AGAMA YOGA NEWS

7 January, 2010

We began the new season officially on 3 January, with our Grand Opening Party, unveiling the two Yoga halls at our new Srithanu campus, where we will in the coming season hold our workshops and retreats. The new campus also features a new restaurant, and in the future will be home to additional facilities, such as a retreat house, other new halls, a larger Health and Consultation Center, community space, etc.

Swami Vivekananda gave an opening address welcoming students, thanking all those in the local Thai community for their hospitality, and recognizing the contributions of all those who made this new home for Agama possible:

• PiChumnah, our landlord, from whom we leased this beautiful land for a long term
• Mr. Sin, the tireless and very competent contractor who built the halls
• PiPat, our friend and associate, who helped us with translation, many arrangements, and problem-solving
• Shadow, PiPat’s husband, who was our primary architect
• Yogesh, who managed the construction with endless dedication and sharp oversight
• Kirsten, who assisted with the architectural planning and acted as Yogesh’s right hand
• Ayla and Mithok, who led the landscaping efforts to transform the bare land surrounding the new halls into beautiful, prana-filled gardens
• Siegi and Holger, who spent a lot of energy outfitting the halls with green audio and lighting systems
• Mr. Chai, whom we thank for all his work on the electric installations
• Rainer, our general manager, who helped out in countless ways to keep the momentum going until the very end
• and the many, many karma yogis who pitched in on Seva Days and in free moments to build this dream into reality! Thank you all from the bottoms of our hearts!

We consider ourselves very fortunate to be adjacent neighbors of the esteemed Srithanu Monastery; we welcomed several monks who came to participate in our opening blessing. In the afternoon, schoolchildren from the monastery’s school graciously performed some traditional Thai dances for everyone present.

The latest Agama news announcements...

Our Winter 2010 TTC is full; the Summer 2010 TTC is also more than half full. Please apply today if you are interested in joining this amazing and life-changing course!

Workshop reattendance fees have been lowered to 2,000 Baht for the 2010 season to encourage our students even more to refresh themselves in the workshop material as they wish. We are happy to have the larger halls now to be able to extend this offer!

All students will now need to pass the appropriate sash exam required to enter each new block of curriculum teachings. For example, a student must pass the Red Sash Exam in order to enter Course Level 4. This exam is offered every four weeks on the last Saturday of the course cycle; it will next be held on 30 January at 12:00, Shakti Hall. The Orange Sash Exam, which will be held on the same date at 12:00 in Shiva Hall, must be passed by those seeking to join Course Level 9, and so on. All exams are held on the Saturday just preceding the course for which they form an admission requirement.

Our new Welcome and Registration Office at Ananda Wellness Resort is now open Monday through Saturday from 8:00-14:00 and 15:30-18:00. You may now register here in advance for any event or course at any time it is convenient for you. In addition, new students are encouraged to come directly to this office for orientation and assistance upon arrival.

All students are requested to visit this link for self-registration to our database, where they will be prompted to fill out their student profiles, emergency contact data, and other details. This integration of all students to our new MindBodyOnline database is essential as we try to create a more efficient system for managing attendance, student records, etc. Thank you for your cooperation!

We have discontinued the program of Karma Yoga discounting in favor of supported positions which require a greater time commitment, more longevity in positions, and a larger scope of responsibility. There was too much administration required with too little continuity in the former structure. If you would like to involve yourself more deeply in service for our community, please apply to Rainer, the General Manager, with your resumé and interests; we will contact you further if your talents and interests fit with an open position. In addition, we continue to welcome Karma Yoga contributions to the running of our yogi community! We always need and appreciate your help, no matter how large or small the effort, toward the smooth workings of our nonprofit operations.

The Agama Yoga Health and Consultation Center is again open and welcomes all students, as well as the public, to receive naturopathic, homeopathic, and Yogic consultations, alternative therapies (such as acupuncture, Yogic chiropractic, cranio-sacral therapy, sound therapy, Reiki, etc.), massage, and other treatments on a minimum donation basis. If you are a healer in natural therapies and wish to offer service to others as Karma Yoga or on a minimum donation basis, please contact Center Director Mihaiela Pentiuc: mihaiela@agamayoga.com. For all other questions, please contact Manager Kathleen: kathleen@agamayoga.com.