ITINERARY AND CALENDAR FOR DR. FRAWLEY (VAMADEVA) AND SHAMBHAVI 

Ma Ganga Himalayan Yoga Retreat

We are now happy to announce our fourth annual Ma Ganga Retreat from March 10-16, 2011, is now open for early registration, with an extra day added to the program this year. Its theme will be Soma, Rejuvenation and Immortality, exploring revitalization of the body and mind in light of our eternal essence of consciousness, using the tools of Ayurveda, Jyotish, Veda and Tantra. It will feature new teachings and new practices with Vamadeva and Shambhavi. We will have a private resort an hour above Rishikesh on a secluded area of Ma Ganga.

The retreat will be followed by our second Yogini Yatra from March 16-24, 2011 featuring special tours and classes at important temples in Ranikhet, Dunagiri, Jageshwar and Mahavatar Babaji's cave. Registration for the Yatra is limited to thirty people, so please make sure to sign up early. We will mainly stay at the Windsor Lodge in Ranikhet and tour from there.

Our third annual Inner Tantric Yoga Experience: Ma Ganga Retreat, March 9-14, 2010 was a great success with sixty attendees from all over the world for Yoga, Ayurveda, ritual, mantra and meditation on the sacred Ganga River above Rishikesh. Our Yogini Yatra, March 14 -25 also did well with more than thirty students on a special tour of sacred sites in the Kumaon Himalayas.

October 29 – Nov. 2, 2011 - Yoga Shakti Retreat in Brazil, with renowned teachers David Frawley and Yogini Shambhavi in the mountains by Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. The teachers will discuss health and well being according to Yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra and Vedic Astrology. The program will feature rituals and meditation, Hatha Yoga classes with brazilian teachers and contact with nature in this beautiful tropical setting. For more information contact: www.casamoksha.com.br/yoginshaktibrazil_I
www.casamoksha.com.br/yoginshaktibrazil_II

2010 PROGRAMS WITH VAMADEVA AND SHAMBHAVI
Note our newsletter and newsgroup for additional information and updates on programs.

Sept. 1 - Oct. 9: Programs and Pilgrimage in India and the Himalayas, Bangalore Retreat with Madhu Nataraj, Vishakhapatnam astrology conference with Sivananda Murty, Gayatri Vasudev and K.N. Rao.

Oct. 20 - Nov 10: Programs in Brazil, Uberlandia, Rio De Janiero, Belo Horizonte, with Dr. Jose Rugue and Casa Moksha.

Aug. 2 - 8: Trinidad and Tobago, Special conference on Ayurveda organized by Malay Mishra, the high commissioner of India, World Association of Vedic Studes (WAVES) conference, and interview by the Hindu Mahasabha of Trinidad. Classes by both Vamadeva and Shambhavi.

July 9-12: Toronto, Canada Dharma Conference organized by Chandra Khanna, with programs at the Arya Samaj and Swaminarayan Akshardham. Classes by both Vamdeva and Shambhavi.

Feb. 13-15: Sivananda Ashram, Nassau, Bahamas - Ayurveda, Yoga and Tantra: How to Bring the Deity into Your Sadhana. Special workshops and satsangs with Vamadeva and Shambhavi.

Feb. 19-20: Journey Into Healing, Phoenix, Arizona, with Deepak Chopra and David Simon - Ayurvedic Psychology: the Healing of Consciousness, for Journey into Healing, Phoenix, Arizona. Program on Ayurvedic psychology by Vamadeva.

March 1-7: International Yoga Conference, Paramarth Niketan, Rishikesh, India - special talks by Vamadeva and Shambhavi, large yearly Yoga conference featuring many spiritual teachers from India and Yoga teachers from all over the world.

April 15-18, 2010: NAMA conference: Ayurveda Complimentary Global Medicine - Tantra and Ayurveda, Vamadeva and Shambhavi are both featured speakers and Shambhavi will give a special chant for the group, San Francisco, California.

April 22-26: British Association of Vedic Astrology (BAVA) - Ayurvedic Astrology, the Vedic astrology of Healing, Devi Bhava, for BAVA yearly national conference, London. Dr. Frawley, patron/founder of BAVA, will be keynote speaker and Shambhavi will teach and chant for the audience.

June 16-20: Yogaville, Yoga and Ayurveda Training, Vamadeva with Yogini Shambhavi and Yogi Mas Vidal, in depth program explaining the Ayurvedic adaptation of all eight limbs of Yoga, the most important and extensive training program that Dr. Frawley will conduct in the USA in 2010.

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COURSE AND BOOK NEWS

Our distance learning courses prove to be very popular worldwide. We have introduced our trainings in Russia and Germany through the Vedic Center, and Portugeuse versions in Brazil with expanded training through Dr. Jose Rugue of Suddha Dharma Mandal. Dr. Rugue now offers a full training based upon the course, with classroom and clinical instruction as well.

Our Ayurvedic Healing course will soon be the basis for advanced Ayurvedic training for the Chopra center (Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Simon) and its worldwide connections. We will post more information on this important development.The first training is likely for December. In addition, Dr. Frawley has joined the advisory board for Kerala Ayurveda, with its connections both in India and the West, and will be aligning his teaching programs and courses more with them over time, including trainings and retreats in India.

Our Ayurvedic Healing course in Ayurvedic medicine remains probably the most widely taken Ayurvedic course in the western world. The course is available in Russian, German, Spanish and Portuguese translations. An Interactive approach to Ayurvedic Healing course is now available for students wanting more direct contact with instructors.

Our Yoga and Ayurveda course provides a unique integral approach to Yoga and Ayurveda, showing how all eight limbs of Yoga interfaces with Ayurveda as a mind-body-consciousness system of medicine. Dr. Frawley's recent book Inner Tantric Yoga: Working with the Universal Shakti  follows the same stream of thought as the course.

Our Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda course (also called Astrology of the Seers course) has a new book to go along with it, Ayurvedic Astrology: Self-Healing Through the Stars, the only book available in the West on these combined subjects.

Recent Book Releases

Dr. Frawley's, Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound: Secrets of Seed Mantras is now available for advanced ordered, with a June release date. The book is regarded as one of the most important publications on mantra in recent decades. His new India title, Universal Hinduism: Towards a New Vision of Sanatana Dharma, should be available through Voice of India by June.

Shambhavi's wonderful Yogini Bhava chanting CD is now available through Lotus Press. The CD features may important bija mantras to different deities including Kali, Sundari, Durga, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Annapurna, Shiva, Ganesha, Dattareya and the planet Saturn.

Dr. Frawley's book, The Greater Yoga Tradition by Mandala Press has received good reviews by the Library Journal of America, Yoga Journal, Yoga Plus and Tathaastu magazines, several of which will come out later this year. The short hardbound book is being hailed as one of the best overall introductions to Yoga in the broader sense of the term, useful both for new students and long time practitioners. 

His additional new book, Inner Tantric Yoga: Working with the Universal Shakti features chapters on the Shiva Linga, meditations on Shakti in nature and in the human body, special knowledge of the chakras (including the spiritual heart and the crown chakra), and important mantras to Shiva, Kali and Sundari. The book reflects a new perspective on Tantra overall which shows inner Tantra and higher Tantric practices relating to Self-realization and cosmic knowledge. Your view of Tantra is likely to change radically by reading this book.

Shambhavi Chopra's new book,Yogic Secrets of the Dark Goddess: Lightning Dance of the Supreme Shakti  (August by Wisdom Tree India) has already received glowing reviews in major India publications like the Hindu and the Pioneer and is now available in the West through Amazon.com. It is considered by many to be the most important book on the Goddess Kali to come out in recent decades.

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PREVIOUS 2009 EVENTS-----With Vamadeva and Shambhavi
August 10 - 27, programs in Brazil with Marcia De Luca of CIYMAM, Renata Mendes and Dr. Jose Rugue or Suddha Dharma Mandal, special Yoga and Ayurveda training programs, talks, teachings and experiential sharings.

Yoga Pela Paz, Yoga for Peace, Aug. 14 - 16: public event and special talks by Vamadeva and Shambhavi, among many other important speakers. Perhaps the most important Brazilian Yoga event of the year.

Brazilian Shakti Retreat with Yogini Shambhavi and Renate Mendes, Aug. 21 - 23. Casa Moksha, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. First Shakti retreat outside of India at a beautiful Brazilian resort. The first of our Shakti retreats outside of India, Shambhavi will guide participants to a deeper experience of Self and Divinity, with special rituals, mantras and invocations of the Goddess.

September 3 - 7: Inner Tantric Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology, Sivananda Ashram in Grass Valley California, along with American College of Vedic Astrology. 
      The conference will discuss and practically apply the integration of Jyotish, Ayurveda, Classical Yoga, and inner Tantric Yoga in relation to karma and physical, mental and spiritual health. There will be discussions on remedial measures to our karma and the presentation of the practical tools on how to change your life and how to deal with the world in transition. Discussions will give insights on the contemporary challenging planetary influences that affect humanity and individuals.

Sept. 11 - 13: Inner Tantric Yoga program with Shambhavi and Vamadeva at Kripalu. 
     The inner aspect of both tantra and yoga includes special practices designed to connect us to the divine reality within ourselves, particularly the energies of pure awareness (Shiva) and its cosmic creative force (Shakti). This weekend, we will explore how the yogic tools of pranayama, mantra, concentration, and meditation awaken the secret powers of nature and unfold our own deeper being and consciousness. The program will

• Emphasize the inner worship of the great goddesses Kali and Sundari, who most epitomize the purifying and rejuvenating powers of yoga
• Explore the role of Lord Shiva as the Supreme Lord of Yoga (Yogeshwara) and special ways of attuning to his awareness and guidance
• Weave together both Tantra and Veda, which contain the key to cosmic sound and the yoga of light
• Include important teachings of Ayurveda on balancing the three aspects of vital energy
• Outline keys to timing and orientation through Vedic astrology and Vastu.

Sept. 14 - 16: Ayurvedic Training at Kripalu. Dr. Frawley will teach the first module of Kripalu's eighteen month Ayurveda program. Outside students can also attend. It will teach the history and philosophy of Ayurveda and provide an overview of Ayurveda for new students.

Programs Earlier 2009
Feb. 5 - 7, Journey into Healing with Deepak Chopra in sunny Florida. Dr. Frawley will speak on Ayurvedic Psychology.

March 4 - 7: Parmarth Niketan International Yoga Festival with Muniji Chidananda. Dr. Frawley and Shambhavi will give speak on Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedanta.

March 8 - 13: Inner Tantric Yoga Experience, Ma Ganga Retreat with Vamadeva, Shambhavi and Pedro Kupfer at the Glass House above Rishikesh, India. Special program on deeper secrets of Tantra, Veda, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology with an international group.

May 1 - 3. Dancing Shiva Yoga and Ayurveda Weekend Retreat with Vamadeva, Shambhavi, Mas Vidal and Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar at Mt. Madonna.
     This weekend retreat will focus on understanding and practicing the main principles of integral yoga practice. Both spiritual disciplines (sadhana) and practical therapies (chikitsa)will be combined in a lifestyle approach weekend. Experience the balance of knowledge (Veda) and practice (Yoga) in its integral form. This unique weekend retreat combines a comprehensive approach to Raja yoga while embracing Ayurveda, the science of tri-dosha.

May 24-31: Ayurvedic Astrology Healing Retreat
A Seven-Day Healing Intensive, Kauai, Hawaii
With the American Council of Vedic Astrology
     Dr. David Frawley and Shambhavi Chopra, Chakrapani Ullal, Dennis M. Harness, Ruth Hartung, Susie Patterson and William R. Levacy
     Beginning and Intermediate / Advanced Learning Tracks will be offered ...

June 11 -13: California College of Ayurveda  
4 DAY WORKSHOP-FEATURING DR. DAVID FRAWLEY and SHAMBHAVI: The Healing Energies of Shiva and Shakti 
     Working with Shiva and Shakti-pure consciousness and cosmic energy-as factors of spiritual awakening at an individual level, Shiva and Shakti represent the primal powers of nature as Sun and Moon, fire and water, Agni and Soma, Pitta and Kapha, and male and female. Balancing these two forces is the key to higher Ayurvedic and Yogic practices, including working with the Kundalini and the Chakras in an authentic manner.
     Dr. David Frawley will speak on the Healing Powers of the Masculine,incorporating Ayurvedic Psychology, and Shambhavi will speak on the Healing Powers of the Divine Feminine, emphasizing the useof Mantra and Ritual.

July 24 - 26: Tathaastu Magazine Spiritual Retreat - Embrace Your Inner Shakti 
Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedic Astrology, Vastu, Vedas and Inner Tantra
Programs with Vamadeva, Shambhavi, Pratichi Mathur and other important Vedic teachers.  
     Come transform your consciousness at this incomparable, first-of-its-kind, experiential retreat through immersion in the traditional wisdom sciences of India, led by an extraordinary team of experts in their fields.

Note next page for more news

April 2009 

Vamadeva recently returned from India. Shambhavi remains there until the end of April. During the recent trip they had a number of programs and special meetings. First they went to south India. Dr. Frawley gave a talk at the Chinmaya Mission in Chennai, hosted by Swami Mitranananda, the head of the All-India Chinmaya Youth Movement. He also spoke at Prakriti Ayurveda.

In Tiruvannamalai, Vamadeva met with K. Natesan, who at 96 was the oldest living disciple of Ganapati Muni and Ramana Maharshi and responsible for carrying on Ganapati's teachings. Vamadeva had been in close association with Natesan for nearly twenty years. Natesan passed away two weeks after the meeting. We will post more about Natesan on our website in the near future.

In Bangalore, Vamadeva gave programs for Professor N. S. Ramaswami of the Indian Heritage Academy and for the Institute of Management. He also met with Gayatri Vasudeva and Niranjan Bapu of the Astrological Magazine, and noted author N.S. Rajaram. 

In Rishikish and Haridwar, Vamadeva and Shambhavi gave programs at the International Yoga Festival and conducted their own Ganga Retreat for forty special students. This their second Ganga Retreat featured students from the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, Germany and Turkey. It included special fire offerings and a ceremonial dip into the Ganga on Holi, the Hindu festival of colors.

Vamadeva and Shambhavi also met with Swami Dayanananda of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, who is the greatest Vedantic acharya teaching in English in India today and the head of the Hindu Acharya Sabha, the largest organization of Hindu religious leaders.

Vamadeva has done a number of events with Swami Dayananda over the years and recommends everyone to study with him. Swamiji also teaches from his center in the USA.

Note picture with Swamiji to the left.

In Haridwar, they met with Swami Ramdev of Patanjali Yog Peeth at his new Yoga village, Yoga Gram. Swami Ramdev is now the most celebrated Yoga teacher in India today and now visits the West as well. He provides Yoga and Ayurveda courses and treatments for all walks of life in India, having many millions following his work. Note picture with Swami Ramdev to the left.

Both Vamadeva and Shambhavi spoke at Shanti Kunj, the main ashram of the all world Gayatri Pariwar and an entire Vedic city also in Haridwar, to a large audience of students from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya. The Vishwavidyalaya is one of the best universities in the world giving degrees in Yoga, Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy.

In Delhi, Vamadeva had a special meeting with Pramukh Swami, head of the Swaminarayan order at their Akshardham temple along with other senior Swamis, much as he has had in previous years. Vamadeva and Shambhavi met with J.C. Kapur of the World Affairs Journal and noted author Lokesh Chandra as well as the staff of Voice of India publications, and with N. P. Jain and R. P. Jain of Motilal Banarsidass books.

2008 PROGRAMS, After May

May 15 -20. UAC Astrology Conference in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Frawley will be presenting a special program on Ayurvedic Astrology at this the largest western astrology conference of the year in the USA along with Dennis Harness, Chakrapani Ullal and other important Vedic astrologers.

May 23 -26. Inner Tantric Yoga seminar at Yogaville with Dr. Frawley and Shambhavi Chopra. A special workshop on deities, mantra, pranayama and meditation to awaken the higher energies of consciousness within us, weaving together Veda, Tantra, Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta.

July 4 -25: European Progams with Vamadeva and Shabhavi. Berlin Yoga Festival, followed by programs in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the Crimea through the Vedic Center, Ruegen, with Sergej and Maxim Kuschpel. Moscow program through Vedalife, with Dr. Jayakumar and Swami Avadhut. Prague Program through Pavan Kanwar. 

Aug. 11-26: Programs in Brazil, Yoga for Peace, Yoga and Ayurveda Conference, with Dr. Frawley and Shambhavi Chopra, as organized by Marcia De Luca and Dr. Jose Rugue. Note pictures from the World Movement for Yoga and Ayurveda. Additional seminars with Suddha Dharma Mandal and Dr. Rugue in Uberlandia.

Sept. 12 - 14: Kripalu Ayurveda center, Lenox, Massachussets. For the first module of Kripalu's Ayurvedic training program Philosophy and History of Ayurveda. Shambhavi will also be joining Dr. Frawley.

Oct. 16 - 19: NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association) Chicago. Keynote speech on Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda. Shambhavi will also be joining Dr. Frawley for an Inner Tantric Yoga Workshop.

Earlier 2008

Dr. Frawley gave a keynote talk and other programs Feb. 21-25, 2008 at the Ayurveda and Yoga: Where Science Meets Consciousness, International Conference at Rishikesh, India. Shambhavi also spoke and joined Dr. Frawley for a special group satsang.

Feb. 25-29, 2008: D. Frawley and Shambhavi Chopra conducted a special Spiritual Retreat on the Ganga, for experiencing the inner practices of Yoga. The retreat had more than fifty participants. We are already planning a second such retreat for March 8 - 13, 2009.

March 1 - 5, 2008: Dr. Frawley spoke at the International Yoga Conference of Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh along with Muniji Chidananda. He also gave a lecture on Agni at Swami Veda's Rishikesh Ashram on Feb. 23.

Vamadeva had a special visit to Patanjali Yogpeeth, the largest Yoga Center in India, located in Haridwar, run by Swami Ramdev, India's most popular Yoga guru today, where he had discussions with Acharya Bal Krishna. 

In addition, he spoke at Shanti Kunj, of the Gayatri Pariwar, in Haridwar and met with its noted director, Dr. Pranav Pandya of the All World Gayatri Pariwar. Shanti Kunj runs a Vedic school, university, hospital and noted pilgrimage center. 

Dr. Frawley spoke at Making Way for the Feminine, a Program for the Global Peace Initiative of Women in Jaipur (March 6 - 10), along with Swami Dayananda of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam and Guru Maa Ananda Murti. In Jaipur, he was also given a special visit to the newly built Swami Narayan temple. Shambhavi also spoke.

News from 2007

Fall of 2007 was a very important period for Dr. Frawley and the Institute. Dr. Frawley was a keynote speaker at the National Ayurvedic Medicine Association (NAMA) annual conference that was held at Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over four hundred people attended this importnat weekend event. Vamadeva spoke on the Integration of Yoga and Ayurveda, emphasizing that Ayurveda is the original Vedic and Yogic system of medicine that provides the ideal background, philosophy, diagnosis and life-style recommendations for any comprehensive Yoga therapy.

At the end of October, Dr. Frawley gave a special program on Ayurveda and the Use of Mantra to a group of about seventy students in Milan, Italy, hosted by Dr. Antonio Mirandi of Ayurvedic Point, one of Italy's largest Ayurvedic organizations that arranges special Ayurvedic training for medical doctors. Vamadeva also visited the Gitananda Ashram and Italian Hindu Union in Savona, Italy, which has perhaps the only Shakti Peeth or center for the traditional worship of the Goddess on the European subcontinent.

In early November, Dr. Frawley gave a series of talks and seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia hosted by Ayurveda Plus, the largest Russian Ayurvedic organization, Vedalife, and the Vedic Center Ruegen. He also did interviews for important Russian Yoga magazines and with Russian medical leaders. Shambhavi Chopra also gave talks and interviews as part of the presentations. Vamadeva has found that Ayurveda has a greater recognition in Russia today than perhaps in any other western country. We will have more information about these travels in our future newsletters.

In mid-November, Dr. Frawley completed a two week Yoga and Ayurveda teacher's training at Yogaville, the ashram of Swam Satchidananda, in western Virginia. Around twenty five students graduated, having taken a curriculum that explained the Ayurvedic usage of asana, pranayama, mantra, dharana and meditation. Yogamaya (Jennifer Beckman) also helped with the instruction.

TRAVELS AND PROGRAMS NEWS

2007 

Vamadeva spent the months of March and most of June and July in India. In March he gave programs in Rishikesh with Muniji Chidananda, Swami Veda Bharati and Swami Dayananda of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. This was followed by a special retreat on the Ganga above Rishikesh, near Vasistha Guha.

In June, he visited Nepal, including Pashupati Nath and Dakshina Kali temples in the Kathmandu area. This was followed by a pilgrimage to Lake Mansarovar, Devi Parvat and Mount Kailas in Tibet, with a group of around twenty people. The group also visited a Tibetan medical college by Kailas and several Tibetan monastaries, as well as Milarepa's cave. Note picture of Devi Parvat by Lake Mansarovar below.

Vamadeva gave the keynote talk for the American College of Vedic Astrology and its international conference in Phoenix, Arizona on Sept. 5. His talk spoke on the need for a new model not only of the history of astrology but of the history of India in general.

Vamadeva taught the opening seminar for Kripalu's 18 month Ayurveda training (Sept. 14 - 16) at Kripalu Yoga center in Lenox, Massachussets. This is the second time he has inaugurated this type of program. He taught the spiritual and philosophical background of Ayurveda, including Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta.

Vamadeva introduced the keynote talks at the Human Empowerment Conference in Dallas, Texas (Oct. 12-14), honoring the works of Sitaram Goel and Ram Swarup of Voice of India publications. Vamadeva had written the introduction to all three volumens of Ram Swarup's Collected Works in 2001. He also gave talks at the conference on Religious Pluralism, Global Renaissance and on Vedic astronomy and ancient history.