Part I course

Meditation, being an important tool to tap the children's hidden potential, forms an integral part of the program.

"I sleep better and I don't get angry a lot anymore."
- Sandra, middle school student, Florida

To truly excel in life is an art, and though much emphasis has traditionally been placed on higher academic achievement, more can be done to give children the tools to handle stress and live life to their fullest potential. The true measure of success is a happy, healthy, well-adjusted child that is able to deal effectively with life’s challenges.

The ART Excel course is a highly effective stress management and human values training program for children. A unique aspect of the program is a specific set of breathing techniques that systematically release emotional and physical stress. Children can use these techniques in any situation to bring about a state of calmness and relaxation, and human values such as joy, friendliness and compassion that are naturally present in children but may have been hidden by stress become apparent.

Practice of these techniques also increases mental clarity and focus. With the ability to thinking clearly, manage their emotions and release stress, children are able to excel in all aspects of life; academic, social, and extracurricular.

The children show enhancement of creative skills, improvement of memory and concentration, development of leadership qualities and healthy emotions, clarity of mind and better interaction with everyone after undergoing the program.

ART EXCEL programs give proper direction to the enthusiasm and dynamism in children. It helps them to contribute to the society by making them responsible beings

Benefits include:

• Enhancement of creative skills

• Improvement of memory and concentration

• Healthier emotions

• Better interaction with others

YES Youth Empowerment Seminar

"There is a major difference between intention and desire. Intention is desire without the feverishness, without the hurry."  H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES!) is a dynamic and innovative program for teens which includes practical tools for releasing stress, techniques for mental focus and concentration, tools for dealing with negative emotions, leadership skills, problem-solving strategies, yoga exercises and community service. The techniques and skills teens learn help them deal with the demands of school and work, relationships, friends, and parents smoothly.

“YES! Has interesting and deep points about how to live life happily. The breathing exercises help me to feel much more energetic and happy. I am waking up earlier and I don’t feel like sleeping 24/7! I feel very good as if I am a better person. YES! Should stand for Young Exceptional Students!”
- Olivia, 15, CA

YES! for Teens is a program that revolutionizes how teens deal with the increasing social and academic pressures of adolescence. The course provides students with problem-solving strategies and leadership training, skills on how to release stress, manage negative emotions and advanced techniques for non-violent conflict resolution. It places a special  emphasis on education that fosters human values, a sense of belonging, a broader vision and attitude of service toward others. Experiential processes are designed to help teens feel at ease in challenging situations and foster the increased confidence and inner strength needed to better handle criticism, peer pressure and rise above life’s challenges while keeping enthusiasm and a deep reverence for all life.

APEX

"Motivation comes from the outside. Inspiration comes from within. You can motivate a person, but that motivation is short-lived. Inspiration,  on the other hand, can last a whole lifetime."- H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Every successful Corporate House worth its salt knows the importance of maintaining and upgrading facilities and equipment to obtain optimum performance levels. Many companies, however, fail to give an equal amount of attention to their most precious resource – their employees. With increasing competition, and pressure to do things cheaper, better and faster, the quality of an employee’s life is often overlooked.

When problems of stress and conflict in the workplace are not remedied, employees grow frustrated, or feel overwhelmed, and this leads to problems like greater absenteeism, decreased motivation, limited creativity and a deterioration in morale. Unless employees are centered and balanced, a company’s economic growth, and true potential cannot be fully realized.

One often hears that the IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a measure of success. Yet, in the workplace, its not just about how intelligent one is, but also about how well one handles the big ‘S’, ‘Stress’. However, though stress is considered to be a necessary occupational hazard, this does not have to be the case – as corporate houses, the world over, are discovering, through the APEX (Achieving Personal Excellence) Programme.

A highly specialized, practical, and effective training Programme, it presents a paradigm shift, from ‘working hard’ to ‘working smart’. It provides employees with the solution to striking a balance between meeting the demands of one’s personal life and professional commitments. It strengthens managers and employees, enabling them to experience unshakable calm and inner clarity in the face of any business challenge or crisis. Several companies report a significant increase in their employees’ levels of responsibility, and commitment, post their participation in the APEX, and these translate into considerably larger profits.

Format

• 4 sessions (5 hours each) spread over 4 consecutive days or

• 3 sessions (about 7 hours each) spread over 3 consecutive days.

• Residential or Non-Residential

• On site or Off site

Versions

• The APEX Value Leader Programme For top-level senior professionals

• The APEX Tactical Leader Programme For mid-level executives

• The APEX Leader Programme For entry level employees and those with 3-4 years experience

You Will Learn

Prison SMART

"Expand your vision, and see that inside every culprit is a victim crying for help. If you heal the victim, you will eliminate crime from the planet."  H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The Prison program was developed by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with the underlying principle that every culprit is himself/herself a victim of their circumstances. It is customized for application within high stress environments like prisons and juvenile detention centers.

Addressing this need we support:

1. The primary population including inmates, ex-inmates, half-way house residents, those on parole or probation, incarcerated youth at juvenile justice centers, and women in prison
2. The victims of the crime
3. Those working to control it, i.e. criminal justice professionals, law enforcement officers, prison officials and administrators.

Highlights of the Program

• The first of its kind, it is progressive, practical and result-oriented, providing compassionate, innovative and effective solutions to breaking the cycles of violence and tackling escalating global crime rates.

•  Most importantly, it offers prisoners the opportunity of genuine rehabilitation and integration into society.

• The Sudarshana Kriya breathing technique, which completely roots out stress – the main cause of crime, primarily makes this possible.

• They are given a vision and at the end of the program they are presented with a mission, as to how they can live better lives and contribute to society on their release.

• SRIJAN (Social Rehabilitation of Inmates in Jail and Aiding the Needy) was started in India, which is an organization that teaches vocational skills during confinement, and empower inmate with skills that would make them independent on their release

Sri Sri Yoga

Sri Sri Yoga is a prayerful and balanced discipline, which offers a multi-path approach for uniting body, breath and mind with awareness. Sri Sri Yoga brings you the wisdom and techniques of yoga in a very joyful, sincere and thorough manner. A combination of gentle and vigorous series of asanas is taught for the well-being of the body, while an equal emphasis is placed on techniques for nurturing the mind and spirit.

Sri Sri Yoga brings you back to your natural self, thereby nurturing all the virtues that you are born with.
For those interested in exploring their inner Being further, a vast ocean of knowledge and many meditative techniques are available through our Art of Living courses.

Free Breath Water Sound Workshop

The workshop provides tools that improve over-all health, wellness and increases enthusiasm and mental focus. Participants learn simple yet powerful breathing, sound and meditation techniques which eliminate stress from the system so that the mind gains the clarity to solve problems - when individuals are uplifted the whole community is enriched.

A major component of the workshop is to foster community development and service. The values of responsibility for oneself and the needs of others, teamwork, sharing and service are kindled through a number of processes. This ensures that a strong community spirit and ownership of society is built, with cultural appreciation encouraged. On closure of the course, participants choose to contribute to a group community project with the aim of uplifting and empowering the community in which they live.

Breath Water Sound Workshop has been successful in:

·                                 Eliminating Stress

·                                 Reducing alcoholism and drug abuse and abusive behavior patterns

·                                 Increasing, energy overall health and mental well-being

·                                 Reaffirming basic human values

·                                 Inspiring greater responsibility and a feeling of belongingness

·                                 Building communities and the community spirit