Yogi Vishvketu (Vishva-ji) has studied and practiced Hatha and Raja yoga and the Vedic healing arts in northern India since childhood. From the age of 8, he studied Vedic wisdom at Kanvashram in the foothills of the Himalayas. With its historic temple and Ayurvedic clinic, Kanvashram attracts many yogic saints and Ayurvedic masters, and was an ideal place to absorb these ancient healing and consciousness-raising traditions. Vishva went on to attain a Bachelor’s degree from a renowned Sports College with a specialization in yoga and its use in optimizing athletic performance, followed an M.A. and Ph.D. in Yoga Philosophy at Gurukul Kangri, the Sanskrit university of Haridwar. He then moved to Yoga Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, seeking advanced teachings in Pranic purification from Yogi Nath, while teaching and inspiring students from around the world to live the yogic life with joy and dedication.
He moved to Canada in 2001, and began to teach internationally, bringing a passion for yoga and his fun-loving nature to the classes. In October 2003 he released an instructional DVD entitled Moving into Bliss with Yoga, presenting a balanced sequence of asana and pranayama techniques in a harmonious and meditative flow set to classical Indian music. Vishva-ji has been a much-loved teacher and demonstrator at the Yoga Show and Conference in Toronto for the past five years, since its inception in 2003. In March 2008, he taught at the Purnarnava Ayurveda Conference in Rishikesh.
Vishva-ji is committed to offering holistic yoga workshops internationally, incorporating diverse aspects of the practice: asana, pranayama, cleansing kriyas, Ayurveda and Vedic chanting, as well as to offering Yoga Alliance registered 200- and 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) programs in Canada and in Rishikesh (India). He calls this holistic style of teaching Akhanda Yoga, meaning whole and indivisible. It is in this spirit that in January 2007, he and his wife, Chetana Panwar, founded Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh (India) where they live and teach six months of the year (Oct. – April).
Vishva-ji esteems for their teachings in traditional Hatha yoga, the great saints Baba Prem Nath and Guru Yogi Nath of the ancient lineage of Nath; and for teachings in naturopathy and Ayurveda, the master Baba Hari Nam and Swami Yogananda.
Chétana came to the path of yoga through a meditation class in 1993. Upon returning from a two-year stay in Asia, she began to embrace yoga as an all-encompassing lifestyle, faith and culture. She has found that her true nature blossoms through integrating Jnana and Bhakti yoga: philosophical contemplation, and devotional practices. “Yoga is unity in diversity, and allows us to recognize that the apparent duality between mind and heart is illusory”. This merging of mind and heart is apparent in her writing. Her article The Path of the Yoginii was published in New Renaissance magazine; she has also written for Yoga Magazine (UK Edition).
Chétana enjoys leading kiirtan at satsang gatherings, and brings chanting and inspirational messages to her classes. Her intention is to share with students the beautiful simplicity of the yogic vision through her passion for philosophy and poetry, movement and meditation, nutrition and alternative healing artsBlending insights from her Master’s degree in adult education, and her training in yoga, philosophy and meditation, she developed the curriculum and manual for World Conscious Yoga Family’s Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) courses. Chétana teaches Philosophy-lifestyle-ethics, Methodology, Prenatal Yoga and Transformational Experiences for the 200- and 500-hour YTT programs. Along with her husband, Yogi Vishvketu, she co-founded Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh (India) where they live six months of the year with their daughter Uma.
Nivedita
Pingle
Nivedita Pingle
is a medical graduate in allopathic science (western medicine) from
Pune, India. She has done her yoga therapy training with Dr. S.V.
Karandikar, a medical practitioner for the last 35 years and also
a renowned yoga therapy consultant. She has been associated with
yoga therapy for the last 10 years. She has been running her own
yoga therapy studio for people with musculoskeletal disorders, cardiac
ailments and other diseases for the last 8 years, having treated
more than 500 patients so far. She also teaches yoga- related medicine
in the Yoga College run by the institute where she studied. She
has experience in teaching short-term courses of 6 weeks for yoga
teachers aspiring to learn the therapeutic aspect of yoga. She also
teaches anatomy and therapy modules for yoga teacher training courses,
including for World Conscious Yoga Family’s 200-hour program
in India.
Divya
Keith
Divya was first introduced to yoga in 1999. Soon after,
she developed a regular practice and the desire to teach. Divya has
completed a 500-hour training in Los Angeles, as well as the 200-hour
teacher training and an advanced retreat with Yogi Vishveketu in India.
Divya has taught yoga since 2001. For the past three years, she has
called Hong Kong her home, Teaching full time and managing a busy
urban yoga centre. Divya has organized and facilitated teachers’
workshops in Hatha yoga, Pre-natal, Hatha-Raja, and Mantra. In fall
2005, she was a guest lecturer for Yogi Vishvketu's 200-hour training.
Divya has been inspired by many teachers, including Vishva and his
wife, Chetana. She has enjoyed studying with, David Life and Sharon
Gannon of Jivamukti, Anusara's Desiree Rumbhaugh, Louisa Sears and
Aadil Palkivala. She finds her kula in Hong Kong especially inspiring.
Divya encourages her students to jump into the divine current with
the essence of receptivity, and to flow through the practice: “observe
your breath, body, mind and heart, and embrace your own divinity.
This brings yoga into every aspect of your life”.
Robin
Campbell-Ziffer (Prem Sagar)
Robin
(Prem Sagar) began his spiritual journey in meditation at 18, and
was introduced to yoga while completing his BA in Psychology &
Anthropology at the University of Alberta. After completing his degree,
Robin felt inspired to travel India to gain knowledge and experience
of this ancient practice. In 1999, he met his teacher, Yogi Vishvketu,
at Yoga Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh. He developed a deep connection
with Yogi Vishvketu and has remained a dedicated student. During his
trip in India, Robin was also introduced to Vipassana (insight meditation),
which he continues to practice on a daily basis. After returning from
India, he moved to Toronto where he completed a 250-hour Yoga training
in Vinyasa flow at the Yoga Sanctuary. He also spent some time volunteering
at the Kripalu Yoga Center. In 2002, Robin and his family built and
developed Organic Roots, Edmonton’s first organic grocery store
and organic restaurant. At this time, Robin also began teaching yoga
in Edmonton, while continuing his education in Restorative Yoga therapy,
Vipassana Meditation, and Yoga philosophy with David Mcammond. In
2004, Robin took the 200-hour teacher training with World Conscious
Yoga Family at Kanv Ashram. The following year, he completed his advanced
training with Yogi Vishvketu in Rishikesh, and then went to Pune for
a month to study Yoga Therapy and anatomy with Dr. Nivedita Pingle.
Currently, Robin has completed a 100-hour training in Pilates mat
work with Steve Bryson (kinesiologist) and has furthered his knowledge
and understanding of body movement and mechanics. In 2006, Robin assisted
the World Conscious Yoga Family Teacher Training course, and helped
to facilitate the Yoga Anatomy component alongside Dr. Pingle. Currently,
Robin is exploring his interest in mind-body psychology and has enrolled
in an MA program of counselling psychology at City University.
Elise Watkins (Deepika)
Elise shares a deep passion for yoga and its therapeutic qualities with her students; a passion that stems from her own journey and experience with scoliosis. Diagnosed at the age of 13 and faced with the prognosis of eventual surgery to fuse her spine with rods, she found yoga changed her life. She is pursuing her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Alberta, studying the therapeutic effects of yoga on back pain and scoliosis. Recently, Elise was awarded a national CIHR scholarship to fund her PhD research. She received her 500-hour Yoga teaching certificate from Yogi Vishvketu and World Conscious Yoga Family, and is a certified Yoga Therapist with David McAmmond (from the lineage of Dr. S.V. Karandikar, a medical practitioner for the last 35 years and also a renowned yoga therapy consultant). She has also studied Yoga for Scoliosis with Elise Browning Miller; Prenatal Yoga, and Yoga for Depression & Anxiety with Amy Weintraub. Elise is deeply appreciative of her most courageous teachers, her students, who have embarked on a journey of healing from chronic back pain, anxiety, depression, scoliosis, sciatica, herniated discs, fibromyalgia, etc.
Elise recently returned from India where she was living and teaching at Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram and studying pranayama intensively with Yogi Vishvketu. She assisted the Yoga Teacher Training Programs in India with World Conscious Yoga Family and provides therapeutic back workshops internationally. Elise teaches yoga from a holistic perspective, incorporating eastern Yogic principles with her expertise in Rehabilitation Sciences. Elise believes that to live life fully with no physical pain is to cultivate loving presence to yourself and to others. She inspires students to release blockages in the mind and pranic body, to ease constriction in the physical body, tapping into the wisdom and intelligence of the whole being.
Tanya Nash (Madhavi)
For Madhavi, Yoga is a life of Sadhana – living each moment with conscious awareness. The movements, breath, mantras and stillness on the yoga mat are the practices that cultivate this awareness; bringing harmony to life off the mat.
Madhavi began her quest for unity in her study as a physiotherapist, integrating the knowledge of the body and mind to support her clients’ whole being wellness. Despite her strong intellect and love of research, it was the ancient wisdom of Yoga and Ayurveda where she found the answers she was looking for. Madhavi brings a balanced and holistic approach to the WCYF’s anatomy and physiology, and restorative yoga teachings.
Both as a physiotherapist and a yogini, the transformative power of sound has always moved Madhavi. The sonic Bhramari pranayama of Hatha Raja and Chétana’s kirtans were Madhavi’s first taste of Naad Yoga. Inspired to share Naad Yoga in her community, Madhavi founded Kirtan Ottawa – a network of sangita that is now over 200 people strong, sharing in an average of ten sonic events a week.
Motherly since childhood, Madhavi has embraced the ‘tha’ (lunar) aspect of Ha-tha yoga – and has a passion for inspiring women to find power in their femininity. As a sadhaka in Wise Earth Ayurveda, Madhavi teaches and consults in Women’s Health and Spirituality – a path of living in harmony with the lunar rhythms. Madhavi’s Prenatal, Postnatal, Yoga for Moms and Women’s Health teachings blend her knowledge of women’s anatomy and physiology, the cosmic rhythms of nature, and the principle of ahimsa and self-love to help women rediscover their Shakti.
It is with much gratitude that Madhavi lives and offers in the service of the many great teachers who she has met on her journey, including her parents & sister, her goddaughter, Yogi Vishvketu, Chétana Panwar, Swamini Mayatitananda, Shambavi Lorain Chopra, David Frawley, Robert Svoboda, her inspiring clients & students, and the many friends & WCYF siblings she has met in her travels. Madhavi shares these teachings around the world through her work as a teacher, healer and volunteer in Canada, the United States, Europe and India – with a journey to Africa planned for 2010.
Etsuko Ito (Eesha))
Eesha took her 200-hour YTT with World Conscious Yoga Family in 2005, and continued her studies with the intensive retreat and the 500-hour YTT in 2007. Between these periods of YTT, she lived primarily at traditional ashrams in Rishikesh, delving sincerely into yoga sadhana. After this she began assisting Japanese students in each 200-hour YTT program, and now teaches philosophy and methodology in Japanese for our programs.
Eesha also leads inspiring retreats and workshops for Japanese yoga practitioners and teachers at Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh in order to provide a bridge for Japanese yoga enthusiasts. Her aim is to facilitate their journey to India and to translate the signs and symbols of Indian culture and the yoga tradition.
For information about these Japanese programs or Akhanda Yoga in Japan, please contact Eesha at akhandayogajapan@livedoor.co
Celeste
Needham (Radhika)
Enthusiastic and dedicated to living life to its fullest,
Radhika strives to move through each day as open hearted and
passionately as possible. She is co-founder and teaches at
Bodhi Tree Yoga Center in Calgary, Canada. Like her own practice,
Radhika's classes are joyful but disciplined. She encourages
students to move through their practice with focus, intention
and awareness of why they’ve come to the mat, while
paying attention to the essence of who they really are.
“Everyday
is an opportunity to get to know yourself and the world around
you a little better. By looking at things from different angles,
we become comfortable with how we live in a world of constant
change. Coming to the mat can give you so much more insight
beyond our physical reality, as well as giving us space to
breathe.”
“My
light when it’s darkest, yoga has consistently offered
me truth, compassion and joy. It has shown me that I can do
anything, and that I get out of it what I put into it. With
those experiences, I strive to invoke in people the belief
that they can do whatever they set their intention to do:
the power of thought.”
Radhika has had the privilege of being inspired by and studying
with many teachers, above all Shiva Rea, John Friend and Yogi
Vishvketu. Her studies with Vishva have had the most profound
impact on her, guiding her to integrate yoga into her everyday
life beyond the mat. Radhika is passionate about continually
learning, and sees herself as a student blessed with the opportunity
to share what she has absorbed. She maintains that some of
the best teachers she has ever had are the students in front
of her on a daily basis.
- Om
Kathryn
Mills (Kamalika)
Kat’s journey of practicing and teaching yoga began
in 1998. She draws on her two decades of professional background
in leadership, teaching and communication, and as a fitness
educator, to bridge yogic philosophy with modern life. At
the core of her passion is the belief that the connection
of mind and body is essential towards well-being and this
thread remains an integral theme in her classes and workshops.
She is grateful to her students for their continual lessons.
“We are all both teacher and student. Learning is
ongoing, and our process is constantly evolving, I learn something
every time I teach or take a class and it’s a privilege
to be part of that exchange. Yoga is a very powerful life
tool, one that can help us access our fullest potential and
truth.”
Helping her access those lessons are the teaching and guidance
she’s received from esteemed leaders within the Ashtanga,
Kundalini, Hatha, and Jivamukti Yoga practices. She completed
Ashtanga teacher training with David Swenson, Raja Yoga and
Traditional Hatha Yoga in India with Yogi Vishvektu and Chetana
Panwar.
Kat's unique energy and passion to her teaching is
infectious. By linking experiences in asana practice
to life, she encourages participants to explore their
own perceived limits in mind, body and being; through movement,
breath, and listening to the teacher within. While this sounds
serious, the challenge of the practice is balanced by
her joyful and playful approach to the process.
Kat lives in Ottawa, Ontario, and teaches and presents in
corporate, private and studio environments in Canada and internationally.
She holds a bachelors degree in communication and certificates
in adult education, leadership and coaching.
Piero Casanova (Pranav)
The first time he crossed the Ganges in Haridwar, India, Pranav
experienced a strong revelation that, since 1994, compelled him
to go to India every year, to look for his spiritual nature, and
to practise yoga. In December 1999, he met Yogi Vishveketu, from
whom he started learning many precious techniques. Since then,
every year for a month he studies and practices pranayama and
meditation at Yoga Niketan Ashram in Risikesh, India. To carry
on learning about Vedantic philosophy, he studied with professor
MarkDyczkowski from the Benares Hindu University. In February
2005, he obtained his 200-hour yoga teacher training certificate
with Yogi Vishvketu. In October 2005, he taught yoga and pranayama
at the Yoga Niketan Ashram. Every year in June he holds two seminars
in Italy: one with Yogi Vishveketu, where Hatha, Raja and Kundalini
yoga lessons are held, and a second seminar called Soul Therapy
where yoga is combined with modern dance and kathak. His mission
is to demonstrate to beginner and advanced students that yoga
is a spiritual discipline, soul technology.
Roberta Torrens
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Roberta Torrens began her study of yoga in 1996 when she came across an asana series in Ram Dass's inspirational book Be Here Now. She subsequently spent time practicing yoga while participating in the Seva program at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. While pregnant with her first child, Roberta joined a pre-natal yoga class that would develop into a post-natal/ infant massage class and eventually into an active "Yoga Moms Group". She also participated in weekend silent meditations and courses in Buddhist Studies at the Manchester Shambhala Center in her home state of Vermont. Now the mother of three young children, Roberta has become dedicated to Waldorf education and participates in a weekly study group which examines the anthroposophy and educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. Roberta is excited to join World Conscious Yoga Family as our Office Assistant.
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