(Article first printed in AYTA yoga magazine, April2008)

Life after Ananda Yoga Teacher Training (AYTT) unfolds differently for each of us. I took AYTT in January–February 2005. This is my story …

The four weeks of AYTT were genuinely some of the best weeks of my life. Apart from anything else, it was during AYTT that I knew that I was to become a disciple of Yogananda. As far as the yoga was concerned, I just loved the physical exercise, the spiritual aspects of the teachings, and the immense feeling of wellbeing that I had during the programme.

No sooner had I returned to Scotland (where I lived at that time) than I injured my shoulder, to the extent that it was difficult to do much yoga without exacerbating the injury. I concluded that Yogananda wanted me to spend more time meditating and less time doing asanas. Whether that is true or not doesn’t really matter—it was just the story I told myself. The following month I flew to Italy to take discipleship at Ananda Assisi –my “local” Ananda centre.

In the following eighteen months I taught several six-week courses, which I called “Introduction to Ananda Yoga”. As a relative newcomer to yoga practice myself (at the age of 54), I was not particularly flexible. But this was not important at all. In fact, I attracted fat, thin, tall and short, men and women; experienced and total beginners. Each weekly Monday evening class was two hours long. Our yoga/meditation/therapy room accommodated six to eight people for yoga. Class size for the course was usually six, and I had people pay in advance for the six-week course, so that they were committing to the class. There was not a rigid format, as classes had different needs and different energies (and so did I), but the classes would run something like this:

Week 1
General introduction to Ananda Yoga—what it is; what it is not
Discussion of why we do yoga—what are the aims?
Brief talk about meditation
Class which included some asanas, but emphasised teaching the Energisation Exercises
Week 2
More emphasis on the asanas, plus how to meditate
Week 3
Asanas, plus more pranayama, and a brief meditation
Week 4
Asanas, plus discussion and practice of chanting, plus a brief meditation.
Week 5
Surya Namaskar class, plus chanting and meditation
Week 6
Two-hour session incorporating all the elements of Ananda Yoga—followed by tea and cake and chat.

The two hours always just flew by. Teaching was a joy, even when I was having an “off day,” and I could always feel the change in the energy of the class as we settled into our practice. I loved the way even the generally reserved Scots really engaged with the joy and energy of chanting – Door of My Heart being particularly well received. There was also wonderful feedback from participants—they just didn’t want to leave, as they felt so peaceful.

I also held a free 90-minute Friday morning sadhana, where people could just drop in and, if they wished, they could make a donation to a charity called Spirit Aid.  Spirit Aid is a Glasgow-based charity which supports children in war damaged and deprived areas around the world. They guarantee that at least 90% of donations reach the point of need, whether in the form of educational materials, medicine or computers; which is the reason that their Glasgow office is a bit shabby. There were one or two regulars, and the class was usually small—just two or three people, but occasionally five or six. And there was some astonishing feedback; one lady regularly felt an angelic presence during her practice; another reported the resolution of a trauma from many years ago. And always there was the feeling of peace filling the room and filling each individual.

In between the six-week courses, I offered Monday evening drop-in sessions. The numbers were generally lower, but students still gave good positive feedback, and there was always that peaceful feeling with each session. However I felt that these drop-in classes didn’t really work for me as they consumed time and energy which I felt could be better spent elsewhere.

Then came the biggest challenge. My friend’s 12-year-old daughter wanted to do yoga. She organised 5 other girlfriends to come along, and we started a six-week after-school yoga class (after getting written consent from the parents—who also had to pay, of course). They would arrive after school at about 4 P.M., extremely animated following a 15-minute car journey together. I would lay out six glasses of water and encourage them to have a drink.

Then we would start the class with a game. Each person would pick an angel card and talk about the particular attribute, e.g., unselfishness, peace, courage, self-assurance, friendship etc. They seemed to quite enjoy these discussions. Some of them were very good at the asanas, but their attention span after a long day at school was not so good. And because they were friends, they were inclined to chat and giggle. I tried various strategies to deal with this, including discussing the issue with them, and giving “time out” penalties. But no matter what I tried, there would be outbursts of giggles and restlessness. I just did not feel they were really benefiting from the class as much as they could have. And to be honest, it irritated me. Oh yes, and I learned a bit about not being in control!

Then one evening I had a severe sore throat and could hardly speak. So I gave each of the girls a section of the class to teach. One led the opening chant (with dance accompaniment!), another led the angel card exercise, three of them each presented two asanas, and the sixth led relaxation and visualisation. And although it was not your standard yoga class, they did a really good job. I realised that, even through their restlessness, they had absorbed some understanding of yoga and more than a little of the philosophy. And, of course, it was good for them to take the responsibility of teaching.         

I left Scotland in October 2006, spending three months at The Expanding Light, where I took Kriya Initiation, and then three months in India. After further visits to Ananda Assisi and to The Expanding Light, I came back to India in October 2007, and am now living in Rishikesh (the yoga centre of the world?) and teaching at the Mother Miracle School (www.mothermiracle.org).
This charitable school was started 6 years ago by Patrick and Shahla, an American/Iranian duo.  They both gave up hugely successful careers in America to dedicate their lives to helping these extremely poor children in the Rishikesh area by providing them with education, play, and unconditional love.  They started teaching just a few kids in their own home in Rishikesh, and then, after some major setbacks, were able to rent two unused rooms belonging to the local school. Their absolute focus, their willingness to do whatever needs to be done, their devotion to the children and their absence of ego is staggering.  For me it is both a privilege and a spiritual education to be working with them.

What do I mean by “poor children”?  Well here’s one (not unusual) example.  Kishant is a 3- year old boy. His family lives in one room made of wood and black polythene.  In the single bed sleeps his dad and elder brother. On a few dirty sacks on the dirt floor  - not much bigger than a single bed - sleeps Kishant(3),  his sister(5),  his mother and a small baby.
The youngest children like Kishant come to morning class from 10.30 to 12.30.  These young children join the older children (the oldest is 16) for classes from 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday. There are also Saturday and Sunday computer classes and other activities –volleyball, yoga, badminton and other games. Without these classes, these kids would have little or no education and end up on the social scrapheap – maybe begging or stealing. But perhaps more important is the love which they receive.  The clothes they are wearing in the photos are almost all purchased with MMS funds. The Mother Miracle family has grown from a few students 6 years ago to 85 students last year and is now 170 students.  The next step is to purchase land and build a boarding school for 500 students.  You can read more about MMS, and how to sponsor a child, on the website www.mothermiracle.org   Or, to see Santa Claus in Rishikesh visit www.karmaclear.com/latest/newarticle-xmas-and-new-year-in-india.html

I teach English and The Joy of Music … and yoga, of course. Although kirtan is the basic formula for our evening music classes we listen to, sing, and talk about all kinds of music. Their favourite song may be “Listen,listen, listen,” but “The Sound of Music” must be a very close second. They are learning about music as an energy, and how music creates different feelings in us. They are also learning to stand up in front of their peers and sing.  But above all, it’s great fun; the class really is about experiencing the Joy of Music – whether you enjoy singing (in or out of tune), banging a drum, rattling a tambourine, playing just one chord on the guitar, or drifting off into a deep meditative state (no, not sleep!) during a chant. We also have a few budding pianists and guitarists. I have this seed idea at the back of my mind that one day we will have the Mother Miracle Kirtan group who will perform at schools and ashrams around Rishikesh, and then further afield – like an Indian version of the Family von Trapp in the Sound of Music.  But I’ll have to leave that up to Yogananda.

From Monday to Friday I teach about 15 to 20 of the youngest students—3 to 8 years old—30 minutes of yoga before their morning class. They have had no previous yoga experience. I have found it very helpful to have an assistant—partly to help with discipline and partly to help the kids with the asanas. They speak little or no English, and my Hindi, though improving, is far from sufficient to describe yoga postures. But they are fantastic imitators. So I do a pose, take a deep breath, and say, “Breathe in,” and they copy me—and say “Breathe in,” too. The only problem is that if I turn sideways to better demonstrate a pose—you’ve guessed it—they turn sideways too. Sometimes their attention is better than others. They are poor, low caste, high energy kids brought up in a culture of pushing, shoving, pinching and shouting. They are also incredibly bright-eyed and loving. I am again learning that I am not in control. Nor do I really want to be in control. I just want to find how best to give these children a good and enjoyable experience of yoga. We “moo” like cows and “miaow” like cats and roar like lions. Sometimes we walk round in a circle holding hands (that way I can be more in control you see!!??) and then I call out the name of an asana which we do together. That seems to work quite well. It’s all one great learning curve and a wonderful, though often challenging, experience.  If you have any good ideas about teaching these children I would really appreciate hearing from you.  And if you feel drawn to visit us here then you will be very welcome.

My latest yoga-teaching opportunity came a few weeks ago when I presented a 45-minute class to about 25 adults in Deradhun (a one hour drive from Rishikesh). The class ranged from a 7-year-old child to elderly frail ladies sitting on a settee. Not your standard California yoga class! I was bemused by the fact that I, a Westerner of three years’ yoga practice (shoulder injury permitting!), was teaching a group of Indian people, for whom yoga practice and philosophy is embedded deeply in their psyche. After a brief introduction about Ananda Yoga, we chanted Gayatri mantra for five minutes. There followed some seated postures and stretches and a few standing postures for those able to stand. We concluded with a short meditation and 3 “AUMs”. And there it was again: the peace. I (and most of those present, I am sure) could have stayed there for much longer with that peace. But time was short. We were there to promote Master’s Flower Essences also.

 I have been using flower essences in my practice as a kinesiologist for 12 years or more and it seems very natural and right to become involved with promoting Master’s essences here in India. Master’s essences are made according to Yogananda’s teachings about the spiritual benefits of different fruits and nuts – eg. cherries for cheerfulness, tomatoes for mental strength and courage.  But it is more convenient, and I believe much more effective, to take a few drops of a flower essence than to eat 3 pounds of cherries - 4 times a day!!  Lila Devi, a long-time devotee, has been making these essences at Ananda village under the direction of Swami Kriyananda –thus the direct spiritual connection with Paramhansa Yogananda is maintained.  (The spiritual origin of flower essences is one of the most significant factors in determining their efficacy). I am personally finding them extremely helpful as I go through different challenges in India “fighting the tigers of the mind” as Yogananda describes it in Autobiography of a Yogi.  There is a lot of very good information about Master’s essences on www.yoganandasessences.com and www.mastersessences.com

So, after 45 minutes of Ananda yoga we delivered a 2 hour presentation about the essences. After the presentation, as people were leaving, I was sitting on the floor cross-legged when an elderly couple approached. They knelt in front of me, pronammed and put their heads to the floor at my feet. It was overwhelming. These people have such amazing humility. The man went on to tell me that his father had been a disciple of Sivananada—one of the foremost sages of yoga in India. It was truly an honour to be greeted this way by someone who has such a yogic pedigree.

And so.... What next, I wonder? Where will this yogic path lead? What will be the next adventure? Your adventures will be different from mine. Your challenges will be different from mine. Wherever this path of Ananda Yoga leads you, I wish you all, my Ananda Yoga family, great good fortune and many blessings.

Stan now divides his time between India, Europe and America. If you would like to comment on this article or get in touch with him you can email him via the contact page.