Celebrating "India's Gift to the World"
International Day of Yoga is a celebration that takes place all around the world every June 21, since 2015. It is an opportunity to practice and celebrate what has been called “India’s Gift to the World,” while recognizing and honoring the culture from which it derives.
St. Louis Yoga Week is proud to host this virtual celebration of International Day of Yoga, featuring a full day of live-streaming classes, workshops, and discussions that move beyond asana (physical practice of yoga) and into the ethical, philosophical, and cultural appreciation of the practice.
All of these sessions will stream live on our Facebook and YouTube – and you can come back and visit the videos at anytime.
Schedule for June 21, 2020
7:00 AM
Ambassador-led Sun Salutations
8:00 AM
International Day of Yoga Opening Ceremony and Sun Salutations led by students of Bal Vihar
9:00 AM
Many Ways to Meditate: Panel Discussion
10:00 AM
Kemetic Yoga with Sol Asar
11:00 AM
Family Yoga + “Our Family’s Doing Yoga” Cover Reveal with SonJoria Sydnor
11:30 AM
Ambassador-led Sun Salutations
12:00 PM
Yoga as a Way of Life: Panel Discussion with Rahul Parikh, Dr. Santhanam and Sai Sabnivas
1:00 PM
Yoga for Beginners with Jackie Kinealy
2:00 PM
Trauma Sensitive Yoga: Panel Discussion with Dr. Gladys Smith, Melissa Dierker, Laurie Brockhaus
3:00 PM
Introduction to the Trauma Conscious Method: Healing Yoga with Dr. Gladys Smith
4:00 PM
Histories and Stories of Yoga with Nartana Prem
4:30 PM
Ambassador-led Sun Salutations
5:00 PM
Embodying Your Life Purpose Using Your Birth Chart with Tiger Rahman
6:00 PM
Ayurvedic & Sattvic Cooking Demo
7:00 PM
Ambassador-led Sun Salutations
7:30 PM
Restorative Yoga with Bryna Parker
Please note that all Official STLYW Events are donation-based. Please consider making a donation to the STL Yoga Teacher Relief Fund or check out our shop
presenters
Rajitha Vasistha
Opening Ceremony
Rajitha will be guiding the opening ceremony of our International Day of Yoga festivities, chanting a Peace Mantra (translation below):
From ignorance, lead me to truth; from darkness, lead me to light; from death, lead me to immortality; may there be peace in all, may there be completeness in all.
May we all be protected, may we all be nourished, may we work together with great energy, may our intellect be sharpened, let there be no animosity among us.
Peace, peace, peace.
Bal Vihar
Opening Ceremony/Surya Namaskar
Center for Indian Cultural Education – Bal Vihar of St. Louis, a non-profit organization, since its inception in 1992 has been serving the Metro St. Louis Indian community. The primary focus of this organization is to provide Indian cultural education to students age 5-18, its application and integration with the global multicultural and multifaceted society. They are also taught discipline, tolerance and devotion in their daily routine. The ultimate goal is “to throw the light of cultural knowledge on every child, to make every child an outstanding citizen and to spread the song of peace and harmony around the world.“
Jee Moon
Opening Ceremony/Meditation Panel
Dr. Terry Harris
Opening Ceremony
Dr. Harris is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of THE COLLECTIVE STL. He is a certified yoga instructor, mindfulness instructor, trauma-informed specialist, educator, and community activist.
Thomas Bushlack
Many Ways to Meditate: Panel
Thomas J. Bushlack holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics from the University of Notre Dame, and serves as Regional Director of Mission Integration with SSM Health, a faith-based healthcare provider located in four states with over 40,000 employees. Tom works with employees to improve alignment with corporate mission, ethics, and values. He also helps physicians, healthcare providers, and executives deepen mindfulness and meditation practices to reduce stress, prevent burnout, and improve decision-making skills.
Andrew Nunberg
May Ways to Meditate: Panel
Andy Nunberg, Ph.D. is a seasoned molecular biologist (10 years) who decided to leave industry and pursue his passion of teaching mindfulness and meditation, which he has done through the Art of Living Foundation for the past 15 years. He recently finished his massage therapy training and received his license in January 2020. Andy is the office manager at Health Quest and offers licensed massage therapy, mindfulness and meditation training, as well as Ayurvedic treatments. Andy also facilitates Mindfulness and Meditation online sessions specifically for the LGBTQ+ community.
Sol Asar
Kemetic Yoga
Sol Asar is focused on spreading the knowledge of body mind and soul. He is a Reiki Level 1 healer, a student and teacher of Kemetic Yoga (Sema Tawi) activist and musician. Sol is interested in awakening the divinity within humanity.
Learning Kemetic Yoga from Sol is eye-opening for any yoga practitioner – he teaches the similarities between the ancient Egyptian culture and the ancient Hindu teachings, while weaving in facts and histories that will delight any yoga nerd.
SonJoria Sydnor
Family Yoga & "Our Family's Doing Yoga" Cover Reveal
SonJoria is the founder of Kissed By the Son Yoga and author of a soon-to-be-released book, “Our Family’s Doing Yoga!” Post-partum depression is what originally got SonJoria into yoga, and now she shares yoga with expectant families, kids, and families. She is also the co-founder of I AM: (a parenting resource and breastfeeding support organization) and wears many hats within her community. SonJoria has a passion for education, mental health, families, and the Black community.
Rahul Parikh
Yoga as a Way of Life
Rahul Parikh is the great-great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr. Parikh was raised in one of Gandhi Ashrams (commune) and after formal education worked for Gandhian programs during the first 35 years of his life. A life-long spiritual seeker, Mr. Parikh has a great passion for exploring philosophical literature and spiritual leaders.
Mr. Parikh has worked at Washington University Medical School for the last 29 years.
Dr. Thalanayar Santhanam
Yoga as a Way of Life
Born in the family of Hindu Brahmin purohits, Dr.Santhanam had his undergraduate studies in The Government College, Kumbakonam and later had his masters from Madras Christian College, Tambaram. He obtained his research degree in Theoretical Physics from The International Centre for Theoretical Physics and received his PhD from Madras University. He was a professor at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Madras until 1989 and joined Saint Louis University and is a professor of physics in SLU since 1991. He is closely associated with the Hindu Temple of Saint Louis.
Sai Sabnivas
Yoga as a Way of Life
SABNAVIS RESEARCH ACADEMY has been formed with the sole aim of creating awareness among people about the importance of enlightened and awakened living and to help everyone realize their purpose of life. With this great mission, Sairamprasad Sabnavis founded the SABNAVIS RESEARCH ACADEMY in March, 2012.
Sai regularly shares his meditation practice across the country, turning to online offerings when travel is not available.