Karma Yoga at Wise Living Yoga Academy

(*) Please note that only students who have attended a course or program with Wise Living Yoga Academy are eligible to apply for the Karma Yoga Program.

Karma Yoga is the Yoga of Action, or the practice of selfless service.  It teaches us how to give our best and work with mindfulness and joy.  In the Karma Yoga Program at WLYA, you will have a unique opportunity to live and work in an ashram.  You will work closely with the teachers, ashram staff, and 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training students, and help promote a sense of community.  It is a wonderful way of self-discovery and adventure!

Through this experience you can reinforce the yogic lifestyle and philosophies you have studied, which is why it is only offered to former WLYA students*. 

Selfless service means you should not expect anything in return for your work.  You will, however, benefit in many ways if you decide to come for Karma Yoga.

Benefits

·         Deepen your practice and understanding of yoga

·         Get to know a new group of people from all over

·         Participate in morning meditation and asana sessions

·         Strengthen your teaching and leadership skills

·         Gain a better sense of service and commitment

·         Have delicious meals and fresh tea daily

·         Explore your interests and apply them to benefit to whole community

As with the yoga teacher training program, everyone will have a different experience doing karma yoga.  Be prepared to work hard.  We all bring different strengths and skills to the table.  The important thing is that you are ready to serve others joyously. 

Responsibilities

·         Orienting and guiding new students, coordinating with Jeenal and Daniel

·         Teaching support

·         Social media updates

·         Gardening

·         Light housekeeping work, sometimes helping in the kitchen

·         Administrative tasks

·         Creative projects tailored to your strengths and interests

Practical information

·        Duration: 1 month— the Karma Yoga Program will run in conjunction with the 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Program (one Sadhaka/student per program)

·         Accommodation: You will be provided with the same accommodation as the students.  In the case the course is full, you will be in a homestay just in front of the center.

·        Cost:  We will offer this Program for free to one student per month. If more than 1 student is interested, then you can join by paying USD 200/week. Please write to us for availability and other details.

If you wish to join us and contribute in a meaningful way, please complete the Karma Yoga Application Form.

We will review each application individually and acceptance depends on overall availability in the Ashram.

Thoughts on Karma Yoga

Selfless service represents an unlimited source of spiritual growth, joy and happiness; never neglecting the circles of duty starting with the duty towards ourselves. Selfless service means not only sharing material goods such as food, clothes, shelter or money with people in need, but sharing love, compassion, knowledge and experiences with everybody who is open to it. All knowledge is already present inside of us and our mind is an infinite mine of information if we are able to connect to it. The process of sharing and caring leads to liberation of the spirit, supports purification of the mind, helps burning the Klesha (structural defects of the human mind) and provides self- evolution.

We have to be aware that every action taken results in consequences for which we have to take responsibility, as all our actions fall back on us throughout life. Moreover, with the actions we perform we have the huge power to determine who we are since they influence and imprint our character. All actions performed with the right attitude, cleverness and as a science bring out the power of the mind, which is already there within us, supporting the awakening of our spirit. Let-go and trust in your actions cause nature will give you everything you need exactly when you need it the most. The yogi knows that everything that happens happens for a good reason and for your own good.

*What if you are very interested in doing Karma Yoga here but have not been here yet?  No problem, you can register here for any of our upcoming Yoga Teacher Training Courses in Thailand. You will learn about the Ashram’s philosophies and once you are ready, you can come to do Karma Yoga.

Namaste!
WLYA Team

Shavasana for Stress Management

Shavasana for Stress Management

A significant number of working professionals are showing adverse effects of stress on their physical and mental health that result in emotional disturbances, faulty eating habits and overall lifestyle disorders. Long term stress is also the cause of several diseases along with personal and family problems.

Yogic techniques for relaxation are very practical techniques to restore balance and rejuvenate the body and mind. Shavasana which is a conscious relaxation technique which is done by relaxing each and every body part, one by one, can be done in a time span of 20 to 40 minutes.

There are so many stressful moments that we have to face daily. Catching a flight, taking an important decision, managing the finance and with such other responsibility we often feel drained and dry. Along with these wrong eating habits, inadequate rest, faulty time management, lack of physical exercise can enhance the stress. In this way we start to accumulate negativity over a period of time. Therefore it is very important to release this negative energy on regular basis and replace it with positive energy. The reason we often feel depressed, lazy, confused and fatigue is that we haven’t learnt to relax.

The concept of relaxation is highly misunderstood. We may think that watching T.V or just lying in the couch is a form of relaxation, but it doesn’t really help you to ease and loosen your contracted muscles, neither it’s a form of a conscious relaxation that will calm down your breathing and cool down your mind. May be it can help you to some extent but when you relax with Shavasana you are actually messaging your mind to get inwards and consciously feel your body and release the stress from each and every body part.

With our own experience I can say that whenever we have given this technique to my students, it has shown tremendous results in their health and behaviour. Serious problems like insomnia, migraine, blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety and asthma have all got under control. Other complaints like headaches, muscular tension, and back pain have got cured. After Shavasana our students have reported that they feel healthy and completely fresh and full of life. I strongly recommend this technique for all the working professional on regular basis.

In the beginning the student will need the support of the teacher for at least one month. For the beginners it is essential that the trainer gives them complete instructions verbally during the practice every time they practice Shavasana. It is normal that initially a person would not be able to relax because of the accumulated stress, but with the practice the technique will get easier.

It also possible that the person may fall asleep during the instructions, which is not expected. This can happen a few times when the person has not completed his sleep. But with gradual practice, a person will start to feel more and more calm, confident, happier and relaxed. This will bring a positive change in the personality and increase memory, concentration, decision power and emotional stability. Erratic eating habits, anger, fear and other negative traits will also get under controlled.

You can also give a chance to your employees to experience these techniques. It can be easily done at office premises after lunch or at the end of the day.!

Namaskar!!

Yoga At Work

Besides conducting Yoga Teacher Training Courses in various parts of the world, we have long time ago introduced Corporate Yoga Training programs in India, and it has been a great experience.

We have introduced new methodology of training the employees by integrating modern activities and the concept of Multiple Intelligence and Experiential Learning.

These activities have been developed by The Yoga Institute of Santacruz and tested with thousand of students. They are used for bringing about more body awareness and control, concentration, relaxation and make it easier the understanding of the Yoga Philosophy – through conceptual games. All that, of course, along with traditional yoga asanas, pranayamas, kriyas and meditation.

Our aim is to use all this technology to give a broader perspective to physical and mental fitness, taking in consideration of the modern day set-up of an office environment and functioning.

Read more and go through the pictures below to understand how it works:

Kinesthetic Intelligence
Learning through movement and control of body. Developing better motor skills and neuro-muscular co-ordination. We have been using games and juggling with rubber balls which has show tremendous positive effect besides being a recreational activity.

Traditional Training with Yoga Asanas

The practice of asanas is the traditional method of improving body awareness and dexterity.

Training employees with Multiple Intelligence Techniques is a very practical exercise that promotes efficiency, decision power and harmonious inter-relations with other workers. It is shown highly beneficial for the progress of an organization.

Keep in touch to know more !!!

Namaskar !!!