About the Session
In this interactive session, the presenter attempts to define vulnerability from Yogic/ Indic Scriptures and the international community in order to determine the global spread of vulnerable communities. It will also define what peace and development are.
The session will then explore their situations and their needs and take a look at how yoga philosophy and practice can support wellness in such communities, in order to bring peace, justice, and development to them.
In light of Covid-19, while many "yogis" of the world are now able to reach their constituents online to continue practices and providing guidance those with access to technologies, a large majority of the world's population does not have access to such, because of their extreme vulnerabilities.
The session will ponder the questions:
How can we resolve the disparity of those with access and those without, in these Covid Times? What is the role of Yogis such as ourselves, and how can we reach out to our brothers and sisters of the world who do not have modern technology? How can they be impacted by yoga and yogis? Why should we consider their wellness as an application of Seva? What does it do for the community, and what does it do for the servers?
The program will be aided by an online presentation (PPT or Prezi). It may also include some videos or audios of such under-resourced communities, and some breakout rooms for discussion.
About the Speaker
Sowmya Ayyar owes her knowledge of yoga to growing up in her Guru's ashram in California, where she spent the majority of her teenage years listening to satsang, participating in bhajan, and performing seva. Through this, and through the example of her family elders, Sowmya developed a love for giving back to society, whatever she could offer.
Sowmya holds an MA in Environmental Security from UN's University for Peace (Costa Rica), and an MA in Peace Building & Conflict Transformation from University of Innsbruck. She wrote her theses of "Nature-based Yoga as an Alternative Therapy for Domestic Violence Survivors with PTSD" and on "Yoga for International Peace builders". Her BS degree in Sociology & Gerontology is from Santa Clara University (CA), with a thesis on "The East Rising Sun Sets in the West: South Asian Elderly Migration to the US".
Sowmya has been in India for a decade. She started Prafull Oorja, an NGO which trains yoga therapists to work with a variety of under-resourced communities. The Sangha has touched the lives of 500+ individuals in Bangalore every week since 2013. Sowmya is also a Karnataka Yoga Council Member for Women's International Chamber of Commerce, India (WICCI).
