A Thanksgiving Weekend of Spiritual Wellness is hosted and
sponsored by Science of Spirituality as a community service.
©2009-2010 Science of Spirituality

The following programs are also offered during the course of the two days.

Morning Yoga

Saturday and Sunday – 9:00am to 10:00am

Start your morning with a yoga class before the main sessions begin. All are welcome to participate. Please bring yoga mat and workout clothes for exercise without eating heavy meal before the class. We will practice asanas (physical body postures) and pranayama (breath control exercises).

Neelam Akhand will conduct Saturday morning yoga classes with Poonam Gupta. A graduate with a liberal arts degree, Neelam is a young, focused, full of energy, Yoga teacher who has been practicing Hatha Yoga for several years. She teaches adults as well as children's classes at different venues. Neelam has been married for 20 years and is the proud mother of two wonderful teenagers. She is a 200 hr. level Yoga Teacher and recently finished her Basic Mat Pilates training in June of 2010. In addition to her love for Yoga, she is a teacher’s assistant with Naperville School District 204. "It would be impossible to name all the benefits that I have received from my personal Yoga practice. In summary I am healthier; physically, mentally and spiritually, than I ever was or ever hoped to be. I started teaching because Yoga had become such a passion that teaching it to others was so very natural. Teaching is the best way to learn." She brings an awareness of learning styles to each student, infusing them with the idea that Yoga can be for "Every Body and Everybody!"

 

Poonam Gupta: MA, M. Phil, ERYT 500, Ayurvedic Practitioner. Poonam will conduct Saturday morning yoga classes with Neelam Akhand during this event. She grew up with yogic training at home. Her father was her first yoga teacher and taught her asanas, kriyas and the essence of yogic philosophy. As a child, Poonam learnt to practice meditation from her father, who was a spiritual seeker and follower of Santmat tradition. Poonam received a formal hatha yoga training in India, in Sivananda style of yoga and has also been trained and certified in US as a 500 level yoga teacher. Due to her vast training, with teachers in two different cultures, Poonam has developed a very unique style of her own which comprises focus on alignment, Vinyasa flow, pranayama, Ayurveda and meditation. She is the founder of Yoga Gyan Jyoti, Center for Yoga and Ayurveda and is currently involved in training yoga teachers in Illinois and Wisconsin. She is an Ayurvedic Practitioner and sees clients in her Aurora office. Her love for yoga and community service transcends the yoga classroom scenario and, as She is a member of Science of Spirituality and has been practicing surat shabd yog since childhood.

 

Prasad Palacharla will conduct Sunday morning yoga class during this event. He serves as a Hatha Yoga instructor at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. He received B.E. and M.Tech from the Andhra University, India and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prasad taught for 3 years in Computer Science Department at the Andhra University and worked in various corporations such as NavTeq, Alcatel-Lucent, General Dynamics Land Systems and Motorola. He mentors doctoral students part-time at the University of Phoenix online and he currently works as Engineering Manager at Navteq.

Children’s Activities

You are invited to bring your children, 5 to 12 years old. Through stories and team activities — yoga, crafts, song and games — they will be introduced to the principles of ethical living and shown how to develop inner strength. They will also learn about meditation and have a chance to experience inner peace while helping them find the self-confidence they need while growing up. Children must be accompanied by an adult participating in the programs.