2016-Trip to the Art of Living Ashram

The United Nations established 21 June as the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA. Awareness of Yoga and its impact on overall well-being has been on the rise since that declaration in 2014. The Art of Living International Center in Bangalore is a major proponent of Yoga & Meditation and conducts many related courses. They graciously agreed to provide a guided tour of the campus to the Pragati Scholars. The goal of the trip was to help the students appreciate the practice of Yoga & Meditation, and also to experience the lush & serene campus. We organized two buses to ferry about 70 students from different parts of town. 

The tour started with an hour long workshop that included knowledge of Yoga & Meditation, and some fun interactive games and puzzles. The session was exciting and energizing, and the students participated with a lot of enthusiasm. A delicious, healthy lunch followed at the Dining Hall, where thousands of people are served everyday, entirely by volunteers. The campus is vast and has many beautiful spots, but given the time we had, we could not visit all of them. Our walking tour was at a leisurely pace, allowing us to soak the serene surroundings. With so many friendly faces around, lush meadows,  lakes, and a lot of trees, there couldn’t have been a better picnic experience. The key landmark of the Ashram – the Vishalakshi Mantap – is a beautiful structure whose design is inspired by a lotus flower. A group picture in front of it was a must-do. We concluded our walk at the beautiful new amphitheatre, with the picturesque Vishalakshi Mantap in the background. The students were busy clicking selfies and photos around the irresisibly beautiful spots.