Swami Sivananda taught that health is a positive state. It is not simply negation of disease. It is our birthright, as natural as being born. Throughout millennia, humans have explored this immense healing potential within and the spiritual truths from which it emerges.
Experience your own radiant inner health. This symposium brings together leaders representing a number of important therapeutic modalities that draw on ancient spiritual wisdom, modern psychology, and the shared focus on healing from within. From yoga for anxiety and depression to ancient Egyptian healing rites, dreamwork to narrative medicine, we will further our understanding of the nature of healing from a contemporary spiritual perspective, grounded in experience and science. Through afternoon workshops, participants have the opportunity to explore these modalities for their own personal healing journey and as healers themselves.
Spring is a season of rebirth and renewal, a holy time for many, when individuals of diverse faiths and beliefs engage in spiritual practices and rituals that hold great meaning and opportunities for healing. We invite you for a time of celebration, learning, and healing.
Yoga philosophy does not quarrel with any religion or faith and can be practiced by
anyone who is sincere and willing to search for the Truth.
—Swami Vishnudevananda
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.
Rubin Naiman, PhD, is a psychologist, sleep and dream specialist, and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr.Naiman is a pioneer in the development of integrative approaches to sleep and dream disorders, integrating conventional sleep science with depth psychological, transpersonal and spiritual perspectives. He founded and directed sleep programs at Canyon Ranch and Miraval Health Resorts and currently directs New Moon Sleep, an organization that provides sleep services, trainings and consultation globally. Dr. Naiman is the author of several groundbreaking works on sleep. His work has been described as “life-changing!”
Dr. Shamini Jain is Founder and President of the 501c3 social-profit, Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI), an international collaborative of scientists, healing practitioners, educators and artists who lead humanity to heal ourselves. She also serves as an adjunct professor at UC San Diego’s Department of Family Medicine, where she supports whole health education within UCSD’s Centers for Integrative Health. Dr. Jain is a clinical psychologist, and an award-winning researcher and author in psychoneuroimmunology, integrative health and biofield science. Dr. Jain is a sought-after speaker and teacher with ample media experience related to biofield healing research and education, including national television placements, two TEDx talks, and regular talks at universities as well as leading health conferences and retreat centers. Her two-time award winning book, Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health is available from booksellers world-wide. Shamini is also a singer with a background in bel canto and musical theater, rock, metal and mantra. Her breakthrough debut album, “Kaliyuga Blues”, can be found on your favorite music streaming platform.
Bishop Trevor Williamson presently serves as the Founding and Senior Pastor of the Trinity Global Cathedral Baptist Church in Nassau, Bahamas. Along with his wife, Pastor Sharon Williamson, he leads The Trinity Global Cathedral Gospel Choir. The choir provides musical, educational, and social opportunities in Nassau for people of all ages and walks of life to come together and sing with soul.
Marilyn Rossner, PhD, is the co-founder of the International Institute of Integral Human Sciences, and founder-president of The Spiritual Science Fellowship of Canada. She is a retired professor of special care counseling, a childrens behavior therapist, and one of the worlds most gifted intuitives.
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 Hridyananda is a direct disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda and senior staff at the Yoga Retreat. She has spent over 35 years teaching different aspects of yoga, as well as teaching in Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses. She also teaches meditation, thought power, chanting, and supports individuals on their inner transformative journey.
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 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.
Jnaneshwari Chaitanya is a senior staff member and teacher of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat. An experienced and devoted practitioner, she is an inspiring and insightful teacher of Yoga and Vedanta in Yoga teachers training courses and many of the ashram programs. Jnaneshwari Chaitanya is known for her clear and pure way of communicating the knowledge and its application in daily life, and is especially known for her skill in teaching the Bhagavad Gita.
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.
Krishna Chaitanya is a physical therapist, senior staff member of the Yoga Retreat, and senior instructor of Hatha Yoga in the Teacher Training Course and other courses. He has taught for more than 20 years and specializes in working with the elderly population. He teaches Adaptive Yoga, Chair Yoga, and has many years experience helping individuals with all kinds of physical limitations.
Parvati Chaitanya is a senior staff member of the ashram with many years of experience teaching, studying, and practicing yoga. She currently serves the ashram as caretaker of the gardens.
Narayani is an advanced Sivananda Yoga teacher (RYT 500), staff member at the ashram, and a hatha yoga instructor in yoga teacher trainings. She is a much loved teacher, teaching with love, devotion and great clarity.
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