THE POWER OF HARMONY

Workshop Schedule

8.45 - 9.30: Workshop introduction

9..45 - 11.15: Conscious sharing circle on Auroville

11.30 - 13.00: Yoga of inner discovery on dreams, intent and values

13.00 - 14.30: Free buffet lunch

14.30 - 16.00: Integral psychology on self-enquiry

16.15 - 17.45: Awareness Through the Body on attention, witness attitude and yoga nidra

18.00 - 18.30: Closing sharing circle

19.30 - 21.00: Optional dinner at local restaurant

Conscious Sharing Circle on Auroville

According to Sri Aurobindo, all life is Yoga and yoga as a sadhana (spiritual practice) is a methodised effort towards self-perfection, which brings to expression the latent, hidden potentialities of the living beings. However, for Sri Aurobindo, there is no specific or right path to reach this goal, it is a virgin forest that each one of us has to explore in his own way and rhythm. As such, this introduction is not made of lectures to be learnt and it doesn’t require any previous knowledge on yoga, it only requires an open heart and a commitment for inner development. 

During this session we will focus on reflections over Auroville’s ideals and purpose of human unity in diversity. For that, a basic concept by Sri Aurobindo is: “The secret of unity is within, the secret of brotherhood is within. There is no unity except by the soul, there is no real brotherhood except in the soul and by the soul.” As such, the Mother declared: "Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity." 

Yoga of Inner Discovery on Dreams, Intent & Values

In yoga there is a starting-point: when we have found within ourselves the light that never wavers, the presence that can guide us with certitude. This approach combines spiritual development with psychological healing by including the life journey of an individual or our unique path to self-realization. This provides a valuable learning and life experience, which can be precious in developing our own guidance and as a support in our journey, giving sound foundations for exploring deep dynamics, healing blocks and restoring fragmented parts. 

During this session we acknowledge what are the intimate motivations that brought us here and make this choice. We visualize our dream and open up to the mystery, the Center, the One that inglobes everything. It contains whatever we aspire for, whatever we love and the light that shines in our lives. And from that we work on the values that represent what we truly are in our life, our unique and individual essence, and not who we would like to be or who we think we should be.

Integral Psychology on self-enquiry

This system is dedicated to serve a pluridimensional and integral psychological reality beyond mental consciousness, so as to construct an integral structure and model of human being that is capable of evolutionary growth. In the process we study the different beings in our depths, the aspects of personality and impersonality, time and timelessness, ego and beyond-ego principles. The main focus is on developing consciousness-based attitudes and skills that help an individual to face particular moments of challenge or change in life.

During this session we’ll focus on a fundamental concept expressed by the Mother that: at “the center of every human being, there is a being free, vast, aware, all-knowing, who awaits our discovery and must become the effective center of our being. Thus, the first condition for progress is to need something other than the present world and human conditions. And to reach there, one has to descend deep down in oneself to find out what one is behind all these racial, hereditary, social, moral, and cultural appearances; basically, what one truly is. Then you become aware that constantly, in everything that happens, there is something to be learned, and that in the present state of matter, there is always a progress to be made.”

Awareness Through the Body

on attention, witness attitude and yoga nidra

This is a work that, through a wide variety of creative exercises and often fun games, offer practical opportunities to the individuals and the group, to come to know ourselves better, to explore the complexity of our being, and find ways to integrate and harmonise this complexity around our innermost centre. By raising self-awareness, this work helps participants to be more conscious of their own perceptions and abilities, so that they may become self-aware and self-directed individuals.

During this session we’ll focus on the basic understanding that to live a fulfilling life, an individual needs to be present and consciously observing, which is what we call awareness. Attention is the switch that activates awareness. Thus, we need to position our consciousness as an observer watching what is happening in us without judging, analysing or trying to understand. A great tool for that is Yoga Nidra, with which we turn the consciousness inward and as we systematically relax every part of our physical body and shift our awareness to the subtle layers, emotions, and deeper mind, we gain access to innate knowledge and wisdom.

Stefania Savardi

Stefania grew up in the alpine Camonica Valley (Italy), where she attended a secondary education in sciences. She earned a bachelor in educational sciences at the Catholic University of Brescia (Italy) and a master's degree in clinical pedagogy from ISFAR (Istituto Superiore di Alta Formazione, Aggiornamento e Ricerca) in Florence (Italy). She has worked as a freelancer in various educational institutions in Italy (hospitals, schools, and education centers), offering consultations, workshops, and training. As a private therapist, she has worked with children with developmental delays and behavioral and psychological difficulties.

Stefania’s quest for spiritual growth has led her to deepen her knowledge of education, philosophy, yoga, and psychology through a variety of courses, trainings, and work experiences, including: psychosynthesis, Indian psychology, integral psychology, integral education, indo-european shamanism, body awareness techniques, Bach flowers remedies, herbal medicine and natural cosmetics, hatha yoga, iyengar yoga, integral yoga, unified somatic approach to trauma-informed care, polyvagal nerve theory, neurobiological sciences and integrative somatic trauma healing therapy.

Stefania’s journey into integral yoga led her to move to Auroville (India) in 2007, where she spent 17 years. As a resident member, she worked initially in various schools as an educational practitioner and consultant, and later on as a therapist and executive director of the holistic Serendipity project. At the same time, green work has always been in the background of her life and in the past few years, she has also been leading online sessions with individuals around the world on their journey of healing from trauma and developing a conscious life. 

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Giovanni Scollo Abeti

Giovanni grew up in Sicily, where he attended his secondary education in sciences. He earned a bachelor in business management at the Bocconi Management University in Milan (Italy) and pursued a master in international management with CEMS (Community of European Management Schools) in Milan (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain). He trained and worked mainly in the human resources management and marketing field for various companies in Italy, Spain and Australia.

Giovanni’s quest for spiritual growth has led him to travel travel around the world and deepen his knowledge and skills through a variety of courses and experiences, including: indo-european shamanism, integral education, body awareness techniques, hatha yoga, sivananda yoga, integral yoga, vipassana meditation, Thai forest buddhism, tai chi, ice bathing, healthy international nutrition and fasting.

Giovanni’s journey into integral yoga led him to move to Auroville (India) in 2010, where he spent 14 years. As a resident member of the Foundation, he worked initially as a high school teacher of economics, management, mathematics and geography, and later on in some Foundation coordination groups and mainly as an administrator and executive director of the holistic Serendipity project. At the same time, green and cooking work have always been in the background of his life. 

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Giovanni and Stefania recently moved back to Italy in Lunigiana (Tuscany) where they are developing the Auroluni project aimed at creating a sangha of diverse people aspiring to progress in integral yoga and an international network fostering the spirit of Auroville.