The seven-day International Yoga Festival officially kicked off at Parmarth Niketan. 1,500 yoga practitioners and yoga seekers from over 80 countries participated in the festival.
On the first day of the festival, during the Ganga Aarti, yoga practitioners thoroughly enjoyed the unique confluence of music, yoga, and mallakhamb. With yoga sessions, spiritual discourses, Vedic rituals, and inspirational music held from morning to evening, the first day of the festival was divine and inspiring.
On Monday, in the morning session, Yogacharya Dasa Das taught Hatha Yoga and Pranayama, while Yogacharya Adhya from Iran practiced traditional Hatha Yoga and Hatha Vinyasa. Pranayama expert Sandhya Dixit of Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute conducted a special session for yoga seekers on the power of Pranayama. Yogacharya Sensei Sandeep Desai led participants in a Tai Chi Flow session, bringing balance and inner peace to the experience.
A special session was held on “From the Mat to the Mission: Living Life as Karma Yoga.” Eden Goldman hosted a special interactive session. Dr. Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati, Ishan Tigunayat, Yogacharya Shiva Ray, Anand Mehrotra, and Tommy Rosen also spoke. Speakers at the interactive session emphasized that yoga is not merely a physical practice, but a path to service, compassion, awareness, and positive transformation in every moment of life. Throughout the day, participants experienced various forms of yoga, including mantra yoga, chakra balancing vinyasa, vinyasa yoga, heart-centered meditation sessions, Kundalini yoga, and in-depth discussions on yoga philosophy.
In the special Sacred Sound Experience, based on Naad Yoga and sound healing, participants experienced deep meditation through mantra, music, and sound. Following the Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Niketan, participants enjoyed Mallakhamb, India’s ancient yoga tradition. Swami Chidanand Saraswati stated that the International Yoga Festival is a global spiritual confluence that unites all humanity.
Yoga teachers respond
American yoga teacher Tommy Rosen said, “I once worried that I couldn’t live up to the legends. Then it dawned on me that if I practiced yoga regularly and connected with my heart center, it would become clear how I could best serve the world. That would become my dharma.” Every practitioner at the International Yoga Festival has a precious opportunity to discover how they can serve themselves, their families, their communities, and the world. Shiva Ray said that the International Yoga Festival is a wonderful center of yogic knowledge and spiritual tradition
