Prof.Alok Sagar- Messiah for the Tribals

We have read stories on how graduates from top universities have taken initiatives to support poor but not many go and live with them. Prof Alok Sagar, an ex-IIT Delhi professor, left his lucrative job in 1982 to serve tribals, work for upliftment of women and stay connected to nature. Besides having graduate and Masters degree from IIT Delhi, Shri Alok Sagar has a PhD from Houston University in Texas, US. He has in fact taught former-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. But all these degrees were meaningless to him and he found his true calling in one of the remotest parts of Madhya Pradesh. For the past 26years, Prof Alok Sagar (62 years) has been living

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PARSVA KONASANA

Parsvakonasana  is a part of the primary series of Ashtanga yoga and key components of other styles of yoga. The name comes from the Sanskrit, parsva, meaning side or flank, kona, meaning angle, and asana, meaning posture.  The parsvakonasana poses both require balance and flexibility. Yoga Journal claims that the practice of this asana improves and strengthens the legs, knees, and ankles.  Twisting is a way to cleanse and reduce stress within the abdominal area. By incorporating this pose into practice, concentration, balance and stamina improve greatly. Tadasana: Stiti: Legs together, hands by the side of the body, spread toes press it on the ground, tighten ankles, tighten calf muscles, tighten thighs, now exhale suck

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Gratitude Meditation

Gratitude is to appreciate the things that we generally take for granted, like having a place to live, good food, healthy environment, caring family and friends and so on. It takes a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are when something good happens — whether it’s small or big. We feel short of words to describe feelings of gratitude: may be thankful, lucky, fortunate, humbled, or blessed. Gratitude meditation is a type of meditation that focuses on expressing gratitude for the things in your life. One might practice gratitude meditation while they wait for their morning coffee to brew, for example. Gratitude meditation is “a simple way to meditate” because

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VivekaVikasa – August 2018 – Report

Half-day personality development workshop Half-day personality development workshop on know yourself, know your country and culture was conducted in the school mentioned below. The students were proactively involved in the activities and learnt importance of Yoga and how it benefits for the health. The students were inspired by knowing the greatness of the Country and Culture which they never gave a thought about is what they mentioned.The feedback of the students was that, now that they have known the responsibility towards motherland they have taken an oath saying they’ll serve the society how much ever possible. Name of the school Area date Number of participants Number of workshop JJ Public

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Disha College Report – August 2018

Orientation Programs (PDP) The powerful introduction proved not only to be thought-provoking, but also convinced the students that the workshop was going to be unique. The 45-minute Yoga session conducted by the trained Yoga master lifted their spirits and the energy level. The group counseling sessions helped the students introspect and stressed the importance of enhancing positivity, deflecting the distractions and having right attitude towards life to reach success. The information-packed ‘Namaste India’ quiz rekindled the fire of patriotism in the minds of the students. The inspirational visuals and the interactions proved to be highly impactful and underlined the importance of contribution to the society. Then, the indoor games conveyed

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Emotional Intelligence – 20 seconds of courage

‘Courage is the willingness to act in spite of fear’- Michael Hyatt Fear is an emotion everyone faces at least once a day. We find ourselves in situations we’d rather not be a part of, or find ourselves with work we’d rather not do. The reason of fear in these cases is due the fact that we do not know the outcome of the said “problems/positions”. Fears may be small – like mentally accepting a truth staring in your face – or big – like facing up to dangerous situations. Rather than experiencing the discomfort itself, we tend to be reluctant to start off. It is the initial fright of

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Real Hero : Shivaji Kagnekar-A true Gandhian

There are people who spout Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy – and then, there are those who live by it. Shivaji Kagnekar belongs to the latter category. Thanks to his efforts, life has changed for the better for villages that are located on the fringes of forests in Khanapur, Belagavi and Hukkeri taluks of Belagavi district, Karnataka. This 68 year old social reformer pioneered the idea of enhancing rural livelihoods through active participation of people who lived in these areas. Thanks to his efforts, we are witnessing the success that arises from sustainable rural development. It all started in the early 1970s when Shivaji, a BSc student, quit formal education to work

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My Inspiration: Sangolli Rayanna

Sangolli Rayanna was a prominent warrior from Sangolli,Karnataka. Rayanna was born on 15 August 1798. He was the army chief of the Kingdom of Kittur ruled at the time by Rani Chennamma who was one of the first female rulers to rebel against British rule. Rayanna fought the British East India Company till his death. Sangolli Rayanna also participated in the 1824 rebellion and was arrested by the British, who released him later. He continued to fight the British and wanted to install adopted son Shivalingappa as the ruler of Kittur. He mobilised local people and started a guerilla type war against the British. He and his “army” moved from

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Disha – Viveka Vikasa : Success Story

Manoj is a 10th standard student in Shantiniketana school, Girinagar, Bengaluru. Disha conducts Viveka Vikasa classes in this school. Here are snippets of a conversation between our volunteer and Manoj after a session on Freedom Fighters. Volunteer:- As a student how will you serve? Manoj:- By being a responsible student, I will try to know more about our country and spread the positive vibes among as many as possible. Also, for the next Independence Day, I shall collect money from the institution, family and friends and contribute that to the Indian Army” Volunteer:- What’s your inspiration to be patriotic? Manoj:- Disha – VivekaVikasa classes motivated me, they taught us the

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VEERA BHADRASANA

 Meaning of the Asana: Virabhadrasana Yoga (The Warrior Pose) is derived from the words Vira means hero or warrior, Bhadra means friend or auspicious and Asana means posture. It requires strength and stability. This pose is excellent for the overall vitality and strengthening of the body. This asana has its roots in mythology: Virabhadra is the name of the fierce warrior (an incarnation of Lord Shiva) having thousand heads, eyes and feet. Technique : Tadasana: Stiti: Legs together, hands by the side of the body, spread toes press it on the ground, tighten ankles, tighten calf muscles, tighten thighs, now exhale suck the abdomen, inhale and expand chest. Eyes closed,

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Disha Report – July 2018 – 1800 students and 100 faculty members benefited

Personality Development Program A thought-provoking introduction was followed by a Yoga Session conducted by a trained Yoga Master emphasized the role of Yoga in maintaining both the physical and mental fitness. The emotional aspect was taken care of by the group counseling sessions that encouraged the students to interact and introspect. The activity helped the participants to understand how success can be achieved by developing strengths, overcoming weaknesses and with right attitude. India was introduced to the students like never before through ‘Namaste India’ Quiz that made the participants walk with pride as an Indian. The importance of humanity and the joy of giving was underlined through an interactive Audio-Visual

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