The Spirit of Yoga

Laura Massa writes: India is one of the cradles of world civilization and center of ancient spiritual knowledge. It is my belief that learning should always provide a first-hand experience. In an effort to introduce an empirical approach into the classroom I invited dance Professor Harija Sivakumar from India, and Valerie DeWitt, an American yoga instructor and mother of one of our ninth graders. Both classes provided a vivid exposure to different aspects of Indian culture.

Professor Sivakumar performed and explained the main steps of Bharathanatyam, a classical Indian dance that is extremely popular in southern India as well as in Sri Lanka. This sacred dance reveals the spiritual through the corporeal, and traces its origin in the times of the Vedas, the scriptural texts of the Hindus and the foundation of its religion and philosophy. The complexity of the dance is based on the coordination of feet, legs, arms, hands, eyes, and head movements; everything performed within a precise musical rhythm.

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Instructor Valerie DeWitt introduced the practice of asanas or yoga postures to our young students. In her own words: "I teach to share the amazing benefits of yoga with others. I feel very strongly that in this confused, chaotic time we all need to be able to find balance. Yoga gives us a way to feel a sense of well-being and teachers us to access inner peace, which creates that balance. It is also a wonderful way to have a healthy, strong, flexible body, allowing us to function better in our lives. Yoga has been a great gift in my life, and it is a joyful experience to share it with others."


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