YOGA OUTREACH 2023
We started a program of Satyananda Yoga Nidra practices for patients with post intensive care syndrome, in the public hospital (Hospital das Clínicas) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. This hospital is part of a larger comprehensive post-Covid and post- Intensive Care program that has been running since 2019 for patients with critical illnesses. One of its goals is to contribute to disseminating knowledge about the impacts of critical illness and Covid and building a care and support network for affected patients. The Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) is a set of functional, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities acquired or aggravated after a critical illness and treatment in ICU. Both critically ill patients and those with persistent and prolonged post-Covid symptoms manifest this syndrome and require special care, assistance and support.
Student volunteers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais go to the Hospital das Clínicas approximately once a week and offer the recorded practice of Satyananda Yoga Nidra to patients who are willing to try. The practice is offered through recording, taking into account its methodology, thereby preserving its valuable vidya in memory of Sri Swamiji.
We feel that Sri Swamiji left a beautiful legacy for humanity that reaches beyond his time. The centenary belongs to Sri Swamiji, but we are the ones who get the gifts.
When these young people started the project, they had the perspective of both knowing and experiencing the different faces of yoga and producing knowledge about the relationship they established with all the experiences they were going through. Thus, little by little, they were introduced to small experiences of asanas, pranayama, yoga nidra, karma yoga and, therefore, creating a connection and engagement with the dynamics of our environment.
In the same sense, these young people were also invited to create records of what they experienced fortnightly: small texts, photographs, drawings, poems, etc. We encouraged them to become scientists in two senses: first, by unravelling themselves, so that they were scientists of themselves; second, seeking to understand which relationships yoga establishes with the care of the environment and Mother Nature.
It was inspiring to see how they became more aware, balanced, adopting more introspective and less reactive attitudes in their daily lives. They began to merge with the dynamics of Casa do Guru: tidying up the sadhana hall, organizing the kitchen, preparing the collective meal, taking care of the grass and the garden, in short, adopting an attitude of care and attention with the collective through the experience of karma yoga.
Through a partnership with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Minas Gerais (our state), we now have an action plan for our intervention with this youth which, while always maintaining our base of fortnightly meetings here at Casa do Guru, points to an expansion and deepening of the relationship that this youth have had with the notions of ecology, care for Mother Nature and the perception of themselves as part of the whole.
On walks in silence, on trips to waterfalls (especially trips to waterfalls) it seemed that at that moment I managed to find myself. That place brings me such peace and comfort, which I can’t feel at home. The House of the Guru is like a resting place for me, I feel happy being there, it is like all my problems disappear when I am there. At first, it was very different from trying foods, because I thought everything was strange at first, since I wasn’t used to it, but today I love them all!
—Alexandra, 16 years
Since I started attending the project I have adopted new habits such as posture or even organization. It also made me a more sociable and secure person!
I learned a lot about different cultures and even history.
Now, I have a more open mind for everything!
—Eduarda, 14 years
Casa do Guru itself is already the most important thing for me. I’ve always liked yoga, but I didn’t know about its ramifications. I didn’t know I would like it as much as I do now . . .
—Letícia, 17 years
The project in which I am participating has been opening doors in my heart and head, leaving me a person with more discipline, wisdom, organization and making me feel better about myself. Interacting with people I never thought I would be intimate with made me see that when we try to strive for something we succeed, even if it’s a long process. Finding out about yoga on each visit to Casa do Guru and at school was something of great importance because many of the practices and teachings I learned I include in my day-to-day routine.
—Kamila, 14 years
The ‘Ecology of Knowledge’ project changed me a lot in my way of thinking and looking at nature and the things around me. It made me pay attention to the simple things that go unnoticed, but which are extremely exuberant.
—Kaique, 17 years
Since I joined the project, big changes have taken place in my life and in me. With each step we take, with each victory, with each process, self-knowledge and the feeling of doing something meaningful for our community and our planet take hold of me. Gratitude is what I feel most for being part of something of this magnitude. Putting my hands and my ideas into something for all of us is unique. Doing good is something unique. This planet is unique. It’s our only home and I love, with all my heart, belonging to it.
—Cibeli, 17 years
Satya Yatra, pilgrimage towards truthfulness, is a sankalpa for the year 2023, the centenary celebration of the life and work of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. This yatra is also a form of thanksgiving for all the wisdom and inspiration received by us from Sri Swamiji, from his deep experience with yoga and his courage to live spirituality in a practical, simple way, integrated in society and with diverse and sincere expressions of the divine.
Our Satya Yatra started with the Satyananda Yoga community of Brazil, connected to the Satyananda Yoga Center, organizing itself in the translation of the book Mere Aradhya – My Beloved Guru, written by Swami Dharmashakti Saraswati. This project of translation, revision, layout and printing brought a lot of learning and motivation to all involved, because at each stage of the process we clearly saw the participation of a much greater and subtle force, the energy of the Guru, that propelled us to the next steps, breaking the difficulties of each path and increasing our determination to finish the task, which we were able to do in a short time, printing a total of 1008 books in our Portuguese-Brazilian language.
Once the book was printed, we contacted yoga teachers trained by the Satyananda Yoga Center, in different locations in Brazil, to create a travel itinerary and activity program. In each place we set out to go, we offered activities consisting of workshops and Sat Sangas, in which we would also give some practices. In the Sat Sangas we would develop themes such as, Yoga as a path to positive and creative spirituality; Yoga, health and spirituality; Yoga, spirituality and self-care; Yoga, meditation and self-care. In each of the different themes proposed, we would also add a presentation of Swami Satyananda’s life trajectory, his legacy of yoga and his vision of spirituality. We would also offer a copy of the book Mere Aradhya as prasad to each participant. For the workshops we opted for the theme, Yoga, meditation and self-care practices. Having finalized the plans and organization for the first stage of Satya Yatra 2023, we then set off for our marathon. Below we add the list with the places of realization of the Yatras and some images to illustrate the great moments and beautiful experiences that we lived.
February
- Serra do Cipó – Lapinha da Serra – Minas Gerais – Rosmaninhas
- Serra da Moeda – Minas Gerais – Casa do Guru
March
- Vespasiano – Minas Gerais – Casa do Fazer
- Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais – Parque Municipal Ursulina de Andrade Melo
April
- Nova Lima – Minas Gerais – “Marjari – Núcleo de Yoga
- Corumbau – Bahia – “Padma – Espaço Terapêutico
- Ilhéus – Bahia – “Canto das Mangueiras, Medicina e terapias
May
- Cumuruxatiba – Bahia – Atma Jyoti – Espaço de Cura
- Governador Valadares – Minas Gerais – AposVale
- Nova Era – Minas Gerais – Espaço Cultural da Prefeitura Municipal
- Lagoa Santa – Minas Gerais – Escola de Pedagogia Waldorf, Ipê Amarelo
- Nova Serrana – Minas Gerais – Shanti – Yoga e Ayurveda
- Patrocínio – Minas Gerais – Satya Espaço de Yoga
June
- Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais – Casa da Floresta
July
- Serra da Moeda – Minas Gerais – Guru Poornima/Casa do Guru
- Teresópolis – Rio de Janeiro – Ashram Vraja Bhumi
August
- Divinópolis – Minas Gerais – Portal Corpo e Mente
- Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul – Mudra Centro de Yoga