Breathing With a Difference

Torontonians prepare for visit of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

TORONTO – Iraqi youth, South African prisoners, New York City firefighters, Kenyan slum-dwellers, European corporate leaders, Indian villagers, First Nations youth. What do these people have in common?

Just four words: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Sri Sri’s Art of Living Foundation has been teaching its legendary breathing and meditation techniques to millions people, in over 150 countries around the world. At last year’s Silver Jubilee birthday celebrations, world-renowned dignitaries, politicians and religious leaders joined 2.5 million attendees in celebrating the humanitarian work that Sri Sri and his foundation have been doing in the last 25 years.

What’s all the fuss about? We all breathe and it’s hard not to find a yoga or meditation course happening somewhere in the city. In North America, yoga is about exercise and flexibility. Its popularisation has meant that anyone can teach a stretch, and call it yoga. The physical practice of asanas (or postures) is a small part of what yoga is all about. Yoga is a path towards total harmony and unity of body, mind and spirit.

Building this unity is exactly what the Art of Living Foundation’s humanitarian work is all about. By strengthening the individual, through practical knowledge, breathing and meditation, people of all walks of life have been armed with the tools they need to lead healthier, happier and more productive lives.

Breathing to serve

At the core of Sri Sri’s teachings is community service. Whether it’s a park clean-up, raising money for a charity, or coaching a baseball team, commitment to seva (or service) is essential to living a satisfying life. This commitment to service is just one reason Sri Sri was declared as “Bharat Shiromani” (Supreme Jewel of India) by the Home Minister in 2005.

The Art of Living has initiated innumerable seva projects around the world. Globally, the foundation works in three main areas: conflict resolution and peace building, trauma relief and prisoner rehabilitation.

This past summer, the Art of Living launched two new programs in Canada. Inmates in a Brockville jail did an intensive breathing, yoga and meditation program in hopes of breaking their negative tendencies and becoming positive contributors to society. Over 200,000 inmates and correctional officers have already benefited from the program worldwide. In northern Manitoba, a group of troubled First Nations youth took part in the first-ever Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP), a program which has helped over 30, 000 villages worldwide become more productive and sustainable.

“Guru of Joy” in Toronto

Torontonians will have the chance to learn these legendary breathing techniques straight from Sri Sri, sometimes known as the “Guru of Joy”, on the Canadian leg of his world tour from September 20-23, 2007. The visit of the Nobel Peace prize nominee coincides with the UN-declared International Day of Peace.

Unarguably the most multi-faceted humanitarian in the world today, Sri Sri’s platform of promoting human values and providing practical techniques has found universal appeal and is sure to attract a wide cross-section of people from Canada’s diverse communities. Organizers estimate that 10,000 people across the city will have the chance to benefit from Sri Sri’s presence.

More information about the Art of Living and Sri Sri’s September visit can be found at www.artofliving.ca.