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.

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

Mentored by Quaker activist, social thinker, and writer Parker J. Palmer, Father Dan Hines serves as a Courage & Renewal facilitator for business, educational, and religious organizations throughout Canada and the United States. He is an Anglican priest and co-founder of the intentional living community, RareBirds Housing Co-operative. He has a passion for exploring alternative living, innovative housing, and a more sustainable relationship to the land. He has run for public office and is involved in grassroots community work.

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.