Testimonials and Feedback from our 2007 USA Seminars
All of us who encounter your teaching feel the grace of your knowledge and the blessings
of your lineage. I have no doubt that the both of you are casting the seeds of something
so extraordinary that we cannot even imagine it yet at this time.
James Bailey, Sevanti Ayurveda and Acupuncture
California USA
It was a great privilege to attend your Los Angeles workshop as part of Shiva Rea’s
teacher training program. I want to express my deepest thanks! The workshop was
educational, spiritual, emotional, uplifting and motivating. Your communication
style made it FUN and the content provided new knowledge and skills that I have
immediately incorporate into my daily life. I feel blessed. Please return SOON.
Stanley Lerman, Malibu, California USA
Swamiji, it was a great honor and joy meeting you in Los Angeles, at your Yoga-Tantra
meditation seminar. Jayne's film, Yoga of the Heart, was a huge step for me in understanding
the meaning of tantric ritual. Please give her my thanks for making the movie!!
It was very, very moving to meet you and Jayne, and so inspiring through the great
clarity and authenticity of your teaching. I have a strong feeling for your living
lineage. Please let me know when you are conducting another seminar in Los Angeles.
Love and Light,
Alex Putz, Carbondale, Collorado USA
Thanks to your great Las Vegas workshop, I have regained my sense of smell – after
12 years! I am amazed at the power of the techniques and the whole learning experience.
Upon waking, the morning after the workshop, I could smell everything! At first
it was completely overpowering, but fairly soon I was enjoying the smells (and of
course the tastes) of life again. I have begun practicing your pranic healing cds
and I am very impressed with the professionalism, care and effectiveness of this
guidance.
Brian Fisher, Criminal Lawyer
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
Thanks for your great Yoga-Tantra workshop. I had such a beautiful time. It was
very engaging and informative and I feel that I gained a great deal of useful knowledge
and insight. I have incorporated the basic warm up for the joints (that creates
spatial awareness with the mind and the body) into my daily yoga practice and into
my teaching. It is the best 'primer' for Hatha yoga practices. Now I want to learn
more and look forward to following your teachings on the Tantric path.
Troy Cox, Personal Trainer
San Clemente, California USA
In his recent Yoga-Tantra workshop Swami Shankardev gave me the advanced meditation
knowledge that I have been searching for, for three years. His spiritual depth,
kindness, humility, and humor drew me toward him. After the workshop, my heart was
more open, my practice more fluid and refocused.
Don Rossmoore PhD, Los Angeles, California USA
The Experience of Prana workshop was extremely informative, rejuvenating and relaxing
for me. My body has now fully understood that all of us have a great natural healing
capability within. I loved your method of teaching and your sense of humor as well.
The knowledge I gained from the workshop has deepened my yoga practice. I feel that
I can now explore yoga beyond hatha yoga and learn to really heal myself from within.
On a side note, I have been practicing your Yoga Nidra CD every day. The effect
has been just amazing. As discussed, I had suffered from a chronic condition that
had adversely affected my performance at work (and in life). Since starting the
daily practice of your Yoga Nidra, my symptoms have reduced significantly. I now
feel that I am free to live a focused and fulfilling life. Thank you so much for
your workshop and the CDs.
Miki Ring, Washington DC USA
Dr Swami Shankardev is an excellent teacher. A humble and thoughtful Yoga Acharya,
he addresses his students with a strong desire to share his sacred knowledge in
the true spirit of giving. After his recent visit to Jivamukti I began to practice
his meditation CDs. I find them very helpful, instructional and soothing.
Shivadasi, Yoga Teacher, Jivamukti Yoga School
New York, NY USA
Here is an excerpt from a group email from Lindy, a student who has been undergoing
chemotherapy and who found our Experience of Prana workshop of great help.
The last message from the Universe came from Swami Shankardev and his partner, Jayne
Stevenson, who are visiting several cities in the States to give seminars on powerful
healing techniques that focus on the breath. I spent the weekend learning and practicing
techniques that left me glowing from the inside out with energy.
Prana techniques work much better than the strongest brew of coffee and leave my
cells buzzing with energy. And still others are available that help cool or heat
the body. Even before this wonderful weekend, I had always referred to pranayama
practices as the “candy” of my yoga practice. It was therefore very easy for me
to accept that the breath could be used to heal. The only question was how.
It would be a daunting task for me to think that I could summarize the wise words
of Swamiji and Jayne. There are a couple of things, however, that I want to share.
First, Swamiji was able to convey the logic behind why yoga practices are so important
for overall health. As we all know, especially if we sit too long in one place,
energy gets stuck in certain places and the yoga asanas help to ensure a free flow
of energy for use by the body.
Second, the method Swamiji and Jayne teach focuses on directing the breath into
certain areas of the body with acute awareness. I am now using this awareness to
try to remove energy blockages with the breath, which for me not surprisingly occur
in my lower tract.
Lastly, there is the practice of Yoga Nidra, which I mentioned to you during my
first cancer fight. Everyone, especially those of us in urban settings but indeed
all of us who experience constant stress day after day, need to do Yoga Nidra as
often as possible. It is a deep, deep relaxation practice that can be done by anyone.
Very few of us take the time to relax deeply anymore: we keep some part of our being
active at all times whether it is watching television, running kids to their various
activities, or even talking on the phone. None of these allows the body a chance
to rejuvenate and recharge. Yoga Nidra facilitates these things and, after doing
it, you will be so refreshed. So, please for your health, check it out!
Lindy S Johnson, Lawyer, NOAA National Ocean Service
Washington DC
Testimonials and Feedback from our 2006 Australian Seminars
I would highly recommend anyone, with an interest in yoga and personal growth, attend
a seminar by Swami Shankardev and Jayne Stevenson. One of the first things you notice
about Swami Shankardev's lecturing style, is his wealth of knowledge and experience,
delivered in a practical, down to earth manner. His sense of humour helps, also,
to connect with participants, as well as helping people remember the very important
information contained within the seminars. The interactive nature of the seminar
also helped people to feel a part of the proceedings and not just a number in a
crowd.
For myself, one of the most important aspects of the seminar was the focus on awareness
and it's being the foundation of all practice, and most essential, or core elements
in facing life. This has become a focus for me (and I'm sure many others in the
group), not just during yoga sessions, but in day-to-day life, at work and with
my family. In fact it recently helped me deal with a situation with my teenage son,
ending in an outcome, which helped both of us. Not running from life, but facing
our experiences with awareness, is what Shankardev reinforced to us.
Iain Bennett (Trinetra), Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia
At the risk of running fate's gauntlet, the effect of this Facing Life
workshop has been profound. The relative simplicity of the meditation exercises
and the down-to-earth manner in which they were taught have made continued practice
surprisingly easy.
They have been extremely effective in their ripple-on effect throughout my day-to-day
life, in accordance with the title of his workshop. Of particular note as a doctor,
my enhanced centredness has improved my ability to both sense and simultaneously
detach from my patients' issues, thereby enhancing my ability to aid in their healing
process. I hope that I can continue with these practices as I have to date, and
would strongly encourage anyone with a mind to attend Swami Shankardev's and Jayne
Stevenson's workshops.
Dr Gull Herzberg, Bellingen, NSW Australia
Swami Shankardev's love of people and his passion for teaching the way of yoga inspires
one to continue practicing the techniques. He is renowned for his ability to deliver
yogic practices and philosophy in a manner that ignites an inner passion, motivating
you to make these concepts a living reality in your life. This seminar provided
the ideal structure in which to learn and absorb, gradually leading you deeper into
an understanding of how to self-direct your own sadhana and lifestyle.
Ursula Racic, Sydney, NSW Australia
17 years ago, after successfully completing four years psychotherapy I committed
to a lifelong Yoga path. I am very committed to Yoga Psychology.
I am a legal practitioner and had been working in a partnership for 10 years in
an environment that had become increasingly unhealthy. Up until Swami Shankardev's
workshop I had not been able to harness the energy required to shift from that partnership.
Almost immediately on completing the workshop and commencing to use the Core Strength
CDs on a daily basis, I found the energy required to successfully reorganise my
professional life. I moved to a new partnership.
I would recommend Swami Shankardev and Jayne Stevenson's workshops and CDs to anyone
who wants to incorporate a practice in their daily life that can have profound impact
particularly in terms of shifting longstanding patterns when other techniques have
not been successful. Heather McKinnon, Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia
Swami Shankardev's teachings communicate and flow with clarity and wisdom, and so
often build bridges of insight into my life and inner world. Through study and practice,
deeper layers of understanding and joy have come into being in my life. This knowledge
helps bring to life and living the spirit of yoga and tantra.
Stuart Naylor, Blue Mountains, NSW Australia