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Just some of what they say about our Ashram Yoga Retreats

For more testimonials please visit our Testimonial (blog) Page

For some retreat/workshop's photos visit our photo gallery by retreat

"...she (Yvonne) is a yoga teacher with years of experience and a deep understanding of the wider aspects of yoga. Her predominant force is that of Satyananda - an all encompassing style that includes breathing (pranayama), meditation (Dhyana), postures (Asana) and the wider principles of living such as yamas and Niyamas. However, she draws her teaching from many styles and sources. All of which she is happy to discuss further during the retreat.

In keeping with Ahimsa (non-violence to self and others & compassion for all living things) she is an advocate of self love and kindness. This is demonstrated in her practice with her pupils - adapting Asana's for all abilities and enabling students to identify an intention for each practice (sankalpa) as well as appreciation at the end of each practice. Thereby developing self awareness, gratitude and connectedness.

Gedong Gandhi Ashram is the perfect setting for the retreat with the Gandhian principles of Ahimsa and self-sufficiency being primary. The retreat takes place with an ocean view, surrounded by a gentle breeze and bird song. Meditation and pranayama are held in the upstairs meditation room overlooking the lotus filled pond. These are perfect for enhancing inner awareness, satisfying asana practice and focus on the breath whilst promoting positive well being."

"..I really resonated with Jennifer's style of teaching and her incredible knowledge. She has a wonderful sense of connection and this flows through in her classes. I have gained some great insights from her and appreciated the warm, inclusive environment she created. And the astute, individualised attention!

..I have really appreciated the constant support and openness of Ahimsaka and have enjoyed re-connecting with him. And of course Rudi, Jackson and the tireless Ashram members who have catered to our every need, often before we even recognise the need."

Read more here:
Ashram Yoga Retreats at Ashram Gandhi Candidasa - Index Page

An old woman, of French origin is seated in a Garden, wearing a beatific smile.

Surrounding her are many people - educators, spiritual seekers, mothers asking her questions The questions are all about children: How do I create silence in my class? How do I react when I see my child constantly asking for material things? What should I do when I see a child lying? And so on. In the background there are children dressed in white playing. The old woman is The Mother, the Spiritual collaborator of Shri Aurobindo. And the setting is the Shri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.

So, why are questions about children being directed to a spiritual teacher? An understanding of the background of these two great people - Shri Aurobindo and The Mother, would be helpful.

Shri Aurobindo was an Indian Nationalist, philosopher and a poet who joined the Freedom movement and was imprisoned by the British Government.

In his Tales of prison life he writes, The only result of the wrath of the British Government was that I found God. Else readers may think that suffering is the only fact of prison life. On discovering his spiritual impulse, he later moved to Pondicherry and worked on his spiritual aspirations.

Mira Alfassa, born in France, known to her followers as The Mother came to Shri Aurobindos spiritual retreat in 1914. And became his spiritual collaborator. She brought with her varied and rich experiences including her associations with the likes of Monet and Rabindranath Tagore.

She had a deep interest in children and founded the school in the Ashram where she worked closely with teachers and children and defined her educational philosophy. Her book titled On Education reveals her profound understanding of children and education in the light of spirituality.

There are two distinguishing features that stand out from other educators in Mothers approach to education.

One is her conviction that education begins at birth, or even before birth. Two, her extraordinary focus on physical education.

She believed that education of the child began from the time of conception. She believed that the nature of the child to be born is greatly influenced by the mothers aspirations, will and the physical environment.

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Where spirituality meets education

Napoleon Hill author of best seller Think and Grow Rich is often credited as saying that Make your money work so hard for you; so that you do not have to work for it. Various books have been written on the art and science of making money based on more or less the same principle.

Read our full coverage on Union Budget

Mathematically speaking Make money work for you is called as compounding or simply compound interest. Albert Einstein was amazed by the power of compounding and called it the eighth wonder of the world.

Before we move on to identifying financial goals and how to achieve them it is important to understand the power of compounding and regular saving.

Understanding compounding

Regular saving in relatively safer financial instruments yielding moderate returns can work wonders over a long period of time. If a parent starts saving Rs 25 daily for their child from the day he or she is born for the next 25 years at a rate of 10 per cent compounded annually, they would be able to gift the child an amount of Rs 9.25 lakh on his 25th birthday. Apart from the money the amount will teach the child the advantage of savings. If he learns to save and invest in the same way as his parents and starts saving Rs 3,000 per month religiously in the same instrument earning 10 per cent compounded annually he would be able to get an amount of Rs 1.02 crore at the time of his retirement (60 years).

Compounding works wonders over longer period

Wealth cannot be accumulated overnight, like a tree it needs to be nurtured. Compounding teaches us that it does not take too much of money to save a decent amount. What is required is the discipline of regular saving and time on your side. Longer the time better will be the return.

Take the earlier example of the parent saving Rs 25 daily for a period of 25 years. In order to get the same amount in a span of five years they would have had to save Rs 400 every day. If the parents had saved Rs 150 everyday for a period of 10 years they would have been able to save around Rs 9 lakh.

Another way of looking at the above example of retirement planning is that the amount of Rs 3,000 per month saved for 35 years, from the time he starts saying to his retirement, will earn the person Rs 1.02 crore. This is equivalent to receiving Rs 34,000 per month for the next 25 years of his retired life, assuming that the entire amount of Rs 1.02 crore does not earn any more interest post his retirement. In reality the amount of Rs 1.02 crore itself will be earning an interest of Rs 10 lakh per annum if it is invested in a fixed deposit yielding 10 per cent return, which would work out to Rs 83,330 per month.

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Understanding the magic of compounding