Special Live Panel "What is Seva?" (RECORDING AVAILABLE NOW)

Incredible line up of master teachers of various YOGA branches gather to discuss and share this topic with personal experience and insight: David Swenson, Jai Uttal, Lisa Walford, Mary Taylor & Richard Freeman, with moderator Vikram Jeet Singh.

RECORDING IS AVAILABLE NOW!

Donate as little as $10 a month to access this epic session as well as 150+ YGB's Gratitude Library of top quality yoga asana, mindfulness, kirtan and special sessions.

We will learn historical understanding of "Seva" from the Bhagavad Gita, and how we want to incorporate it into our daily lives. Each master teacher will share her/his interpretation of Seva and how they apply it to their lives and teachings.

From Bhagavad Gita:

"Now listen to the science of God-dedicated, selfless action (Seva), en­dowed with which you will free yourself from all Karmic bondage, or sin. (2.39)

No effort ever goes to waste in selfless service, and there is no adverse effect.
Even a lit­tle practice of this discipline protects one from the cycle of repeated birth and death
Seva, or selfless service, is a beautiful privilege bestowed to us from the divine. It is opportunity by which we can express our gratitude towards the Supreme for all that we have been blessed and further share this unconditional love with the rest of creation. https://www.chinmaya-rdu.org/seva/#:~:text=~%20Bha...

This event is a part of YGB's annual campaign "Global Gathering for India" in June. Your participation will directly empower more than 2400 underserved women and children in India with YGB's micro-loan and education programs. Thank you.

*You will receive ZOOM link upon registration. Replay will be available.

PANELESTS:

David Swenson began his journey of Yoga in 1969 when he and his brother Doug practiced in a small park at the end of their street in Houston, Texas. There were few sources for yoga at that time so they practiced from whatever books they could find. In 1973 David discovered Ashtanga after he met David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff in Encinitas, CA. In 1975 David and Nancy brought K. Pattabhi Jois to the U.S. for the first time and Swenson was fortunate enough to be there. He then initiated studies directly with the master. He made his first trip to Mysore in 1977. David is one of only a handful of Westerners to have learned the full Ashtanga system including all of the asana sequences and pranayama as originally taught by K. Pattabhi Jois. Today David is recognized as one of the world's foremost practitioners and instructors of Ashtanga Yoga. He tirelessly travels year round to teach and offer workshops. His courses are presented in a supportive and compassionate fashion making it accessible to all levels of practitioner to participate.

Jai Uttal, Grammy nominated sacred music composer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist, combines influences from India with influences from American rock and jazz, creating a stimulating and exotic multi-cultural fusion that is truly world spirit music.

Having travelled extensively in India, where he met many great saints and singers, Bhakti Yoga became his personal path. Jai has been leading, teaching and performing kirtan around the world for close to 50 years, creating a safe environment for people to open their hearts and voices.

Jai’s musical journey began at an early age. Growing up in Manhattan, the son of record executive Larry Uttal, he was ideally suited to absorb pop music’s ’50s and ’60s golden age. “Every week my father would bring home the top ten singles and play them for my sister and me, asking for our opinions.” he remembers. “That was just so great. We were surrounded by musicians and producers and even got to witness some timeless recording sessions. One of my great memories was sitting in at the recording of ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.’ by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels! That was just totally amazing.”

Lisa Walford holds a Level III (formerly Intermediate Senior II) Iyengar teaching certificate and has been teaching yoga in Los Angeles since 1982. She continues her studies annually with the Iyengars, in Pune, India, and teaches worldwide.

In her rigorous and technically informative classes, she creates an ambiance of internal focus inspiring to both beginning and advanced students. Through yoga, she continues to explore the introspective process of balancing the physical with the energetic body while deepening her appreciation for the creative spirit. In her words: “Yoga brings us from the finite to the infinite, from pain to purpose and passion, and from disease to discriminating awareness.”

Lisa is on the Board of the not-for-profit organization Iyengar Yoga Therapeuticsand has served on the Board of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Los Angeles. She was the curriculum director for the Teacher Training Program at YogaWorks through 2006, and was instrumental in its development. She is on the advisory board of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and the Yoga Studies program at Loyola Marymount University. Lisa has a BA from UCLA and is co-author of The Longevity Diet, now in its second edition, and The Anti-Aging Plan.

Mary Taylor began studying yoga in 1971, soon after she came home from France with a grande diplôme from Julia Child’s cooking school, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes. She found yoga at first a means of finding equanimity during the stress of University, and it was that thread of balance that got her hooked. It was not until 1988 and finding her primary teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and the Ashtanga Vinyasa system that she experienced the profound and transformative impact that a dedicated and daily practice can have on all aspects of life. She continues to study and practice yoga and Buddhist teachings with great enthusiasm and inquisitiveness, with an eye on how the residue that is produced on the mat (and cushion) through these teachings informs and supports all aspects of everyday life.

Mary travels and teaches with Richard and within the caregiver and hospital setting as part of the Being with Dying program (Upaya Zen Center) and the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Trainings. In 1988 she co-founded with Richard the Yoga Workshop. Mary is also the author of three cookbooks and the co-author of What Are You Hungry For? Women Food and Spirituality (St. Martins Press) and The Art of Vinyasa (Shambhala Publications).

Richard Freeman has been a student of yoga since 1968, beginning with one simple sitting posture in the Zen tradition. He spent nine years in Asia studying yoga asana, Sufism, Sanskrit language, and Indian philosophical texts, contextualizing them within the turbulent political times of that period in history. In 1974 Richard began working with B.K.S. Iyengar, with whom he studied precise alignment principles, applying them to his own internally rooted experience of the forms. Drawing from this variety of contemplative traditions, and from Buddhism, in which he cultivates a deep interest, Richard teaches the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of yoga as taught by his principal teacher, the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India.

Richard’s metaphorical, often humorous, teaching style appeals to students of many backgrounds and nationalities. He teaches workshops and trainings throughout the world and remains an avid student fascinated by the linking points between different traditions and cultures. With Mary, he is the co-founder of the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado; has produced several highly regarded yoga audio and video recordings, and is the author of The Mirror of Yoga and co-author of The Art of Vinyasa (Shambhala Publications).

Moderator

Vikram Jeet Singh is Skilled Yoga Instructor certified in Ashtanga/Vinyasa, Hatha and Yin styles of Yoga with over 11,000 hours of teaching experience. Passionate about sharing these teachings of yoga with practitioners world wide in an accessible and inclusive manner. Deeply committed to preserving the history and wisdom of Yoga and thus providing the offerings from a decolonized lens and an emphasis on practical embodiment.

"Yoga has transformed my life in a multitude of ways by increasing discipline, furthering patience, embracing the ability to be fully present in the moment, and most importantly, helping me to exercise more compassion for those around me. Yoga was introduced in my life as a way to manage stress while I was working in the corporate industry and I was amazed at the changes it ushered in with it.I continually endeavor to deepen my passion for the practice through self-study, and self-practice."

*PHOTOS: COVID WARRIORS in West Bengal

YGB's fund recipient girls of SHE (Scholarship for Higher Education) program were the first to help illiterate and poor farmers when COVID engulfed Indian villages in 2020. They risked their lives and bicycled into the villages to help distribute masks, medical information, as well as emergency food assistance. These girls came to be known as “Covid Warriors” and were deeply appreciated by the villagers. It is a real miracle that none of these girls got Covid despite of all these activities.