Labor Day Retreat Workshop Topics

Sairam. Below are the workshops to be held on Saturday, Aug 31st from 1:30-3pm. These sessions will run in parallel, kindly select the workshop you wish to join.

Workshop 1: Unity of Thought, Word, and Action from a  Go-Green perspective

In our daily life, Go-Green is a generic term coined for  Reuse, Refuse, Reduce and Recycle.  Swami says “Refinement in life calls for spiritual practice and Every word, thought and action of yours at the present time is bound to have a reaction, reflection and resound”. In this workshop, let’s discuss the spiritual aspects of Going Green by following Swami’s message — “Unity of Thought Word and Deed”.

Facilitators:

Rama Nandham has been an advocate of Go-Green initiatives in Region 10 for many years. He has served as the Region 10 service coordinator and also attended the 2018 Go-Green conference held in Prashanthi Nilayam.

Sreenivas Gangadhar has been attending the Austin Sai center since 2014. Currently Sreenivas is serving in the National Go-Green committee and in the “Serve The Planet” committee.

 

Workshop 2: Healthy Living: The Sai-Entific Way to a Healthy Body and Mind

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, our divine teacher has also emphasized the importance of a sound body, mind and spirit for happy and peaceful living.

“Prevention of disease should be the goal. We should aim at a human society free from diseases.” Sathya Sai Baba, February 6, 1993; International Conference on Cardiovascular Diseases

This workshop will include information on lifestyle changes being a primary modality to prevent disease and maintain health. Steps to maintain a healthy body will be discussed such as eating a healthy diet (vegetarianism & how to do it correctly); engaging in regular physical activity and exercise as well as steps to maintain a healthy mind such as the benefits of stress relief in daily life as well as practices such as yoga, tai chi, meditation etc. and their benefits will be discussed. Handouts for following simple steps to a healthy living will be provided and there will be a discussion section at the end of the workshop in which questions that have been sent in by workshop participants will be addressed.

Facilitators:

Shaili Singh has been a Pediatrician for the past 14 years and currently lives in Austin, TX with her husband and 2 kids. She was first introduced to Swami when she started attending Bal Vikas at the Dallas Sai center as a child. Shaili has a passion for healthy living, natural remedies & Ayurveda. 

Sridevi Devaraj is a Professor of Pathology at Baylor College of Medicine and Medical Director, Clinical Chemistry at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston and serves as Associate Director of Texas Children’s Microbiome Center. Her research is on obesity and diabetes and heart disease and she has published more than 350 manuscripts. She has been involved for the last 20 years in the area of nutritional modulation of inflammation and metabolic diseases. Sridevi currently serves as the service coordinator for the South Houston Sai Center

 

Workshop 3: Outdoor nature walk, seeing God in nature 

In our busy day to day lives,  “Do we pause to smell the roses?” It is true that we have very busy lives and most likely do not have time for many things.  That being said, when we see a rainbow in the sky or take in the smell of the earth after a rain we experience a great joy. When we are driving by a bed of blue bonnets by the highway we are taken in by the sight.  Truly, nature the vesture of the Divine is putting on a show for us all the time. 

During this outdoor workshop we will have an opportunity to have some enjoyable downtime walking/pausing/sitting amidst nature in a relaxed environment and contemplate the beauty of Divinity all around us.  We can help each other appreciate nature and also share our stories of trips to national parks or other beautiful places and how they inspire us to connect with Swami in His COSMIC form!! 

All participants are requested to wear closed toed shoes, comfortable long pants/track pants, a hat

Facilitators: Shyam & Sarojini Kanagala love nature and see nature as a vesture of God. Their personal sadhana is to always draw inspiration from nature, Sarojini in fact is a “tree hugger”. She will conduct a walking meditation in the midst of nature. They request all participants to bring their nature stories to this workshop.  

 

Workshop 4: Parenting: The New Normal?

This is an interactive workshop in learning ways to understand our children from birth to 12 years of age. Understanding ways to  guide your child at home. Creating a culture of love in a prepared environment. Creating a tool box for conscious parenting for our day to day interaction with our children. 

Facilitator: Kalika Grana has known, visited and served Swami for about three decades. Starting as an SSE teacher at a very young age, Mrs. Grana has hosted many Sai-based workshops on subjects such as parenting, teacher training, the developmental stages of children and various aspects of the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV) curriculum.
Today Mrs. Grana serves as the Director and the Chair for Partnership Schools of the Institution of Sathya Sai Education, USA.

 

Workshop 5: Bhajan : A tool for communion with God

Devotional singing (Bhajan) has been an essential ingredient of the Sathya Sai mission from the old mandir days. Devotees fondly recall how Swami himself sat in the front row and led bhajans for several hours in those days striving to instill in our minds how bhajan can be a key tool for communion with God. Needless to say throughout his earthly sojourn Swami almost always included during a function/festival a bhajan session. He would look at the bhajan group and say “bhajan cheyandi” meaning “do bhajans”. During this session, the alumnus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher learning humbly brings to you some key learnings received directly from the divine during our time at Prashanthi Nilayam on how to make use of this great tool to get closer to God!

Facilitators: SSSIHL alumni who have been part of the Sai Symphony music group in Puttaparthi and have received personal guidance from Swami on various aspects of devotional singing

 

Workshop 6: Young Adults only 

This workshop is only for adults between the age of 18-40

Facilitators: Young Adults