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Yoga Vacation Program
December 22, 2025 — January 2, 2026

Christmas and New Year Unity in Diversity Symposium

Snatam Kaur and Sopurkh Singh, Banafsheh Sayyad, Father Dan Hines, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Krishnan Namboodiri, Swami Swaroopananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Shambhudevananda, Swami Paramananda, and Rukmini Chaitanya

Join us this holiday season for a joyous celebration during our annual Christmas & New Year Unity in Diversity Symposium. World-renowned spiritual leaders, musicians and artists from different religions and spiritual traditions will inspire us to live a life of devotion. Through live lectures, workshops, concerts, and performances, we will deepen our understanding of the spiritual path and how we can focus our hearts on peace and love for ourselves and humanity. We will reflect on the past year and establish a new, more connected vision for the coming year.

The teaching of Unity in Diversity was at the core of Swami Vishnudevananda’s mission. According to yoga and Vedanta philosophy, the one God or Ultimate Reality manifests as a multiplicity of names, forms, shapes, and colors. There is an underlying unity which supports our manifested diversity. “Unity” and “diversity” are one and the same and their essence is our own essence: pure existence, pure consciousness, and pure bliss.
Join us for this spiritual gathering and gain a direct glimpse of this truth. Through talks, concerts, spiritual practices, discussions, and more, we will participate in breaking down artificial barriers and experience the unity in our diversity.

ADDITIONAL PRESENTERS AND TOPICS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! Book now to reserve your space.

 

Through inspirational concerts, workshops, immersion courses and retreats, the much-beloved devotional singer and recording artist Snatam Kaur shares the power of Sikh sacred music with the world. Sopurkh Singh teaches yoga and meditation, with a focus on helping people awaken to inner peace, happiness and freedom. Prabhu Nam Kaur teaches classes and workshops on the Sikh practice of Shabad Guru and with her daughter Snatam Kaur has recorded a number of albums. Snatam and Sopurkh founded an online school specializing in the teaching of Kirtan (sacred music) and Kundalini yoga, called Kirtan and Kundalini, which serves people from all over the world. Together Snatam, Sopurkh and Prabhu Nam will be teaching and sharing Naad Yoga and music from the Sikh tradition for this year’s symposium along with the musical support of Ezra Landis who is a founding member of the Gathering Space in Keene New Hampshire.  Joining the group for  vocal support are Emilia Landis and Jap Preet.

To find out more information visit: www.kirtanandkundalini.com and www.snatamkaur.com

 

Banafsheh Sayyad is a master Iranian sacred dancer, choreographer, transformational teacher, activist and founder of Dance of Oneness®. A deeply profound and highly accessible spiritual teacher of embodiment, Banafsheh performs and teaches internationally, initiating people into the wisdom of their bodies. Her signature style of holy wildness infused with ancient wisdom ignites transformation and illumination in all those who watch her and dance with her from around the globe. Banafsheh invites the dancer within to remember, reclaim and resource the innate healing intelligence streaming through us and spiraling all around us. She is among the few bearers of authentic Persian dance in the world. Banafsheh has been dancing the Sufi dance of Sama for 35 years and is a pioneer in creating a liberated feminine expression in the genre previously performed only by men.

Her modality, Dance of Oneness® is dance as a spiritual path and science of embodiment. It facilitates a way to embody the flame of love, loving our Self and our body so we can live more fully and love with the whole of our being.
Dance of Oneness® fuses 3 streams: the art of dance: rigorous technique and self-expression; healing; and wisdom teachings. With a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from UCLA and a Masters in Chinese Medicine, Banafsheh is dedicated to individual and collective healing through conscious dance. Her award-winning work has been presented in North America, Europe and Australia. Her dance film, “In the Fire of Grace” with Andrew Harvey traces Rumi’s journey of the soul in dance.

Banafsheh’s award-winning solo dances and ensemble work with her dance company, NAMAH, has been presented in North America, Europe and Australia. Visit www.danceofoneness.org to learn more about Banafsheh and her in person and online offerings.

danceofoneness.org

Father Dan is an Anglican priest, retreat leader, and seasoned facilitator known for creating transformative spaces where individuals can listen deeply, reflect authentically, and reconnect with their inner wisdom. Mentored by renowned Quaker activist and author Parker J. Palmer, Dan carries forward the Circle of Trust Approach, a powerful method that fosters self-discovery through deep listening, open questions, and intentional dialogue.

Blending poetry, wisdom metaphors, journal writing, visual imagery, breathwork, and the art of disciplined speaking and listening, Dan has led thousands of people—from diverse backgrounds, professions, and cultures—through profound experiences of personal insight and collective connection. His work has touched individuals across multiple countries, guiding them in retreats, workshops, and reflective gatherings that inspire clarity, courage, and transformation.

Beyond his pastoral and facilitation work, Dan is a published poet, a former zoo manager, and a community builder who co-founded an intentional housing cooperative. His passion for adventure and nature also leads him to offer sailing expeditions in the breathtaking waters of British Columbia, Canada, where he combines the wisdom of the sea with the spiritual practice of wayfinding.
With a deep commitment to nurturing personal and communal wholeness, Father Dan invites those who seek meaning, renewal, and authentic connection to embark on journeys of soulful exploration and discovery.

danhines.ca

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo became a Buddhist while still in her teens. At the age of 20, she traveled to India and become one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. The international best-seller Cave in the Snow by Vicki Mackenzie chronicles Tenzin’s 12 years of seclusion in the Himalayas. In 2008, the head of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage gave her the rare title of Jetsunma (venerable master). Deeply concerned with the plight of Buddhist nuns, Jetsunma Tenzin established Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in India. She has written two books: Reflections on a Mountain Lake and Into the Heart of Life.

Krishnan Namboodiri is a Tantric priest from South India, trained in the classical tradition of mantras (sacred sounds), pujas (prayer ceremonies), homas (fire rituals), and yantras (sacred geometric designs). He performs many daily and special rituals for the ashram.

Swami Swaroopananda is a senior disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda. A practicing yogi from a very young age, Swami Swaroopananda has dedicated his life to the practice and teaching of yoga. He taught in Yoga Teacher Training Courses around the world and is currently teaching advanced yoga philosophy courses and lectures internationally. He is Director of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat and acharya (spiritual director) for the Sivananda centers and ashrams in the Bahamas and the Middle East. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.

Swami Brahmananda is Manager of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat and senior staff of the Sivananda organization. A long-time practitioner of yoga, he regularly teaches yoga philosophy and meditation for the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses as well as meditation immersion courses. He is a much-loved, inspiring, and knowledgeable teacher.

Swami Shambhudevananda is a senior staff member at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas and a practitioner of yoga and meditation for more than 20 years. A member of the Sivananda organization since 1995, Swami Shambhudevananda regularly teaches Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga philosophy for the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses and advanced courses. He is a much-loved, knowledgeable, and inspiring teacher.

Swami Paramananda is the manager of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch and longtime teacher of Sivananda Yoga Teacher Trainings in the Bahamas, New York, and India. A much-loved teacher admired for his humor, warmth, and devotion to the practice, he seamlessly weaves classical yoga teachings into modern daily life.

Rukmini Chaitanya is a senior staff member of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas, and the personal assistant to Swami Swaroopananda, the Acharya, or spiritual director of the Ashram. She regularly teaches the Bhagavad Gita during the Sivananda Yoga Teacher training as well as other courses on the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta, positive thinking, meditation, and yoga philosophy.

Rukmini Chaitanya is known for her enthusiastic and inspiring teaching style as well as for her devotion to the lineage and the scriptures. She is dedicated to each of her students and has an innate desire to share knowledge with them. She brings a great deal of clarity to every topic and is highly appreciated for her capacity to unfold complicated topics and present them in a coherent and pure way.

Rukmini Chaitanya was interviewed on The Spiritually Inspired Show

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