 Nicaragua The Ananda Marga clinic is beginning to take off. The Ministry of Health moved all its operations into our building as it is renovating its own building. This created a very good flow with many referrals and a good overall relationship. The whole community knows us and we have started several activities geared for them. We have yoga classes, community health classes and an interesting project with Eco-fire stoves in contact with the Trees-water Foundation. We started teaching organic cultivation together with a maximum utilization of the land and are working with the university offering nutritional counseling. Vegetarian cooking classes are also provided. There is also a program for providing AIDS prevention through community involvement. The Ananda Marga school is running well, although more space is needed to accommodate the students and a new building seems to be the solution. A music program for the children in the school is also offered. Mexico In Veracruz, Ananda Marga held a yoga and meditation retreat celebrating the new year. Participants enjoyed the natural setting and the early morning meditations by the beach. In Cuernavaca we have regular yoga classes with youth associated with the NGO Poder Joven. In Mexico City the Casa Ananda project added more beds to its facilities. The "Festival of the Alegria" has been organized with the participation of hundreds of people in Mexico City. In Guadalajara we are supporting an eco-village on a plot of 23 hectares. It is called “the orange village” by the local people. Costa Rica Ananda Marga has started ecological workshops for children. Children learn yoga and songs and the workshops are held at the university or in other installations provided by other organizations. The community has asked Ananda Marga to establish a kindergarten and we have ten children’s books ready for publication. Ananda Marga participated in an alternative festival and a lecture was given in the Masonic Temple. Cuba Around twenty margis participated in a seven-day retreat enjoying kiirtan and spiritual company. There were classes on the science of meditation, microvita and Prabhat Samgiita. Ananda Marga is registered as a yoga association affiliated with martial arts. North Carolina At the Prama Institute, our eco-sustainable project in Asheville, NC we have constructed a new road where the new land and intentional community area will be. A number of people are planning to start moving there. We hope to start a school soon and have added a dairy with two cows providing fresh milk for the community. A new barn is in construction with the help of students from Warren Wilson College. A community garden is also planned. We are working on several university campuses teaching yoga classes. We have registered a course at Duke University where the students will be able to earn credits while learning about Ananda Marga yoga. Two programs were given in Atlanta and also in the Universities of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and Duke. A lecture was given in Greensboro and a collective meditation was performed on the farm in the area. Texas Ananda Marga is supporting the development of an eco-sustainable project near Austin, Texas. It is a 45-acre farm that is planned to be developed as a sustainable community. The Austin University yoga club is very popular and we have recently extended the service by teaching yoga to the faculty and employees specifically on yoga and stress management. Colorado In Denver we continue a monthly mass feeding program. It is called “Yogi Food Pantry.” It has been further expanded utilizing the basement of the Ananda Marga Yoga Center. Pennsylvania At the Quest Center near Scranton, PA the community is organizing a third workshop for planning a herb garden and Ukrainian easter eggs decoration. The second was very successful. Participants planted seeds for spring and learned cross knitting techniques. Ananda Marga is organizing an alternative spring break edition co-sponsored by the Penn State Cooperative Extension and a volunteer training co-sponsored by the Red Cross. California In Los Angeles AMURT (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team) supports regular food distribution for low-income families called the “Brown Bag Program”. We also serve breakfast on Sunday at 7 am feeding around 150 homeless people downtown and help needy people when they have to move. David Carradine, world famous actor from the TV series Kung Fu, was present at the Life Expo and showed interest in Ananda Marga meditation and way of life. North of Los Angeles the "Peach Farm" near Lake Hughes offers an educational opportunity for young people and volunteers. There are six young men learning organic farming together with yoga and meditation. Five of them are from the USA and one is from Switzerland. In addition, 15 school students came for a planting demonstration. A professional film-maker is preparing a few meditation video clips and a monk of Ananda Marga has been appointed as chaplain for the state’s prison system, where we already have yoga and meditation classes. Florida In Miami, Ananda Marga started a meditation group with young people. There were two lectures on yoga psychology. Jamaica In Kingston we had a women’s workshop and an art festival for children in the Grants Penn area. We are teaching yoga classes and the coach of Usain Bolt – 100 and 200 m champion and world record holder - approached Ananda Marga asking us to give yoga postures classes to the athletes, who are now benefiting very much. Oregon A third building has been purchased for the expansion of the school in Portland. The building is very spacious and it will be inaugurated soon. New York On Long Island we had a music performance and in Manahattan we participated in several open mic and lecture events. There was a RAWA cultural program at the Ananda Marga Yoga Center in New York with the participation of several artists. Alabama Two introductory yoga programs were given in the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa). Puerto Rico A conference and several concerts conferred the opportunity to introduce RAWA (Renaissance Artists and Writers Association) to many young people. Missouri There was a big concert in the Civic Center of West Plain. RAWA performed and we meet many artists, both national and international. The music performed was traditional and folk. We distributed Ananda Marga leaflets and invited people to our yoga classes. In the Civic Center we have an ongoing yoga class. Prout classes in New York have a good attendance with many young people on hand. The lectures are recorded and available as podcasts at www.proutcast.org
|
|||
 |
Ananda Marga ... News & Resources |
|
|
|
|
Post to Twitter