The Heart of Global Peace

OVERVIEW AND CONTEXT

This peace-promoting virtual event will be live-streamed
through the Jivamukti and AZAHAR Foundation’s social media accounts:
starting March 26th at 3am EST | 8am CET
and will end on March 27th at 5pm EST | 10pm CET.

AZAHAR Foundation and JIVAMUKTI Yoga® have organized a virtual event that will address how to use yogic values and practices for persons who are finding themselves directly impacted by the complex emergemcy in Ukraine and how to support them, while skillfully carving paths for the voices of wisdom and compassion to be heard.

The summit’s offerings will include spiritual framing, panel conversations, conscious talks, yoga sessions, guided meditation classes, kirtan & music, forums, among others to engage its global audience and provide resources to frame the current contentious context into the personal and global quest for peace.

YOGIC ACTIVISM FOR PEACE-BUILDING

Faced with an onslaught of information about overwhelming arsenals of weapons, propaganda and merciless acts of violence, it is easy to become paralyzed as individuals. Thus, The Heart of Global Peace addresses the need to shift the conversation to one that is positively purposeful.

A series of carefully curated events will tackle the current contentious context in the world and propose alternative perspectives, conversations and practices that connect with our collective consciousness and promote global peace. Over the last decade, the yoga community has become increasingly global, especially so during COVID, where technology has allowed practitioners to maintain precious contacts with the yoga system and within the global community.

DONATIONS

Participants are invited to make monetary donations through The Heart of Global Peace UNHCR Fundraising Page (linked below).

*The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a UN agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.

Schedule

CET	Saturday March 26th, 2022
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM	Mantra and Meditation: Shanti Mantra and Short Meditation	Moritz Ulrich (Jivamukti Peace Yoga Berlin, Germany)
09:00 AM – 9:30 AM	Spiritual Framing: Inauguration and Prayer	Yogeswari (Cambodia,AZAHAR Foundation) & Reverend Sayalay Ketumala (Yangon, Myanmar)
9:45 AM – 11:15 AM	Yoga Session: Jivamukti Yoga Asana	Camilla Veen (Jivamukti Yoga Stavanger, Norway)
11:30AM – 12:00 PM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM	Yoga Session: Jivamukti Yoga Asana	Chhayleang Kuay & Em Vun (Phnom Penh, AZAHAR Cambodia)
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM	Pranayama and Meditation: Breathing Practice and Short Meditation	Clare Nicholls (Jivamukti Yoga Hrdayam Bern)
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM	Spiritual Framing: Welcome, Monk compassion chanting and Cambodian Budhist Chanting	Yogeswari (AZAHAR Foundation), Monks from Wat Tsvay Pagoda, Em Vun (AZAHAR Cambodia)
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM	Panel Conversations: Sustaining Spiritual Resilience	Yogeswari, Tatyana, Valeria, Rima and Ruth (Cambodia, Ukraine, USA)
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Yoga Session: Jivamukti Yoga Asana Session	Jutta Mele-Maurer (Rome, Italy)
5:15 PM – 6:00 PM	Conscious Talks: Yoga and War Trauma	Maria Macaya (Barcelona, Spain) and Hari Mulukutla
6:00PM – 6:30 PM	Yoga Session: Trauma informed Yoga Practice	Maria Macaya (Barcelona, Spain)
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM	Conscious Talks: Activism for peacebuilding: How to shift the conversation from the geopolitics of war to the collective construct for peace?	Medea Benjamin (Washington D.C., USA)
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM	Meditation Session: Forgiveness Meditation	Céline Ryf (Bern, Germany)
9:00 PM – 10:00 PM	Kirtan and Music: Satsang	Deva Premal and Miten (Costa Rica)
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CEST	Sunday, March 27th, 2022	Reminder: Europe shifts to Daylight savings time (CEST)
09:00 AM – 10:00AM	Conscious Talks: Talk and Chanting	Dr M.A. Jayashree and Prof. M. A. Narasimhan (Mysore, India)
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM	Conscious Talks: Yoga in and as Peacebuilding: Embodied and relational approaches to building peace in Colombia	Mayme Lefurgey and Natalia Quiñones (Canada and Colombia)
11:30AM – 12:45 PM	Yoga and Meditation Session: Pranayama, Meditation and Yoga Asana Session	Jules Febre (Berlin, Germany)
1:00 PM- 2:00 PM	Yoga Session: Jivamukti Yoga Asana Session	Victory Vuthy & Nith Koem (Phnom Penh, AZAHAR Cambodia)
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM	Artistic Expression: Dance + Testimonial	Ahmad Chaaban (Syria & The Netherlands)
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM	Forum: Ukrainian Yogis United; If you wish to participate, please contact Tatiana here to receive an invite.	Moderators: Valeria and Tatiana Samborskaya (Ukraine)
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM	Panel Conversations: The Power of Mantra	Yogeswari, Deva Premal, Miten, Hari Mulukutla, Valeria Samborskaya, Tatiana Samborskaya (Cambodia, Costa Rica, USA, Ukraine)
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM	Kirtan and Music: Chanting Shanti Mantra	Manorama (New York, USA)
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM	Yoga Session: Jivamukti Yoga Asana Session	Rima Rabbath (Souk NYC, New York, USA)
8:45 PM – 9:15 PM	Kirtan and Music: Chanting	Nina Rao (New York, USA)
9:30 PM – 10:00 PM	Closing + Kirtan and Music: Love is Who We Are	Krishna Das (New York, USA)
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM	Break from Scheduled Sessions
11:00 PM – 12:30 AM	Yoga Session + Kirtan and Music: Jivamukti Yoga Asana Practice and Chanting / Love Supreme Projects Community Class	Manizeh Rimer, Huma Jalil, Ben Hazelton (Love Supreme Projects, London, UK)

AHMAD CHAABAN
Jivamukti Yoga Teacher with a 300-hours Training since 2018 and Syrian dancer and choreographer based in the Netherlands since 2019. He received his Yoga education in India through Jivamukti yoga Teacher Trainings and his dance education in the Dance department of the Higher institute of Dramatic Arts at the Damascus University, where he graduated in 2015. During and after his studies Ahmad worked as a professional dancer with Enana dance theater (2004-2012) in Syria and with Caracalla dance theater (2015-2019) in Lebanon, where he had the chance to perform and travel the world with international dance companies from 2019 to 2020. Internship as a dancer with Misiconi dance company In Netherlands.

BEN HAZELTON 
Musician Ben Hazleton has been performing professionally in the UK and worldwide for over 25 years. He has lived and worked in London as a Double Bass player since 1995, in establishments such as Ronnie Scotts, The 606 Club, The Jazz Cafe, The Rich Mix, The Old Vortex, The Spitz, Pizza Express Dean Street as well as pubs, restaurants, hotels, festivals, weddings, and private events. More recent work has included playing bass guitar with Roots Manuva in the UK and around Europe. He has also accompanied Talvin Singh at the Royal Festival Hall (OK live concert) in October 2018, The Rich Mix and The Komedia in Brighton.

CAMILLA KAMALA VEEN
Camilla\’s first encounter with yoga was as a young child when she observed her mother in odd positions while doing breathing exercises on the living room floor at home. The fascination for yoga started already then! Camilla has practiced yoga since the spring of 2000, and received the 300- hour certification as Jivamukti Yoga Teacher in the fall of 2003. She is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Teacher and is currently one of the facilitators of the Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Training program. Through her passion and confidence, Camilla has influenced many Jivamukti students on their path to becoming teachers and continues to galvanize the growing Jivamukti community in Scandavania and Europe. Camilla founded Atha Yoga in Stavanger, Norway in 2005. 12 years later, in 2017, Atha Yoga was transformed into a certified Jivamukti Yoga Center, and is now Jivamukti Yoga Stavanger. Camilla is the director of the center where she is also responsible for the faculty and the yoga program. She teaches Jivamukti yoga classes and workshops in Norway and Internationally. It is the holistic perspective of Jivamukti Yoga that appeals to Camilla – with equal emphasis on the spiritual and mental aspects of yoga as well as the physical components. She is eternally grateful for all the inspiration, encouragement and love that she gets from her teachers, Sharon Gannon and David Life.

CÈLINE RYF
Plagued by back pain, Céline ended up in her first yoga class at the age of eighteen. Since then, yoga has never let her go and led her to different teachers around the globe. The Jivamukti Center in New York was her yoga home. She was thrilled by the creative, dynamic sequences, the music, the chanting of mantras and the spiritual teachings.
In 2007 Céline completed the Jivamukti Teacher Training with Sharon Gannon, David Life, Yogeswari and Patrick Broome. Soon after she passed the Jivamukti Advanced exam. This was followed by an intensive travel period: Céline assisted and taught retreats, workshops and immersions. She herself was a mentor at several Jivamukti Teacher Trainings.
With the desire to create a place where people can experience Yoga in its wholeness, Céline founded Dayayoga in 2011. Céline’s classes are dynamic, challenging and powerful. As a contrast, she carries her students with her gentle and round manner, with precision and loving patience. Céline teaches Jivamukti Yoga in German and English.

CHHAYLEANG KUAY
Is a 300-hour certified Jivamukti Teacher, class of India 2020. She was also certified in a 200hr-Yoga Soul Body Fit Teacher training taught by Alison Hawkins and Oskar Nery. This course was sponsored by AZAHAR and is recognized by the UK Yoga Alliance. Chhayleang has been practicing Yoga since early adulthood when she was living at the orphanage center where Yogeswari provided Yoga classes. She has also attended several intensive Yoga retreats offered by Yogeswari and Cat-Alip Douglas in Cambodia, as well as peace and leadership programs facilitated by AZAHAR. All the opportunities that AZAHAR Cambodia has offered are beautiful gifts to making her life even more meaningful.

CLARE NICHOLLSClare’s interest in yoga was ignited as a child when she was introduced to the Mahabharata, she fell in love with the stories and the philosophies woven throughout. Since 2001 Clare has practiced asana and views the physical process as a way of undoing the habits we hold in our bodies and releasing the past to create space for the future. Clare began teaching in 2005 and by 2007 was running a small yoga space in the English Countryside. She began to specialise in teaching yoga for pregnancy and soon became motivated to train as a midwife. In 2010 Clare qualified with a BSc in Midwifery. She moved to London where she continued teaching yoga and practicing as a midwife. It was by the grace of the universe in 2010 she discovered the Jivamutki method and it felt like coming home. From 2013 Clare has taught Jivamukti throughout London and across the UK. In 2014 and 2015 Clare travelled around India, experiencing many sites of pilgrimage and integrating an understanding of the philosophies into her life, practice and teaching. In 2016-2017 she spent 10 months in Mysore chanting the yoga sutras under guidance of the wonderful Dr M.A Jayashree and appreciating the detail of their philosophical themes through studying with Professor Narasimhan. Clare holds the advanced certification in the Jivamutki method, with the blessings of her teachers she hopes to share her love of the darsana of yoga in all it’s elements. Hari Om.

DEVA PREMAL
Deva’s mother was a teacher of medieval music, offering lessons in piano, harpsichord, and recorder, and leading a local church choir, and Deva’s father was a visual artist who had taken up Middle Eastern drumming when Deva was born. In addition, both parents had embraced Zen spirituality and Eastern philosophy, well before Deva’s birth, and had a daily practice of chanting in Sanskrit. When Deva was in the womb, for example, her father sang the Gayatri mantra to her daily, and when she was a little girl, he sang it to her nightly, as a lullaby. And so Deva’s childhood was filled with chamber music, drum circles, and mantras – in particular, the Gayatri mantra, which back then Deva had no idea was one of the most revered and powerful mantras of all. For the most part, Deva did not appreciate her parents’ influence – musical or otherwise – until she was older. As a child, she just thought her parents were weird, and at the age of 10, wanting to be normal like the kids around her, Deva dove into studies of Christianity and pursued getting baptized. In addition, while Deva studied recorder, piano, and violin, and even enrolled in a school that emphasized music education and performance, she disliked the rigidity of classical music and the rigors of practicing. Even then, however, she was drawn to both choir and orchestra, because she enjoyed the act of creating music together, through community – foreshadowing her future. Meanwhile, one thing from childhood resonated deeply with Deva, as she still was growing up: her mother’s discovery of Osho’s teachings. Deva immediately felt a calling, and at the age of 17, quit school and moved to India, to join Osho’s ashram – where she immersed herself not only in Zen theology but also in a menagerie of artistic expressions of the Divine: Sanskrit mantras, Sufis dances, Native American chanting, African drumming, and more. Having broken from guru tradition, Osho did not teach mantras as an official part of ashram life. He did, however, encourage all those in attendance to share their unique expressions of love, peace, oneness, and compassion, in whatever format and from whatever tradition.

DR. M.A. JAYASHREE
Dr. M.A. Jayashree is a retired Professor of Sanskrit, currently the director of Anantha Research foundation, Mysore, an institution engaged in foundational research work in the field of ancient sciences of India and also in the field of Sanskrit and Indian culture. She holds a doctorate degree in Sanskrit from Bangalore University on the topic, “Concept of Mind in Indian philosophy” completed under the guidance of Prof K. T. Pandurangi. She has many books, monographs and papers to her credit in the fields of Sanskrit, Ancient Sciences, Indian history, Culture, Music and so on. She holds a vidvat (master) degree in Carnatic classical music and is a Performing Musician. She is an accomplished artist in Mysore school of painting. She is the Vidwatpramukh for ItihasaSankalanaSamiti, Karnataka chapter. She has a large following of overseas students to learn Yoga Sutras of Maharshi Patanjali and SrimadBhagavadgita. She has conducted many workshops on chanting of Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita, given lectures on Yoga Philosophy and taught Sanskrit in an easy way in many parts of the world like Hong Kong, Thailand, America & Europe. She has also given several sessions in the “Evolution – Asia Yoga Conference ” in Hong Kong for 3 consecutive years. She has produced many CDs and books as learning aids in the traditional method of oral chanting in the name ‘Srutiparampara’.

EM VUN
Is a 300-hour certified Jivamukti Teacher (class of India 2019) and holds a 200-hour Vinyasa and Fly Fit Yoga Certification from Guru Oskar Nery and Alison Hawkins’ Yoga Soul Body Fit. This training was sponsored by AZAHAR and is recognized by the UK Yoga Alliance. She has attended several intensive Yoga retreats offered by Yogeswari & Cat Alip and has also attended AZAHAR’s 2-year Peace Program. Due to her family’s situation, from the young age of five, she had to work as a rice field girl and later as a garment factory worker in the city. Eventually she became an activist as the coordinator of a social music band. She is passionate about exploration of true human potential.

HARI MULUKUTLA
Hari Mulukutla currently serves as CEO of Jivamukti Global and is a student of Yoga, Sanskrit and the Path of Grace.  His first teacher is his mother Satyavati, who taught him the Indian scriptures and stories and introduced him to the Bhagavad Gita, the main Yoga and Hindu text.  Both his parents were fluent in Sanskrit having met at a Sanskrit school.  Hari grew up in India but spent much of his life in the United States in the New York area.  Hari is an anti-corruption expert and served as a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations and worked in several countries in Africa, Asia and the Balkans.  Hari is grateful to the transformative power of Ananda Ashram which he was drawn to about 22 years ago and the teachers he met there, such as Joan Suval, Bharati, Sharon Gannon, David Life, Krishna Das and ultimately Shyam Das, his close friend, bhakti, tennis and golf mentor and philosopher!

HUMA JALIL 
I moved to London from Islamabad at 21 as a student. More than 20 years on I am still here; a devoted student of my inner and outer world, here for the messy and mystical human experience. To share with others, what I have learned through many incredible teachers and years of personal practice is a huge honour. Yoga is an invitation to explore techniques, teachings and technologies that coax presence back into our bodies. The classes I teach are devotional and intuitive; inviting compassion and honouring tradition with deep listening. Through the poetry of movement and breath, love and connection, my aim is that I can teach and refine how to hold and host our natural state of ease and joy in the organism of our exquisitely intelligent sensate bodies. The Yoga tradition reminds us time and again that we are imbued with incredible life force, a brilliant mind, pure heart and vitality. The yoga mat is a sacred and magical space where we can reclaim that innate power and remember our true nature. I hope you will join me on this wondrous journey.

JULES FEBRE
Jules Febre was born and raised in a section of New York City known as the Lower East Side. At the age of 13, Jules spent three months in India; two of which were spent in Mysore studying Ashtanga Yoga with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois. During that time he was invited to share satsang with Swami Nirmalananda and Shyam Das, two radical yogis that have each contributed greatly to the progression of yoga in the West. At the age of 16 Jules began working at the Jivamukti Yoga School helping to clean, and is now considered one of the leading teachers of the Jivamukti Yoga method, teaching the method world wide as well as facilitating at the very highly regarded teacher training programs. Jules travels and teaches for a major part of each year, including Europe, Australia, Asia, and more. His classes offer a wide range and depth of understanding of Yoga Asana as well as Meditation, Chanting, and Yoga Philosophy. Teaching yoga is Jules’ passion. He is grateful to his teachers, Sharonji (Gannon), Davidji (Life) who he has had the privilege of studying with for over 15 years, for igniting his devotion to the Jivamukti Yoga practice and for inspiring countless students around the world.

JUTTA ARIANE MELE-MAURERAustrian-born, she has deepened her yoga practice in NY, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Bali and Pondicherry in India. Her yoga studies have included the asanas, sastra (the ancient sacred texts and Sanskrit), pranayama, and meditation. Jutta regularly organizes workshops and retreats, teaching at yoga events in Italy and abroad, as well as assisting international teachers. She leads classes in four languages (Italian, English, German, French).

KRISHNA DAS
Krishna Das began leading chanting in 1994 in NYC, and has been traveling all around the world ever since, developing his signature style, fusing traditional kirtan of the East with western harmonic and rhythmic sensibilities. The audiences have been ever growing, responding to his remarkably soulful voice, which touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener. He’s taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, is a Grammy-nominee and has become a worldwide icon. He continues to travel and to share online his chanting and stories of his guru Neem Karoli Baba. and the best- selling western chant artist of all time. Krishna Das has released over 15 albums, authored 2 books, has his own podcast and is the subject of the documentary – One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das. More information on KrishnaDas.com

MANIZEH RIMER
Manizeh is the co-founder of Love Supreme Projects in London. A global citizen, Manizeh was born in Karachi, grew up in Switzerland, attended college in the U.S. before finally laying down roots in London, a city she has always loved. After working as a technology investment banker and at a start-up in San Francisco, she gladly gave it all up when she found her calling as a Yoga teacher in 2003. (She taught online throughout the pandemic to a gathering of incredible students and friends from many corners of the world.  This experience made her feel more passionately now than ever about sharing the magic and the power of Yoga.) Manizeh has been a long time student of Sharon Gannon, David Life and Jai Uttal. She is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher and started Jivamukti Yoga London in 2005 (today’s Sangye Yoga) and she started and developed the Yoga program for the U.K.’s Maggie’s Cancer Centres. Manizeh holds a B.A in political science from Brown University.

MARIA MACAYAMaria is an 800 hour Advanced Certified Jivamukti teacher. She was born in Madrid, and lived abroad for thirty years in the US, Europe and Latin America before moving to Barcelona with her husband and three children in 2014. Maria has been practicing yoga since 2000. Jivamukti’s focus on a dynamic practice that places strong emphasis on scriptures and on the well being of all, has magnetized her since she discovered the method with Yogeswari in 2001. In 2016 she had the fortune of doing her 800 hour apprenticeship with Jules Febre whose creativity, energy and his demand for excellence pushed her to try to want to always become a better, more knowledgeable teacher who can better serve all students. She teaches at the Barcelona Jivamukti Yoga Center and mentors students for the 800 hour apprenticeship and in the 300 hour JYTT. Maria is also specialized in yoga for mental disorders including trauma, addiction, depression and anxiety. Through her non profit, Fundación Rādika, she works with individuals and groups to offer them a practice that can best complement the traditional therapy they receive and also offers trainings in the yoga for trauma methodologies.

MAYME LEFURGEY
Mayme Lefurgey is a post-doctoral fellow at the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick (Canada). She holds a Ph.D. in Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies (collaborative program in Transitional Justice & Post-Conflict Reconstruction) from Western University (Canada). Her doctoral research examined post-conflict trauma, rehabilitation and reconciliation with a gendered lens and was conducted in collaboration with Dunna in Colombia. She also holds an MA in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) and an MA in Gender and Peacebuilding from The United Nations Mandated University for Peace (Costa Rica). In their presentation, Yoga in and as Peacebuilding: Embodied and relational approaches to building peace in Colombia, Natalia Quiñones and Mayme Lefurgey will explore the contributions of yoga to the field of peacebuilding. Through a nuanced understanding of the concepts of elicitive peacebuilding and the socio-political global phenomenon of yoga, Natalia and Mayme will explore the benefits of yoga on both individual and collective levels in societies in transition from violence and conflict. They will do so by drawing from the work and research of the Colombian non-profit organization, Corporación Dunna. Dunna works to address deeply rooted cyclical and intergenerational violence embedded in Colombian society through building capacity for co-existence and trust within communities. As such, their programming focuses on individual mental wellbeing as well as on addressing the manifestations of trauma in families, communities, and whole nations. The Colombian case offers broader insights on the role of embodied, mind-body integrated approaches to building peace following the complexities of war, displacement and complex trauma.

MEDEA BENJAMIN
Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 40 years. Described as “one of America’s most committed — and most effective — fighters for human rights” by New York Newsday, and “one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement” by the Los Angeles Times, she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide.

MITEN
To the outside observer, British native Miten (then known as Andy Desmond) had it all: a wife, a child, and a successful career as a working musician – touring with, opening for, and being featured as a guest musician for bands like Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention, Hall and Oates, Randy Newman, and Ry Cooder, at stadiums worldwide. The sex, drugs, and rock & roll lifestyle, however, came with a hollowness and profound distortion that ate at Miten’s soul. At the end of the day, music seemed to be nothing more than a sales commodity, with musicians serving as industry pawns who generated cash for company executives, at the expense of true self-expression and art. After spinning through this world for years, feeling increasingly alienated from himself, his family, and life itself, Miten hit a spiritual crisis and underwent a breakdown, where the only way he knew how to save himself was to get up and walk out, on everything and everyone he knew. At the time a 29-year-old, Miten had just read No Water No Moon, a book of discourses by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) on Zen parables. One story in particular was life-altering to Miten: On a full-moon night, Chiyono, a nun, was carrying a bucket of water from the well. Just as she was noticing the moon’s reflection in the water, the bucket broke. At that moment she looked up at the moon and became enlightened – realizing she had spent her whole life focused on the reflection of “the real thing,” instead of on the real thing itself. Miten then understood that while music in general, and his music in particular, had something deep within it, the commercial approach of the music industry was just a reflection of the real thing. It was as if music were the key to something greater – a profound inner peace and sense of connection with the infinite – but he had been busy polishing the key, instead of opening the door with it. Eager to learn more and embrace a whole-being transformation, Miten promptly left England and found himself in an ashram in India, where he released all worldly possessions, as well as his identity as a musician, and joined Osho’s sangha (spiritual family). Living a simple and humble life while studying with Osho, doing work like chopping vegetables in the kitchen, Miten found the courage, and the perfect environment, to face his inner demons and become who he truly was on the soul level, instead of keeping up the image of the person he always had thought he should be. Feeling a deep sense of inner strength, for the first time ever, Miten eventually revisited his musical roots, but from a different place: one of spirituality and devotion, where he served as a channel for the ashram community, offering up original songs that celebrated Osho’s teachings.

MORITZ ULRICHMoritz Ulrich is the Co-Director of Peace Yoga Berlin – Jivamukti Yoga School, an Advanced certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, and a Medical Doctor. After having practiced almost daily for several years, studying with different teachers from all Yoga traditions, Moritz decided to start teaching Yoga. This was over 10 years ago. While studying at Berlin Music College he was enthusiastic to share his knowledge. After visiting the Jivamukti Yoga Center in Munich, he realized where he belonged. The love, the strength and the unlimited knowledge of Sharon Gannon (founder of the Jivamukti Yoga Method) inspired him to dive deep into the path of Yoga. He completed the Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Training in NYC with his teachers Sharon Gannon and David Life and the 500h Apprenticeship Program with Dr. Patrick Broome in Berlin, followed by the Advanced Certification Board in NYC. He teaches workshops all over Germany and Europe, is part of the international Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Trainings as a facilitator and anatomy/Sanskrit teacher, and is the program director of the continuing education programs at his Jivamukti Yoga School in Berlin.

NATALIA QUIÑONES
Natalia Quiñones is the Co-Founder and Research Director at Dunna- creative alternatives for peace, a non-profit based in Bogotá, Colombia. She is a Ph.D. Candidate at Amsterdam University (UvA). Her other degrees and distinctions include: JD from Universidad del Rosario, Philosopher (summa cum laude) from Universidad de los Andes, Specialist in Tax Law from Universidad del Rosario, and LLM (Gerard Wallace Scholar) from New York University (NYU). She has published academic articles on the benefits of mind-body practices for vulnerable populations, especially in a context of transition to peace.

NINA RAO
Nina Rao learned traditional chants (bhajans) from her grandfather in a village in south India when she nine years old. The chants quietly stayed with her until she rediscovered chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996. For many years Nina has been Krishna Das’ business manager and accompanies him musically as well. In 2007, she recorded the track ‘Nina Chalisa’ on Krishna Das’ CD “Flow of Grace ” ; January 2013 she released her debut album, “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts”; August 2017 her second album “Anubhav” was released. Nina regularly leads kirtan, workshops, and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York and beyond. For more information visit NinaRaoChant.com.

NITH KOEM
Nith was introduced to yoga through the program initiated by the AZAHAR Foundation in 2015. He completed a 200h teacher training by Yoga Soul Body Fit that was sponsored by the AZAHAR Foundation and is acknowledged by the UK Yoga Alliance in 2017. Since then he has taught basically at the AZAHR’s studio in Phnom Penh, gyms and NGOs in Vinyasa flow. Through practicing, learning and teaching in the last few years especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, he understood the roles of yoga and passionate to make more impact to communities. He pursued his journey through joining the 300h JTT which supported by the Jivamukti Global and Yogeswari in 2021. Nith is a 300-hour certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher. This is such huge inspiration and motivation for him and be able to bring the method to more beings.

PROF. M. A. NARASIMHAN
Prof. M.A. Narasimhan, Director, Itihasa Bharati, Mysore, an institution meant to do research work in rewriting the history of Bharata exclusively from the Indian perspective, is a science graduate holding master’s degree in Education with specialization in advanced psychology and research methodology and in Sanskrit. He has specialized in Indian philosophical systems and is a yoga practitioner. He has been a disciple of His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He is a teacher of Transcendental Meditation. He has taught the TM technique to more than 25,000 people and has trained more than 1000 teachers of Transcendental meditation. He has held many responsible posts in the then Maharishi Institute of Creative Intelligence. He has been a Siddha practitioner and reaping the benefits of advanced techniques which are termed as Siddhis. He is a research scholar specializing in the fields of Indian culture and the Sciences of ancient India. He has a considerable number of books, monographs, and papers in the fields of Indian history, Science, Sanskrit and philosophy to his credit. He is one of the editors to the journals like Ithihasasamachar, IthihasaRashmi. He has conducted many workshops on chanting of Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita, given lectures on Yoga Philosophy in many parts of the world like Hong Kong, Thailand, United states & Europe. He has also given several sessions in the “Evolution – Asia Yoga Conference” in Hong Kong.

REVEREND SAYALAY KETUMALA
Reverend Sayalay Ketumala has been a Buddhist nun since July 1999, when she joined Pa-Auk Meditation Center in Mon State, some 40 kilometers east of the former Myanmar capital, Yangon. The founder of the Dhamma School Foundation, overseeing more than 4,800 Buddhist education centers for children throughout Myanmar, she has been described as “a fierce advocate for the importance of women in religion” (France 24). She received a monastic education at Pa-auk Monastery in Mon State, Myanmar. Additionally, she has earned two degrees in Buddhist studies, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka in 2010 and a Master of Arts degree from Kelaniya University, Colombo, Sri Lanka.  Rev. Ketumala has authored several articles in newspapers, journals, and magazines, as well as the book “Ketumala Nidan”, which emphasizes social justice, gender equality, peace, and justice from a Buddhist perspective. In 2017, she was awarded a prize for the best article of the year by Myanmar’s Shwe Amyutae Magazine. She is also a program director and trainer of women empowerment programs for Buddhist nuns in Myanmar and the European Buddhist Youth Forum. In addition, she has participated in many conferences, public talks, lectures and training on Buddhist ethics, peace building, dialogue, conflict resolution and conflict transformation. Through the Dhamma School Foundation, Keta Mala has had remarkable success in bringing Buddhist teachings into mainstream education for Burmese boys and girls. Her organization has established a network of thousands of schools across the country, reaching more than half a million pupils. In Myanmar, where women are widely set below men in all activities of life, Rev. Ketumala has set out to forge a path of equality, or at least independence from existing religious power structures.

RIMA RANI RABBATHAlways willing to be vulnerable, what you see is what you get with Rima who confidently and unabashedly wears her heart on her sleeve. Her innate ability to relate, engage and inspire while holding space for anyone entering the teachings and practices of yoga, allows her to create an opening for each student to connect with her, themselves and the class community in a very authentic way. In her classes Rima effortlessly yet deliberately blends ancient wisdom, alignment cues, humor, exceptionally curated music and a unique interest in her students’ progress and transformation. As an Advanced Certified Jivamukti Teacher, she has been entrusted with carrying on the method’s lineage by facilitating the Jivamukti Teacher Trainings, leading immersions around the world and mentoring apprentices at the New York School. Rima also teaches at the Wanderlust Festival. As a student of yoga, she practices daily and continues to deepen her understanding of the various aspects of yoga.

RUTH LAUER-MANENTIRuth started practicing yoga in her early 20’s after a serious car accident. She soon after went to India to take part in the Shivananda Teachers Training course. She later met Sharon Gannon and David Life and became a student of theirs and later a teacher of their method. Ruth is an advanced certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher and has facilitated several Teachers Training Courses in the US and in India. Ruth has made many trips to India studying with Sri K Pattabhi Jois and his daughter Saraswati and grandson Sharath and has written permission from Sri K Pattabhi Jois to teach the primary and intermediate ashtanga yoga series as taught by Sri K Pattabhi Jois and his family. Ruth is also a Sanskrit student of Dr. M S Jayashree and Professor HV Rao. Ruth teaches Jivamukti Yoga in the US, China, Japan, India, Australia, The Czech Republic and through out Europe. Ruth has written three books An Offering of Leaves, Sweeping the Dust and Fell In Her Hands all published by Lantern Books. Ruth is also a photographer, has an MFA from the Yale School of Art, and was a recipient of the 2016 New York Foundation for the Arts Grant in Photography. She lives in the Catskill Mountains with her husband and two cats.

 

VICTORY VUTHY
Victory is a talented young professional and development consultant. She was inspired by peace and was directly involved in peacebuilding and development work in Cambodia for 8 years. She believes that peace begins from within; therefore, in addition to her professional career, she is a meditator and a Yoga Teacher. Victory is a 300-hour certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher. Yoga and meditation help her unite body, mind and soul. This allows her to nurture peace, love, and compassion from within, and she hopes to inspire others to share similar experiences.

YOGESWARI
Yogeswari, based at the Jivamukti Yoga School in New York City since the year 2000, is a world-renowned Jivamukti Yoga teacher and is one of the most senior teachers in the method. Yogeswari is featured as one of the 100 most influential Yoga teachers in the U.S. by Sonima. She is Advanced Certified, a Facilitator of Jivamukti Teacher Trainings, and has taken many Jivamukti Certified Teachers through one-on-one apprenticeships towards their 800-hour-certification. Since 2004, she has been teaching around the world. Yogeswari is known for her vigorous, seamless Vinyasa sequencing, and her thought-provoking philosophical teachings. With 20 years of experience in dance and choreography, she brings liveliness and vibrancy to all her work. She holds an MA in choreography and dance from New York University and a BFA McL in dance from Temple University, Philadelphia. Born in Switzerland, she teaches workshops, immersions, and retreats in five languages. She is the founder and president of AZAHAR FOUNDATION, an international non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural understanding and non-violent conflict resolution through Yoga and the Arts, with special attention to disenfranchised communities, and women and children in conflict settings. Areas of Expertise and Teaching Jivamukti Yoga; Vigorous and Seamless Vinyasa Sequencing