Rishi Culture Yoga

[Guest guest]

Dear Ananda,

Namastey

 

Happy New Year!

 

For some time now, I have been quietly `listening in' with great

interest to all the comments and discussions on this site, between

teachers with much greater knowledge, wisdom and experience than I.

 

As a student teacher with only two years teaching experience, I feel

quite shy about making a contribution. However, a recent unsettling

experience (in yoga) has prompted me to do so now. At first I wasn't

sure how to react to this experience, so I decided to `sit on it' for

a while, and having done that, have decided that instead of speaking

of this experience, I would speak of a positive one which is

directly opposite to it.

 

I would like to speak in praise of Sonia Allen-Wall who is a most

gifted yoga teacher, and exponent of Gitananda Yoga. I joined

Sonia's yoga classes quite soon after Swamiji had passed away. At

this time, Sonia was quite distressed, and spoke about him movingly.

For me, that was when Swami Gitanda came alive. His presence is

strongly felt in all Sonia's classes, especially at the

pranayama/philosophy classes which are held at her own home in Shap,

Cumbria.

 

After many years of teaching, Sonia's classes are always fresh and

interesting, and full of fun. What has made the biggest impression

on me though, is her total commitment to passing on the teachings and

the values of Swamiji. When I started the `Step by Step'

correspondence course, I quickly realised how much she adheres to

his teachings.

 

Thanks to Sonia, Rishi Culture Yoga is definitely alive and well in

this part of England.

 

A while ago, Sri Bala (on group mail) wondered how much/little

Gitananda pranayama is practised beyond the ashram. I would just

like to respond to this by saying we do practise it here (and

experiment) on a regular basis, and benefit greatly from it. In fact

I believe it once saved my life. I had a severe internal haemorrhage

after abdominal surgery, and was transferred by ambulance from one

hospital to another, unable to breathe at all with the lower and

middle lobes of my lungs. For the whole ½ hour journey, I could

only breathe by `sipping' air into the uppermost parts of my lungs –

and I kept calm throughout! I know that this was due to practise of

lobular breathing.

 

Finally, I would like to say how happy I am to be a member of the

Gitananda Yoga Society in England. Well done! and thank you to

Kalavathi for setting it up.

 

Yours in yoga

Sue.