Upcoming Events

SWAHA
Art and Soul of
Ashtanga Yoga

With Ron Reid & Meenakshi
July 16 - 30, 2005

El Convento, Andalucia
SOUTHERN SPAIN

Visit site for full listings and samples

CLICK HERE for event poster

Wednesday, May 26th, 7 - 9pm

At The Omega Centre Bookstore
29 Yorkville Ave.
$35 Cash at the door

As we age we dry out, physically and mentally. Our hectic modern lifestyles age us quickly, and we can only counter this trend by learning to rejuvenate.

Rasayana, the Sanskrit word for rejuvenation, literally means, ‘Progressing Toward Juiciness.’ Rasa is life's ‘fluid reality,’ life's juice, in every sense of that word.

Existence without "juice" is dry and tasteless; satisfaction appears in life only when our juices are abundant and free-flowing.

A rich, contented life is filled to the brim with a juiciness that trickles down to the very core of one's being.

India's many disciplines (including Ayurveda, Jyotisha, Tantra, yoga, music, dance, chanting & ritual) cooperate to help make our lives "juicier" by cultivating prana, the life-force, and agni, the internal fire.

Our ultimate goal is to attain to rasayana in its highest form, as Rasa Vidya (alchemy), a transformational discipline that distills substances and emotional states into one all encompassing Parama Rasa, the transcendental flavor of pure awareness that is the zenith of embodied bliss.

The first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda (in 1980) and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. Lived in India 1973-80 and 1982-86. Since 1985 I travel the world lecturing, consulting, teaching and writing. I serve as Adjunct Faculty at the Ayurvedic Institute, Albuquerque, NM, and Bastyr University, Kenmore, WA.

Ismat (Dhala) Nathani is an Ayurvedic Neurotherapist M.D. (MA), Founder & President of the International Federation of Neurotherapy. Ayurvedic" Neurotherapy, "Nadi Mardan Kriya," is an ancient Indian rehabilitative therapy based on vedic principles & philosophy. Learn your Ayurvedic constitutional body type and daily routines using diet, herbs, and more to balance Vata, Pitta, Kapha.

Dr. Nitin Shah, a native of India, has been a practitioner, philosopher and teacher of Ayurveda and Yoga for more than a decade. He is one of very few Postgraduate Ayurvedic Doctors residing in North America. Currently he lives in the Toronto area.

Upon graduating from Gujarat Ayurveda University in 1984 with honors, Dr. Shah traveled to Varanasi for in depth study of Yoga and Ayurvedic Surgery. After completion of his post graduation from Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research he practised Ayurveda in the cities of India. His knowledge and experience is vast in the fields of Ayurveda-Panchakarma, Herbology, Ayurvedic lifestyle management and dietetics, and the management of Ano-Rectal disorders with specialized Ayurvedic para-surgical procedures.

Susan McNaughton began the study of Vedic Astrology in 1985 with Hart de Fouw and has been practicing and teaching since 1993. In 1987 she met her guru and deepened her studies with the study of Indian philosophy, spiritual practices and Sanskrit to acquire knowledge of the philosophical system of which jyotish is a part. Susan also holds an MA in Fine Arts as well as an MA in Social Anthropology from York University with a research focus on the society and culture of India. It is Susan's wish to use this profound and inspiring astrological system to help others gain insight into life and relationship themes.

Jyotish is a Sanskrit term meaning 'the science of planetary light' and the corresponding effect of this light on all life forms. As one of the six branches of the Vedas, it is likened to the 'eyes' of the Vedas since the belief is that it is only when the eye of the soul is awakened that the embodied consciousness can see the detrimental and beneficial results of individual actions. Jyotish ascribes to the theory of reincarnation which proposes that our souls follow an evolutionary path in which we take on different bodies in various contexts over many lifetimes. Jyotish is a symbolic system that takes the interactive dynamism between microcosm, wo/man, and macrocosm, the totality of environmental forces within which we all live, to be in constant dialogue. It is a science, which subscribes to the idea of the art of discriminative living in which our lives are determined more by choice rather than by compulsion.

The ancient Indian sciences of Jyotish and Ayurveda have had a long association and share a common foundation in their understanding of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of the human constitution. Jyotish reveals the effects of the Sun, Moon and planets within an individual's destiny. The healing science of Ayurveda reveals an individual's 'prakruti' or individual constitution. These sciences complement each other in practical ways resulting in the ability to diagnose diseases or physical conditions which arise from the doshas that the planets represent. For example, if the Moon is well placed and free of affliction in a natal horoscope, this would represent an ability to cope with stress and a strong immune system. If afflicted however, by a poorly placed Mars, for example, skin conditions such as rashes, psoriasis, or eczema might periodically afflict the person.

Another system of astrological classification associates the seven planets with the colours or even the clothes an individual may be drawn to. The Moon in association with Mars strongly placed in the horoscope and connected with the ascendant will want to make an impression when they enter a room and may have a sense of flamboyant colour. The reds and oranges of Mars will tend to create excitement. Saturn, on the other hand, rules black and navy blue which conveys a sense of discipline, authority and means business. In situations in which you may need to ask for assistance rely on Jupiterian yellow since it is the enemy of no planet.

The application of these principles, through a diagnosis based on an individual's natal horoscope helps each individual assess her own constitution and become involved in his or her own processes of self-discovery and rejuvenation.

Susan will be speaking about the ways in which the horoscope can lead us to interpret our constitution towards an understanding of vibrant health and beauty at the Ayurvedic Expo Sept. 26-28, 2003.

Please contact Susan at (416) 267-4455 to reserve time for a personal horoscope reading at the Expo.

Helen Goldstein is a mind-body educator and a certified yoga and meditation teacher. She is the Founder and Director of The Yoga Studio in Toronto, the leading personal growth facility in Canada.

Helen has trained with Dr. Deepak Chopra, the internationally acclaimed speaker, author and teacher of mind-body techniques, and she is honoured to be one of the first individuals certified by Dr. Chopra to teach Primordial Sound Meditation in Canada.

Helen is Canada�s best known yoga and meditation teacher and is recognized as an expert in the field of mind-body education. She appears regularly on national television and has received extensive media coverage in The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Flare Magazine, Canadian Living, Toronto Life, Toronto Life Fashion and Chatelaine.

Helen is a popular keynote speaker and facilitator at conferences and events throughout North America. She instructs with humour, compassion and just a little irreverence. Before launching The Yoga Studio, she was one of Canada�s top real estate agents. After experiencing �burn out� first-hand, she created a workshop for sales and marketing professionals called �Selling with Soul�. Helen describes the popular workshop as �learning how to build the skills for the life you want, while keeping your sanity and integrity intact�. Helen also works with corporations and organizations to customize and deliver stress reduction workshops to their employees, which assist them in creating balance in their lives and harmony in the workplace.

Xenia is a gifted teacher of the ancient science of Yoga. She uses Yoga practices and other sacred healing arts, such as Ayurveda, Energy Medicines, Shamanic Journeying, Hands-on Healing and karmic clearing through "Core Pattern" exploration, to assist clients in healing the experience of being separated from Divinity.

Xenia took her first initiation in 1980 into the lineage of Swami Jana Dana of Rishikesh, India. For the next ten years she studied and practiced both eastern and Western philosophies, including meditation, dream yoga, breathing and Jungian psychology, especially as they relate to the integration of spiritual practice and life experience.

President CIVELLO Salon-Spa Group, President Collega Inc., Creative Consultant, AVEDA Corporation.

As founder and President of the CIVELLO Salon-Spa Group and COLLEGA Inc., Canada�s National Distributor of AVEDA Pure Plant & Flower Essence Lifestyle Products, former Vice President of Global Education, Artistic Director and most recently, Creative Consultant for the AVEDA Corporation, Ray Civello has been a visionary and a pioneer in the beauty & wellness industry in Canada for over 2 decades.

Civello�s love of fashion and his commitment to wellness developed early in his career when he spent two years in Paris as a freelance editorial hairstylist working for some of Europe�s best fashion publications including L�Officiel and French Vogue. Civello�s creative skill and sensibilities quickly led him to a career as a coveted international educator, platform artist and creative performer. His work includes countless television appearances, fashion editorial and sold out creative and business workshops ranging from the �Business of Creativity� and �Visioncrafting� to his consistently sold out �Portfolio Photography� Workshop.

Determined to continuously raise the bar Ray Civello is internationally respected for his influence on salon-spa development and his keen ability to combine the technical foundations of hairstyling, and the principles of wellness have created a model for the beauty and wellness industry to emulate.

As an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Andrea has studied extensively in India. She was first introduced to Ayurveda eleven years ago by Dr. Upadiya, International Himalayan Hospital, in Haridwar India. There she was trained in Shirodhara and became familiar with Pancha Karma. These studies were furthered in Vrindavana, India, Lord Krsna's birthplace, with Dr. Gupta, Ayurvedic doctor and Pancha Karma specialist. This involved case studies, offering Ayurvedic consultations, assessments and treatments, for ashram residents. Additionally, devotional service for the community was practiced, through the Food for Life program, feeding thousands of the poor each day.

Shantree is an Ayurvedic Live-Food Nutritionist, Therapeutic & Shamanic Herbalist, and Constitutional Iridologist has over 30 years experience in the Natural Healing Arts. He is the founder and co-director of Spirit of the Earth, The Living Centre, Eco-Spiritual Education & Retreat Sanctuary founded in 1983. The Centre supports Conscious Living through The Sevenfold Path and Living Foods Lifestyle. Since the 70's Shantree has been exploring the effects of live-foods and the energetics of a plant based lifestyle on physical, mental, emotional & spiritual health. He teaches at numerous centers in Canada, U.S. and Costa Rica. He offers numerous certification courses in Ayurvedic medicine, herbalism, living nutrition, Constitutional Iridology and shamanism. Kaceras

Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera is a Life Coach with over 25 years of experience. She supports a discovery of the Divine within through body and nature centered practices. Her training includes Continuum Movement Therapy, Breath & Sound Therapy, Sacred Dance, Body & Energy healing, Chi Gong, Nature as Healer, Live-Foods Lifestyle and 33 years on a conscious spiritual journey. She offers workshops and retreats in Costa Rica and at her home in London, ON, Canada - Spirit of the Earth - The Living Centre.

Shantree & Lorenna delight in blending their 30 years each experience to offer programs that support individuals in the practice of conscious living. They integrate the ancient teachings of Ayurveda and the Essenes into their daily life and practice.

Ghanshyam Singh Birla founded National Research Institute for Self-Understanding and the Palmistry Center in Montreal, Canada, in 1972. Dr. Birla has lectured extensively and written numerous articles and texts on the powerful insights of the Vedic sciences, including Love in the Palm of Your Hand: How to Use Palmistry for Successful Relationships, Magnet Therapy: A Gentle and Effective Way to Balance Body Systems, and Destiny in the Palm of Your Hand: Creating Your Future through Vedic Palmistry. Dr. Birla has appeared in Living in Balance on Wisdom Television, WebMD, Breakfast Television on City TV and Good Morning America. In 1998, Dr. Birla established a 300-acre lakefront retreat in Ch�n�ville, Quebec, which serves as an international facility for studies and services in palmistry, astrology and Ayurvedic healing.

Interpreting The Doshas through Hast Jyotish
In Ayurveda, it is recognized that our body, as a microcosm of nature, embodies the same five universal elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether. These elements, called panch tattwas, correspond respectively to our sense of smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing, and are further reduced to the three fundamental doshas. Hast Jyotish (or Vedic Palmistry) as a diagnostic tool, is used to help determine the degree of balance in the doshas and elements in our attributes of body, mind and spirit. Through a case history, Dr. Birla will be diagnosing the doshic disturbances, including preventive guidelines through the system of Hast Jyotish. Hast Jyotish can accomplish this through the observation of the morphological details of the hands, as well as a comparative analysis of the cause and effect patterns of both hands.

To reserve a consultation at the Expo, call The Palmistry Center at (514) 488-2292.

SWAHA performs music that is both sophisticated and uplifting. It is a unique blend of ethereal vocals and earthy rhythms. The songs are the inspiration of Meenakshi and Ron Reid.

Meenakshi's experience with chanting began in 1988 on her first trip to India to study with Swami Shyam. Her background was in the performing arts, but her Bhakti (devotion) for God came through her experiences of meditation and chanting. She is currently leading Kirtan in Toronto at several Yoga studios. Ron Reid is co-owner and director of Downward Dog Yoga Centre in Toronto, Canada. Prior to the opening of Downward Dog in July 1997, he spent many years in the music business performing and writing music for performance, film and dance.

In these collaborations with Meenakshi, the music that has been created is both nectar to the ears, and magic to the soul.

On behalf of Civello Salon and Spas and AVEDA, the following prizes will be donated to the Ayurvedic Expo and raffled off at the event:

1 Civello Salon & Spa Gift Certificate - for an Aveda Himalayan Rejuvenation Treatment, 2.5 hours - retail value $220.00

All funds raised from the sale of the raffle tickets will go directly to the continuance of the Mucherla Global School in India.

Raffle tickets will be on sale at the expo, and remember it will be for a good cause!

Ray Civello introduces the Mucherla Global School Book with proceeds supporting the dreams and visions of the children of the Mucherla Global School in India

The Mucherla Global School is a prototype for the transforming of rural areas of India into progressive communities while fostering Gandhi's vision of religious tolerance, female equality, non-violence and the breaking down of the caste system which severely discriminates against the so-called lower classes. Based on curriculum inspired by the United Nations Leaders, the World Core Curriculum educates students to be world citizens that understand individual worth and are in harmony with themselves, with each other and with the universe. (excerpt from Media Advisory)

At Govinda's Dining Hall
(Adjascent to the Hare Krishna Temple)
243 Avenue Road, at Dupont
Toronto

Dr.Robert Svoboda is among the first western Ayurveda practitioners and has received numerous awards of excellence. He has also authored various books on Ayurveda, Karma, astrology and life.

At Govinda's Dining Hall
(Adjascent to the Hare Krishna Temple)
243 Avenue Road, at Dupont
Toronto

Dr.Robert Svoboda is among the first western Ayurveda practitioners and has received numerous awards of excellence. He has also authored various books on Ayurveda, Karma, astrology and life.

Lecture hosted by
Downward Dog Yoga Centre
735 Queen Street West, 2^nd Floor
$35 Admission
For more info call Downward Dog at (416) 703-8805

Come with questions on your personal life situations relating to Vedic Philosophy

Brhat-mrdanga das, a former school teacher from Durban, South Africa, joined ISKCON twenty years ago. Presently he is the President of ISKCON Pretoria and Chairman of the ISKCON's International Board of Sastra(Vedic Scriptures) Examinations.

Brhat-mrdanga das founded the Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture(BCEC) in July 1991 in Durban. He was the BCEC's International Director till December 2000. Under his direction, BCEC has expanded to Hong Kong, Manila, Cebu, New Delhi, Mayapur, Nairobi, Mauritius, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Trinidad and Guyana. Short seminars were also conducted in New York City, Washington DC, Dallas, Philadelphia and Amsterdam.

BCEC offers bridging courses like Vaisnava Etiquette, Yoga Ladder up to Bhakti-sastri degree. Cerification includes Bhakti-sadacara certificate, Bhakti-gita diploma and Bhakti-sastri degree. Courses are also offered for children. To date 5212 students have passed through BCEC.

The event will feature a drama, "Gods, Demons and Us", directed by Bhaktimarga Swami.

Dr.Robert Svoboda is among the first western Ayurveda practitioners and has received numerous awards of excellence. He has also authored various books on Ayurveda, Karma, astrology and life.

Lecture hosted by The Yoga Sanctuary, 25$
2 college Street, 3^rd floor
416.928.3236

Bri. Maya Tiwari is a Vedic spiritual teacher who emanates the spirit of compassion and healing. Maya Ma, as she is affectionately known, is one of the world's only female Ayurvedic experts. She has been featured on the cover of Yoga Journal and is one of the world's pre-eminent spiritual leaders who was invited to the United Nation's Millennium World Peace Summit. Maya Ma's unique work -- Ayurveda in Wise Earth Tradition -- restores the long forgotten grass roots or sadhana origins and practice of Ayurveda. Her work on Ayurvedic sadhana focuses on healing without medicine through nature's templates of Food, Breath and Sound.

Maya Ma is the founder of the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda in Asheville, North Carolina and the Mother Om Mission (MOM), a charitable organization which provides Ayurveda health education to at-risk communities. MOM is based in New York and is currently installing its nationwide program in Guyana, South America.

Maya Ma belongs to the erudite lineage of Veda Vyasa and was carefully tutored by His Holiness, Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

Most recently, Maya Ma's latest book, The Path of Practice (Ballentine), has been nominated for the Nautilus Award.

Book Signing for The Path of Practice
at the Omega Centre Bookstore
(Canada's largest resource centre devoted to self-discovery)
29 Yorkville Avenue 416.976.9086 or 1.888.ONENESS

Guest Speaker at the Toronto Body Soul & Spirit Expo
Canada's Premier Holistic & Spiritual Lifestyle Expo.
The National Exhibition Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall.

An Evening with Bri. Maya Tiwari
Lecture hosted by The Yoga Sanctuary, By donation*

*All donations go to support Maya Ma�s work with Wise Earth Monastery.