffing and puffing some Pranayama or sleeping our way through any so-called meditation. It is an integrated way of life in which awareness and consciousness play a great part in guiding our spiritual evolution through life in the social system itself and not in some remote cave in the mountains or hut in the forest. It is therefore fitting to end with Pujya Swamiji Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj's statement that "Yoga is the science and art of right-useness of body, emotions and mind". The Yogi wishes peace and happiness not only for himself, but also for all beings on all the different planes of existence. He is not an “individualist” seeking salvation for only himself, but on the contrary is an "universalist" seeking to live life in the proper evolutionary manner to the best of his ability and with care and concern for his human brethren as well as all beings on all planes of existence. "Om, loka samasta sukhino bhavanthu sarve janaha sukhino bhavanthu Om shanti, shanti, shanti Om" Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani Chairman : Yoganjali Natyalayam and ICYER 25,2nd Cross,Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-605 013 Tel: 0413 - 2622902 / 0413 -2241561 Website: www.icyer.com www.geocities.com/yognat2001/i_am_here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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