YOGASANA ASSOCIATION
25, 2nd Cross, Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-13, India.
e mail: abb
was conducted on 6th and 7th of December 2008
For details contact
General Secretary PYA
Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri
22nd Yoga Sport Championship-Nov 2007
Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani
Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani,
General Secretary PYA
PONDICHERRY YOGASANA ASSOCIATION
Yoga is an ancient art and science that has brought great name and fame to our beloved nation Bharat (India). In the last few decades a new concept has been introduced in the field of Yoga. This concept, known as YOGA SPORT, aims to introduce youth of the world to the magnificent art and science of Yoga through the medium of Yogasana Competitions at district, state, national and even international levels. Yoga Sport is the ideal sport for our nation as no infrastructure or costly equipment is required and all sections of society can achieve great heights through it. Yogasana competitions are part and parcel of the modern Yoga world and various national and international organizations are involved in the development and propagation of the ideals of Yoga Sport.
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR YOGA SPORT of the INTERNATIONAL YOGA FEDERATION is the international governing body of Yoga Sport and is based in South America, Asia and Europe. The IYF has held International Yoga Championships nearly every year in various countries around the world. The First International Yoga Championship was held January 27th to 31st, 1989 at Pondicherry under the guidance of Yoga Maharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri. The 10th International Yoga Championship was held at New Delhi in 2001. In India we have the INDIAN YOGA FEDERATION and the YOGA FEDERATION OF INDIA that have been conducting Yogasana competitions in various age groups for three decades in all states of our country. We also have the Yoga Confederation of India and the South Indian Yoga Federation that are relatively more recent in their inception. The states of Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have established Yoga Associations that regularly conduct competitions and related activities every year.
Pondicherry Yogasana Association founded by Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri in 1975 has been in the forefront of the Yoga Sport movement and Swamiji is hailed as one of the founding fathers of this concept. Since 1975 the Pondicherry Yogasana Association has held 23 Annual Pondy State Yogasana Championships with more than 600 competitors from 30 institutions participating in these championships in recent times.
Pondicherry Yogasana Association was registered with the Registrar of Societies as No.440 of 2001 after the present office bearers took over. The registered office is situated at 25, 2nd Cross, Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-13. Pondicherry Yogasana Association is recognized by the International Yoga Federation and is affiliated to the Indian Yoga Federation.
In order to create interests in the art and science of Yoga, the Pondicherry Yogasana Association has organised Swami Gitananda Best Yoga Youth Award competitions every year since 2000. This competition tests the competitors not only in their Asana skill but also in the theory and other aspects of the art and science of Yoga. Pondicherry Yogasana Association has also introduced Yoga Theory aspects into all Yogasana Competitions and this has exposed competitors to spiritual aspects of the great science of Yoga in addition to developing their skill in Yogasanas. Pondicherry Yogasana Association has been the pioneer in introducing awards for Yogic Personality as well as Yogic Behavior in competitions conducted by the Pondicherry Yogasana Association.
Vivekananda Kendra Yogas (sVYASA) at Bangalore has conducted the National and International HIMALAYA YOGA OLYMPIAD for the past five years. Pondicherry Yogasana Association successfully conducted the state level Himalaya Yoga Olympiad in Pondicherry in 2001. The Pondicherry Yogasana Association team also placed a commendable second in the national Himalaya competition held at Bangalore in 2001.
The Pondicherry Government has held an International Yogasana Competition every year since 1993 during the International Yoga Festival conducted by the Tourism Department and this draws hundreds of contestants from numerous states of India as well as many foreign countries. Pondicherry Yogasana Association has been in the forefront of supporting the Tourism Department in organizing the Yogasana Competitions and the General Secretary Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani has COORDINATED these International Yoga competitions since 2001 till date
Membership in the PYA is open to all residents of Pondicherry irrespective of age, gender, caste, religion and social or economic status. The guiding principle for acceptance of membership is that they must have a sincere interest in the art and science of Yoga and be willing to propagate the cause of Yoga Sports.
RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT OFFICE BEARERS OF
PONDICHERRY YOGASANA ASSOCIATION
THE FOUNDER:
A Master Yogi and great Spiritual Teacher, Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri had the unique talent of infusing the mystic insights of the Rishis into practical life. The exponent of a Bengali Tantric tradition, which stretches back hundreds of years, Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri, a medical doctor and scientist, was able to express the abstract ancient insights in practical modern terms. One of the greatest Masters of Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga in the twentieth century, Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj of Pondicherry, India, was a brilliant and dynamic Guru known affectionately as THE LION OF PONDICHERRY. He taught hundreds of thousands of persons worldwide the intricate and demanding art and science of Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga, through his books, his magazine articles, his monthly magazine YOGA LIFE, and his nine world tours in which he lectured and taught hundreds of thousands of seeking spirits worldwide. His influence on the modern world of Yoga is immense. He was named Madathiapathy of Sri Kambaliswamy Madam in 1975 and carried out his religious duties scrupulously. He founded Ananda Ashram (1968) and later, the International Centre for Yoga Education and Research (1989) on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, eight kilometers north of Pondicherry. He also founded in March 1993 a flourishing City Centre, known as YOGANJALI NATYALAYAM, to teach the Hindu cultural arts of Bharat Natyam and Carnatic Music, as well as Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga to the local populace. Throughout, his approach was scientific, rational and systematic. In 1987 he was awarded the title, The Father of Modern Scientific Yoga by Vishwa Unnyanan Samsad of Calcutta. He was also one of the pioneers in bringing the concepts of traditional Yoga to the Western mind. On December 20, 1986, Swami Gitananda Giri was awarded the title YOGA SHIROMANI by the then President of India Shri Zail Singh Ji, at the World Yoga Conference held in Asian Village, New Delhi. He personally taught an intensive Six Month International Yoga Teachers Training Course in his Pondicherry Ashram for twenty-five years from 1968. On March 10, 1986, Swami Gitananda was appointed to Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi. He served in this position till his Mahasamadhi. Swami Gitananda cooperated and served as advisor to Government in organizing the First International Yoga Festival in Pondicherry sponsored by Department of Tourism, in January 1993. Since then, the Festival has been held yearly from January 4th to 7th, and Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani continues to act as advisor for this grand event. Her services and that of Swami Gitananda are regularly and publicly appreciated by the Pondicherry Government at this festival. Swami Gitananda was given so many other honours, including the honour of being the First Vice-President of the All India Association of Mutts and Ashrams based in Kancheepuram, Tamilnadu to which he was elected in 1983. The organisation was headed by the Presidentship of the Shankaracharya of Kancheepuram, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi. To name Swamijis accomplishment would take volumes and indeed, volumes have been written on him. No history of Yoga in modern times is complete without reference to his name. He is the author of twenty-two books on Yoga, has conducted five World Conferences on Yoga, headed an international organisation with centres in twenty countries. More than 135 centres of Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga are established worldwide, with thousands of Ashtanga Yoga teachers trained by him now actively propagating not only Yoga, but also various aspects of Indian culture. He was part of the intellectual community of Yoga practitioners, and was the Chief Patron of the prestigious Indian Academy of Yoga, centered at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He has done large amounts of scientific Research in Yoga, and has more than fifty scientific and semi scientific papers to his credit. His work is often cited as references in Yoga research projects worldwide. He is considered one of the five major authorities on Ashtanga Yoga in the twentieth century. The great Yogi attained Mahasamadhi on December 29, 1993, at the age of eighty-seven years.
THE PRESIDENT :
Yogacharini Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani was born in the United States in 1943 but came to India to study Yoga at the age of 25 and fell in love with the country and its culture. She has lived in India ever since, and received Indian citizenship on November 30, 1992, in her own words the proudest day of my life. She met her Guru in Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj in 1968 and since that time has devoted her life to his teachings and to institutions founded by him. She has been instrumental in training more than 10,000 village children in the art and science of Yoga and Bharat Natyam since 1975 through the Sri Kambaliswamy Yoga and Fine Arts Programme. Hundreds of her students trained in this programme have taken up Yoga and Bharata Natyam teaching as full time careers. She is a journalist by profession and her articles and essays appear in national and international magazines and newspapers. She has been editor of the international magazine Yoga Life since 1970 and is Managing Editor of the Ashram's publishing unit Satya Press. She is Director of Studies (Ashram Acharya) for the Six Month International Yoga Teachers Training Course offered annually at ICYER from October 2nd to March 25th, as well as for the year-long International Diploma in Yoga Education offered from October, 2001 at ICYER. She is a popular Conference and Seminar speaker. She has been Organizing Secretary for five major International Yoga Conferences, the most recent being the Fourth Decennial and Millennium Meet of Teachers of Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga, January 23rd through February 5th, 2000 in Pondicherry. She is a prolific author and has written five books, including two books of poetry. She has been recipient of many National Awards. The then President of India Shri Zail Singh Ji awarded her the title Yogamani in 1986 at an International Yoga Conference held at the Asian Village, New Delhi. In 1998 she was awarded the National Award, Bhaskar Award by Bharat Nirman and Indian Trade Promotion Organisation, New Delhi, one of fifty eminent Indians so honoured during the 50th year of Indian Independence for their contribution to Indian culture and spirituality. In January 1999, Pondicherry Government gave her the highest award for an artist, the Puduvai Kalaimamani Award for her work in Bharat Natyam. In December 1999 she was named as an eminent Yoga expert to a three year tenure on the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, under the Health Ministry, Government of India, New Delhi and she was named to the Finance Committee of this Council in March 2000. She was named to Academic Council, Pondicherry University, in March 2000. She was awarded a Gold Medal by Government of Pondicherry for her work in Bharat Natyam on February 26, 2001. She is Director of Yoganjali Natyalayam, a popular City Centre for the propagation of Yoga, Bharat Natyam and Carnatic Music and has developed its famous Bharat Natyam troupe. Yoganjali Natyalayam was founded in 1993 as a continuation of the Sri Kambaliswamy Yoga and Fine Arts Programme that was begun in 1975. More than 15 faculty and 5 staff members are working in this institution and another 10 faculty members and 3 staff members are working in the Pondy West Branch located in Thelashpet, Pondicherry-9. Yoganjali Natyalayam also has extension programmes running in Venkata Nagar and Anna Nagar. More than 3000 students have studied in the Natyalayam that boasts of a regular strength of more than 400 students. She has worked tirelessly to reinstate the ancient acrobatic Natya Karanas into the Bharat Natyam repertoire and has presented lecture - demonstrations on this topic at the ABHAI dance festivals in Chennai. She has also composed, Choreographed and directed EIGHT FULL LENGTH DANCE DRAMAS and TWENTY-FIVE MINI DANCE DRAMAS in the last ten years. It is note worthy that four of her students M. Niraimathy, N. Ramya , M Ilaval and M Desh were selected for the Central Govts Human Resource Ministrys National Best Child Awards from New Delhi
THE GENERAL SECRETARY :
Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani is the only son of the world famous Yoga team of Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj and Puduvai Kalaimamani, Yogamani, Yogacharini, Smt. Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani. He was reared in the 'Gurukula' atmosphere of Ananda Ashram, where the Yoga Vidya (Knowledge of the Art and Science of Yoga) was imbibed as a 24-Hour-a-Day-Sadhana. Nominated as his Guru - Father's successor on his fourth birthday as Madathiapathy of Sri Kambaliswamy Madam, he was trained in Pujas, Rites and Rituals, Mantra, Yoga and the Carnatic Fine Arts from a young and tender age. He has been trained in Rishiculture Ashtanga (Gitananda) Yoga from that tender age and has assisted his parents in the Yoga training imparted at Ananda Ashram, Sri Kambaliswamy Madam, ICYER and Yoganjali Natyalayam from that time onwards.
A Fellow of the Indian Academy of Yoga, he has authored 18 DVDs and 15 books on Yoga as well as published three dozen papers and abstracts on Yoga and Yoga research in national and international Journals. He is a Gold Medalist in Medical Studies (MBBS) with postgraduate diplomas in Family Health (PGDFH) and Yoga (PGDY). He is a Carnatic Vocal, Mridungist, Music Composer and Bharatanataym Choreographer in addition to his duties as a medical officer in the Village Health Programme of the Auroville Health Centre. He has traveled to the UK, USA, Italy, Germany and Switzerland as the Cultural Ambassador of the International Yoga Federation and is Advisor of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), World Yoga Council and Member of the International Council for Yoga Sport.
He has been a featured speaker at many Yoga conferences and is a regular featured speaker at the International Yoga Festival conducted by the Government of Pondicherry each year January 4th to 7th. He has also been the Co-ordinator and Jury at the International Yogasana Competition held at the International Yoga Festival Pondicherry annually and is responsible for organizing the more than 500 contestants who come from all over India to participate. He has also organised HIMALAYA YOGA OLYMPIAD in Pondicherry (2001) in his capacity as Himalaya State Coordinator and led the Pondy team to the National Himalaya Yoga Olympiad at Bangalore in November 2001. He has also organised the Annual Pondicherry State Yogasana Championships every year since 2002 as well as the Swami Gitananda Best Youth and Child Awards every year since 2000.
Yoga for him is not just the performance of a few Asanas or Pranayamas but is a means for evolution of the human mind in to further states of consciousness and awareness. He has attended various Yoga Conferences in New Delhi, Bombay, Lonavla, Bhopal, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Madurai and other places along with his parents. He has assisted in the conduct of three International Yoga Conferences conducted at Pondicherry by Ananda Ashram under Dr. Swami Gitananda and Smt Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani. He has had the good fortune of meeting and receiving the blessings of numerous Great Yoga Masters such as Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Satchidananada, Swami Dayananda, BKS Iyengar, Sri Direndra Brahmachari and Sri Yogeshwar. He has been privileged to receive the blessings of eminent Scientist - Yogis such as Dr B Ramamurthy, Prof TR Anantaraman, Dr W Selvamurthy, Dr Nagendra, Dr Nagaratna, Dr MV Bhole, Dr SV Rao, Dr RP Pandey, Dr Khapre and Dr Madanmohan.
He is a life member of the INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION; ABHAI (Association of Bharata Natyam Artists of India); Chennai, IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists, based in U.S.A); APPI (Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India) and the INDIAN ACADEMY OF YOGA, New Delhi. He is the patron of the SANATHANA DHARMA SANGHA, the Hindu Movement in Italy and Europe as well as more than one hundred Rishiculture Ashtanga (Gitananda) Yoga centres all over the world.
He has Worked as a SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW in the Yoga Research Project conducted by the Department of Physiology, JIPMER under the auspices of the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, New Delhi. He is involved in various research studies at JIPMER and has published / has under publication numerous scientific papers on these findings. He has published papers in Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, Yoga Mimamsa, Nisargopachar Vartha (NIN Pune), Yoga Life as well as many national and international Yoga magazines.
He has received the Marudha Ramalinganar OUTSTANDING YOUNG PERSON AWARD and Rolling Shield for the year 2002 from the Youth Peace Centre, Pondicherry and received the title award of Yoga Vibhushan from Tamil Nadu State Yoga Association and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (Tuticorin) at the 15th Tamil Nadu State Yogasana Championship held at Kovilpatti, Tuticorin Dist, Tamil Nadu on 10th August 2003.
Other titles and awards received by him are Palkalai Chemmal, Sagala Kala Vallavan, Isai Sevagan, Puduvai Mannin Maindhan, Achiever Award 2003 , Yoga Kalaimamani, Shiva Yoga Chudar and Jnana Vruddha.
VICE PRESIDENTS:
The vice presidents of Pondicherry Yogasana Association, Sri T.P. Santhaseelan and Sri C.K. Manoharun are eminent Pondicherrians who have taken keen interest in the development and propagation of Yoga. They have been instrumental in many youth taking up a serious practice of Yoga.
OTHER OFFICE BEARERS :
Treasurer:
Yoga Chemmal Sri C Shanmugam
Public Relations Committee:
Yoga Chemmal Smt Lalitha Shanmugam and Shri G Dayanidy
Yoga Sports Committee:
Yoga Chemmal Shri E Gajendiran, Shri V Ravindran, Yoga Chemmqal Shri Senthil Kumar,
Shri MS Sharma and Selvi L Vithiya Lakshmi
Yoga Education Committee:
Smt Meena Ramanathan, Yogacharini Smt Devasena Bhavanani, Smt Prabhavathy Mohan
Yoga Therapy Committee:
Yoga Chemmal Shri G Kumaran, Yoga Chemmal Shri Anbhazhagan, Dr Madhusudhanan,
Shri B Soundiram and Shri Sathish Kumar
All of them are well-trained Yoga teachers who are involved in the propagation of Yoga amongst the people of Pondicherry. They have many years of experience in Yoga and Yoga Sports. They represent more than 20 yoga institutions in Pondicherry such as Yoganjali Natyalayam, International Centre for Yoga Education and Research (ICYER), Pondy West Branch of Yoganjali Natyalayam, Sri Kambaliswamy Yoga and Fine Arts programme, Voluntariat, Gitanjali Yoga Centre, Indian School of Yoga, Vivekananda Yoga Centre, Guru Kripa Yoga Centre, Sai Yoga Centre, Gitananda Yoga Centre, Centre for Yoga Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry University Community College, Himalaya Yoga Centre, Sri Sivananda Yogalayam, Kalai Thai Yoga Centre, O2 Fitness Centre,Sangeetha Salangai Natyalaya, Tagore Arts College, and student Members drawn from virtually all schools of Pondicherry
PYA has honoured the following Yoga Teachers during the Yoga Sport Championships with the Yoga Chemmal Awards in recognition of theri service for the cause of Yoga in general and Yoga Sport in particular
Awardees are:
2004
Smt Lalitha Shanmugam, Shri E Gajendiran, Shri G Kumaran, Shri V Anbazhagan, Shri A Annadurai, Dr M Madhavan, Shri D Sudhakar and Shri Venkatesan
2005
Shri T A Krishnan, Shri Anthony Yesudas, Dr S Viswanathan, Shri C Shanmugam, Shri D Senthil Kumar and Shri O Gangadharan
2006
Yogacharini Devasena Bhavanani, Yogacharini Dr Nalini Devi , Smt Meena Ramanathan, Dr Madhusudhanan , Shri Ravi Arumugam and Shri Venugopal
2007
Yogacharini Maitreyi, Yogacharini Aishwariya and Yogashiromani V Ravindran