Father Joe Revisited
Greetings Friends of Yoga,
As summer wanes and the saga of 2020 continues, strategies for coping with the shorter days and more time indoors are more important than ever. I recently took an 8 day online pranayama and meditation course with Fr. Joe Pereira from his lockdown position in Vasai, India. The sequence has been a godsend for these times and has become a daily must for me! The daily program is one hour but taking any one or two of the practices in the sequence daily will provide much needed peace and courage of heart.
(Photo: Fr. Joe and Lynne at KRIPA headquarters in Mumbai, India, 1998)
Many of you are familiar with his work as we were fortunate to have him facilitate several yoga workshops in Anchorage in the 90’s and early 2000’s. For those unfamiliar, here is a brief synopsis of his work.
Fr. Joe is an Indian Jesuit priest who began taking yoga classes with BKS Iyengar in 1968 after becoming intrigued by a remark by the violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin that he was, “his best next violin instructor”. Fr. Joe’s calling as a priest working closely with Mother Teresa melded with his yoga training in developing a ministry for alcoholics, drug addicts, sex workers and people living with HIV/AIDS. In 1981, he and a recovering addict in his parish started the KRIPA (Grace) Foundation. It has since developed into one of the largest NGOs in India with 30+ centers throughout the country and offices in Germany and Canada.
Jim and I were fortunate to have stayed for several weeks in two of the centers in 1998. After one of Fr. Joe’s visits to our home, he and Jim cooked up the idea of installing a solar powered water pump for one the center’s that was running out of stored water due to loss of power to the pumps. That is another story, but our time staying at the centers was so rich in experience and the palpable power of yoga and love to heal, “the poorest of the poor” (M. Teresa) and the “poorest of the poor in health” (Fr. Joe) that it left an indelible imprint on both of us.
You can join Fr. Joe LIVE later this month via Zoom. Here is the information.
Courage of the heart
Offering with Fr. Joe Pereira
hosted by Leigh Anne Milne Senior KFIY teacher, British Columbia, Canada
Join Fr Joe from your own home as he guides us with yoga and love. Fr. Joe has a way of weaving spiritual teachings into practice, drawing the listener into a meditative mind.
A recording of this workshop will be made available for seven days following this event for those who are registered participants.
September 25th, 26th, 27th (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
6 AM to 8 AM PDT
$105 Canadian
Register here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=11376885&appointmentType=16304489
I am assuming that it will be a condensed version of the 8 day program, but don’t quote me!
Here is the link to the 8 day recorded program and a pdf of my class notes. This class is being offered free of charge although I do not know how long it will be accessible.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRgQZ_3cSzqufsf2iZfOkXFUlWKgg6fCe
If you decide to take this RECORDED class, please consider making a donation to KRIPA Foundation: Kripafoundation.org
My notes on the sequences are included below. Fr. Joe’s rapid delivery, accent, and use of Sanskrit may be challenging for some. There are a few phrases I did not catch and some that I’m not confident I got right. I have interpreted and translated from my understanding of the concepts in the hope of adding to your understanding.