Yoga Bharati brings a wealth of knowledge about yoga and its philosophy through Yoga Teacher’s training and its Diploma courses. The courses are brought from Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation (SVYASA), Bangalore, India. We are now an affiliate center of the Hindu University of America in bringing Diploma in Yoga Wellness to our yoga teachers, a course that focuses on Therapeutic Applications of Yoga.

We are excited about the new yoga wave that Yoga Bharati is creating by bringing holistic yoga with its grand heritage and its depth of philosophy into the western world. With your help and support Yoga Bharati will further increase its pace of progress.

Presently Yoga Bharati has chapters in the following locations:

USA:

SF Bay Area
Detroit
Los Angeles
San Diego
Seattle

Outside USA:

Istanbul, Turkey
Bengaluru, India
Canada:
Calgary
Edmonton
Vancouver

Accomplishments
We are proud of the great leap that Yoga Bharati has taken in its mission since its inception in 2002. In its efforts to spread its wings far and wide, Yoga Bharati has taken up various tasks and progressed in many areas. Below is an attempt to highlight some of the achievements

Yoga Alliance (YA) Registration:
We are now a Registered Yoga School (RYS 200) with Yoga Alliance for our Yoga Instructors Course (YICC), a 200 hour course, enabling the teachers to become Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200). We also have plans to register for RYS 500. This is great news for the whole organization, as it will put us on the national map of yoga training in USA & elsewhere.

Yoga Classes:

Public yoga classes have taken a big leap. We have a total of six locations in the Bay Area where free classes are conducted, thanks to all our volunteers. In Sunnyvale alone, we are conducting 15 free classes per week. So a total of 20 classes, with a value worth $4000 given out to the community per week by Yoga Bharati Bay Area chapter alone!
In Los Angeles, free yoga classes are conducted in four different locations.
In Detroit chapter, apart from free yoga classes, yoga is also given to Multiple Sclerosis patients on a biweekly basis. Free yoga classes are conducted in San Diego chapter on weekends.

Yoga Teachers Training (YICC) 2011
As with every year, Yoga Bharati conducted YICC 2011, its flagship course. In Bay Area, LA and Detroit chapters, we conducted this course this year. As with every year, our Chairman and spiritual founder, Shri. N.V.Raghuram was the faculty for Yoga Philosophy Course(YPC) that is a part of YICC.

Partnership and Collaboration:
In Bay Area Chapter, Yoga Bharati worked with other organizations to help build network, spread the awareness and as a reach out program. We collaborated with Sambodh Society for conducting annual workshops on Meditation, Yoga Philosophy and Vedanta. We provided volunteers for yoga classes at Chinmaya Mission Balavihar programs, at India Community Center (Milpitas, Bay Area) and other locations. We also worked with Samskrita Bharati in providing yoga for their Sanskrit Workshops and with Chinmaya Mission OM run volunteers in conducting yoga class for Marathoners.

Yoga Therapy sessions:
Bay Area:
Yoga Bharati Bay Area chapter has made a great leap in therapeutic applications of yoga. Yoga classes have been running for the last three years with significant results. We conduct yoga for kids, yoga for back/neck/shoulder pain, arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, weight loss and stress management, to name a few. This year, we conducted many workshops and presentations on Yoga Therapy. In June 2011, we conducted a workshop on SMET and Yoga Evidence Based Yoga Presentation by Dr. Naveen. Vishweshwaraiah ofFAITHS, who has worked extensively on research in the field of yoga therapy. We conducted Prenatal Yoga workshop in collaboration with Dr. Vidya Mhamunkar and also Yoga and Ayurveda for Expectant Parents in collaboration with Vedika Global, a premier school of Ayurveda in Emeryville, CA. The goal of Yoga Bharati’s yoga classes for ailments is three-fold:

Help people with their ailments
Spread the awareness about therapeutic benefits of yoga
Develop and support research on how yoga can help in achieving positive health for individual and society

Detroit (MS Society)
Since 2006, Yoga Bharati certified instructor, Ms. Sudha Rao has been devoting two hours on a bi weekly basis to teach yoga to people with Multiple Sclerosis at the MS society in Southfield, Michigan. The MS patients have noticed a significant improvement in their flexibility and movements. Ms. Rao intends to conduct a research study on the benefits of Yoga in MS patients in the near future. She is joined in this effort by Dr Deepa Parikh has been working with the group since the summer of 2011 on a biweekly basis.

Diploma in Yoga Therapy (PGDYT)
The Bay Area chapter successfully conducted the contact program for Diploma in Yoga Therapy (PGDYT), a course for higher studies in yoga and its therapeutic applications. This course is brought in collaboration with SVYASA. The diploma course will be registered with Yoga Alliance as RYT 500 level course. SVYASA’s Arogyadhama (Prashanti – a health center of SVYASA at Bangalore), a premier Yoga Therapy Center provides our students, the required training for practical study of Yoga Therapy.

Apart from the diploma course, we are also conducting certification courses for teachers who can conduct classes for specific ailments such as back pain, diabetes, etc.

Sevathon 2011
On On July 17th, 2011, Yoga Bharati SF Bay Area chapter joined hands with India Community Center to participate in Sevathon 2011. A free yoga workshop for runners was conducted by Yoga Bharati volunteers. Yoga Bharati was able to collect some donations towards its seva projects.

Satsangs and Workshops:
SMET Workshop 2011
Yoga Bharati Bay area chapter organized a workshop for doctors and medical practitioners along with interested yoga community in Sunnyvale Hindu Temple on June 18th, 2011. The workshop was well attended by over 100 people including doctors.This workshop was presented by Shri N.V.Raghuram, the spiritual founder of Yoga Bharati and a faculty member at SVYASA (Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation), Bengaluru, India, and Dr.Naveen Vishweshwaraih of FAITHS (Foundation for Assessment and Integration of Traditional Health Systems). Both these institutions are working on bringing research papers on the therapeutic effects of yoga. SVYASA has published over 150 papers on yoga applications for various ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, backpain, autism, cancer and many more. The program was extremely well received and the doctors got to understand the research that SVYASA has conducted in yoga and its benefits in addressing various ailments including cancer.

Yoga Philosophy by Shri N.V.Raghuram

This year, Sri N.V.Raghuram taught the theory part of Yoga Teacher’s Training in Bay Area and Detroit chapters. He also conducted workshops on Pranayama, SMET and gave discourses on Bhagavad Gita and other topics in Bay Area, Detroit, Los Angeles area and Canada. The sessions were well received in all the chapters of the US.

Prof. Sastry Memorial 2011

Once a year, Yoga Bharati Detroit chapter celebrates the life and teachings of Prof. Satyanarayana Sastry in the form of a day- long spiritual workshop. Prof. Sastry was the mentor of our own beloved guru, Raghuramji. This year’s topic was the Concept of Fullness. Raghuramji discussed the concepts established in Ishavasya Upanishad.

Workshop by Swami Bodhananda Saraswati
Bay Area chapter conducted annual meditation programs by Swami Bodhananda Saraswati of Sambodh Society. This year, he conducted workshops on Meditation I (Beginners) and II (Advanced) in Sunnyvale Hindu Temple and Meditation Basics in Fremont. The weekend workshops included Vedanta and Parenting and Gita and Management. The program were well received and well attended.

Study Groups:
In an attempt towards our own Self Growth and our progress in spirituality, Yoga Bharati conducts study groups in its various chapters for its yoga teachers and volunteers. In Bay Area, regular monthly study groups are conducted where discussions on Bhagavad Gita shlokas, asanas and pranayama techniques, meditation practices, etc are carried out. Detroit Chapter conducts monthly study groups on Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali Yoga Sutras.

Plans for 2012
Apart from further progress in the above programs, we will be planning the following:
Commemorating 150th Birthday of Swami Vivekananda & 10 years for Yoga Bharati
Yoga Bharati plans to conduct a Conference on Yoga commemorating 150th Birthday of Swami Vivekananda who kindled the spark of East meeting the West. This spark has gathered a huge momentum and yoga is a word of mouth in the west today. Yoga Research is gaining momentum and the world is looking with hopes towards yoga to solve the growing epidemics such as diabetes, heart diseases and cancer. With this conference, we hope to spread awareness of yoga and its depth to wider audience and to connect like minded people and to build the community. Details will be available soon.

Surya Namaskar Yagna (SNY-2011)
(Sun Salutations Marathon)
Yoga Bharati conducts Suryanamaskar Yagna every year to spread the benefits of Surya Namaskar (SNY) on yoga participants. The event starts on Jan 1st and ends on Ratha Saptami Day Jan 30th. Details will be announced soon.

Yoga Teachers Training 2012

Yoga Bharati Bay area and LA chapters will be conducting Yoga teachers Training (YICC) during April – June months.