"Let the beauty that we love be what we do."
- Rumi

Namaste dear friends and aspirants!

The start of 2011 brings a fresh energy to the island, as many of our students return to continue their studies. Our ‘low’ season, while rainy, has proved to be very busy – we are now planning more events and classes to be offered throughout the year. We are now so busy that both of our new Teacher Training offerings are full!


The Hridaya Meditation and Hatha Yoga Teacher Training starting on February 28 has a long waiting-list as well, but if you are very eager to participate you can check for availability at ttc@agamayoga.com. The Mystical Dance Teacher Training is now also completely filled with eager shaktis! We are able to still accept some applications for the ‘Summer Agama Yoga Teacher Training Course’ starting on May 23.

Our island events and workshops calendar is fuller than ever. We already have concluded our very successful first workshops, Tantra 1 and 2 as well as Astrology in Tantric Yoga. Other new offerings for 2011 include Practical Tantra 1 and 2, both to be held in February with Moses Maimon. In June, Antoaneta Gotea will debut the Introduction to Tantric Rituals. All of these are shorter 3-day-format workshops, to take you ever deeper into the study of Tantra.

Of course we will again offer the beautiful Hridaya Retreat – Revelation of the Spiritual Heart with Sahajananda, (Claudiu Trandafir’s spiritual name) ending with the 17 day Advanced Hridaya Retreat, to be held on 22 July through 7 August. For the first time, Heidrun Mueller, an advanced student of Agama Yoga, will offer the ‘Third Eye Retreat’.

Our low season has allowed us the time to undertake some construction work. Ananda Yoga Hall has been treated to a new floor and sliding door. Continuing our improvements, our halls now have colored cushions - Shakti Hall is now decked out in red and gold and Shiva Hall in blue and gold. Our dear old Green Hall was demolished due to termites and rebuilt into a lovely, nurturing space that is now the home to our Mystical Dance TTC as well as advanced levels and our weekly Bhajans and Anahata Meditations. We also now have a new hall at the Sri Thanu campus which after student consultation, was christened ‘Ganesha Hall’.

2011 also brings some changes to our Agama Yoga administration.
• Patricia Morrison is now the Manager of Internal Operations , her email is io@agamayoga.com
• Elly Smith is the new Manager of the Teachers’ department, her email is teaching@agamayoga.com
• Eugen Popa is the new Manager of IT department, his email is it@agamayoga.com
• Yogesh is Project and Maintenance manager, his email is pm@agamayoga.com
• Abby Blythe-Hagerman will resume her position as the Finance manager
• Lori Doyle is managing the International department, her email is international@agamayoga.com. Lori will also stay the assistant of Swami, Sahajananda and Mihaiela, her email in this role is lori@agamayoga.com
• Rainer Gasser will continue as General Manager of the school, his email is gm@agamayoga.com

As our school continues to evolve, our International Branches are expanding, with more classes, retreats and workshops on offer than ever before. The calendar is available online to find classes in your area. Locally, as many students contemplate staying longer here in Yoga paradise, we have presented some basic information online on obtaining a Thai visa as well as making visa runs and border runs as easy and stress free as possible (see our FAQ - question 28).

To help us to update your student record and registration details, please visit http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=7267 and voila! You are magically transported to our MindyBodyOnline (MBO) database. This integration of all students to our new MBO database is essential as we try to create a more efficient system for managing attendance, student records etc.


We are proud to once again support the Phangan Film Festival (PFF) to be held 4-6 February at the Holiday Beach Resort in Thongsala. The PFF, held on the beach and under the stars, showcases inspiring & thought-provoking indie films from around the world centering around the festival themes of nature and spirit. A festival schedule is now online at http://www.phanganfilmfestival.com/. The first 100 filmgoers will receive a free PFF tote bag made of jute. The festival will also feature homemade food, and live music by Phangan resident talents.

We look forward to a joyous and spiritually fulfilling new year! Love and blessings from all of us.