09:15 | Invocatory Chants

Mrs Menaka Desikachar

Menaka Desikachar is the seniormost Viniyoga faculty and wife of Sir TKV Desikachar. She has over five decades of experience in the Viniyoga tradition. She is one of the very few Yoga Teachers in the world to be certified by the great master Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya. She is an extraordinary healer and is also currently the most advanced Vedic Chant teacher of the tradition.

She opened the auspicious event with Invocatory chants.

09:20 | Welcome Address

Dr Kausthub Desikachar

Dr Kausthub Desikachar is the successor and current lineage holder of the classical Viniyoga tradition of T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar. His objectives include the sharing of the authentic teachings of Yoga to the modern era, as well as building bridges between different healing modalities to promote physical, emotional social and spiritual health.

He delivered the welcome address for this conference!

09:30 | The Philosophy of Healing - Patañjali’s Yogasūtra & Yogatherapy

Talk by Kate Holcombe, USA

Kate Holcombe is a senior teacher of the Viniyoga tradition with over three decades of experience. She met Sir TKV Desikachar in 1991 and has been a student of his ever since. She is the founder of Healing Yoga Foundation in San Francisco, California. She has also immense experience in applying Yoga Therapy to students affected by Cancer, through the Yoga & Cancer recovery program she conducts at the Commonweal Foundation.

Kate lives in San Francisco, with her husband and four children.

10:15 | Four Pearls of Wisdom | Yogasūtra-s I.1 to I.4

Talk & Chanting by Chitra Ganesh, India/USA

Chitra Ganesh is a Vinyoga teacher and Vedic Chant Teacher living in Sunnyvale California. Her passion includes the Yogasūtra of Patañjali, the Bhagavad Gita and Vedic Chanting. She has been chanting and singing since early childhood. She also developed a love for the study of Sanskrit from an early age. She teaches one-on-one online classes for students covering various tools of yoga. She is committed to imparting the holistic wisdom of yoga.

She lives in Sunnyvale, California with her husband and children.

11:00 | The Yoga of Relationship | The Holistic approach of Viniyoga

Practice led by Sachiyo Munechika, Japan

Sachiyo Munechika is a Viniyoga Teacher Trainer and Vedic Chant Teacher based in Tokyo, Japan. She began her studies in the Viniyoga tradition in the year 2002, through her meeting with TKV Desikachar, Menaka Desikachar and Dr Kausthub Desikachar. She is very passionate about teachings meditative practices to her students to assist them in their journey of positive personal transformation.

She lives in Tokyo, Japan with her son.

11:45 | The rediscovery of 'Recovery' through Yoga Therapy

Talk by Vidhi Sadana, United Kingdom

Vidhi Sadana is a Viniyoga yoga therapist; a Complementary and Natural Health Council Profession Specific Board member for Yoga Therapy; and a yoga researcher in the NHS. She completed first in the UK study to bring evidence of yoga therapy to the NHS for its integration as a complementary healing modality. She delivers trauma-sensitive yoga therapy to students at rehab clinics such as Promis, London and collaborates with consultants and general physicians to deliver yoga therapy to patients with medically unexplained symptoms such as fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue.

She lives in London, the United Kingdom with her two daughters.

12:30 | Viniyoga for Children | Foundations for a better tomorrow

Talk by Katri Kaldaru, Estonia

Katri Kaldaru has been practising yoga almost two decades, and is associated with the Viniyoga tradition for the last 10. She runs a Yoga School for Children and Youth that is part of Rakvere Yoga School. Her passion is to bring Yoga and traditional learning systems to the Youth so that they can have a healthier and more positive future. Many of her projects have received public funding and have become great successes. She also offers Yoga classes and Yoga Therapy for adults and retired people. She loves Vedic Chanting and is also very focused on holistic healing.

She lives in Rakvere, Estonia with her son and daughter.

13:15 | Keep the Faith | The power of Śraddhā

Practice led by Deb Robertson, Australia

Deborah Robertson is a Viniyoga teacher, Yoga Therapist and Vedic Chant teacher. She has been a student in the Viniyoga tradition since a life-changing seminar with Sir and Menaka Desikachar in 2001. She provides a safe, stable and caring environment, meeting her students where they are in all dimensions. Deb is inspired to teach and to share the benefits of this individualised approach to healing and wellbeing over many years of dedicated practice and continues her studies with Dr Kausthub Desikachar and Vedic Chant with Menaka Desikachar.

She lives in Melbourne, Australia, along with her husband, and is mother to two grown up sons.

14:00 | Emotional Composting | Transforming every day life through Yogatherapy

Talk by Ruth Diggins, New Zealand

Ruth Diggins is a Viniyoga Teacher Trainer and Therapist and is associated with the tradition for two decades, during which she has had the opportunity to study with Sir TKV Desikachar, Menaka Desikachar and Dr Kausthub Desikachar. She is an inspirational mentor to many and helps them deal with their life challenges and traumas to bring out their best potential. She regularly runs teacher training in Raumati South, and also offers group and individual lessons.

She lives near Wellington, New Zealand with her husband and is mother to two grown up sons.

14:45 | The Five layers of Human existence | Exploration of the Pañcamaya

Practice led by Li Luyu, China

Li Luyu is a Viniyoga Therapist and Vedic Chant Teacher from China. She was part of the first-ever Viniyoga Therapy Training in China and has since travelled to India to continue her students with Menaka Desikachar and Kausthub Desikachar. She has a great passion for the study of Yoga philosophy and the Upaniṣad-s, and is also deeply inspired to teach the multidimensional practices of Viniyoga. She is also an expert in Crystals and Gems and offers consultations to many on how to use them to uplift their lives.

She currently lives in Beijing and Lanzhou, China.

15:30 | The Viniyoga tradition | Its sacred history and relevance in the future

Talk by Philip Rigo, Belgium

Philip Rigo began his journey in 1998 by undertaking Viniyoga classes with his mother at the age of 18. He has studied under TKV Desikachar, Menaka Desikachar and Dr Kausthub Desikachar. He trained more than 120 teachers as a teacher trainer, he also gives therapy classes and Vedic chanting and is helping his mentor, Dr Kausthub Desikachar, to spread Viniyoga in Belgium.

He lives in Liege, Belgium with his wife and son.

16:15 | The Wheels are turning - Return to the source

Practice led by Evelyn Einhäuser, Germany/USA

Evelyn Einhaeuser has been studying Viniyoga since 2012. She has lived in India and has been trained extensively by Dr. Kaustubha Desikachar and his mother Menaka Desikachar. Evelyn works as a Viniyoga therapist, Viniyoga teacher, mentor for therapy trainees and energy intuitive. Her focus is on Yoga as an energetic science, healing art and spiritual path. She has developed distinct chakra courses that help people experience their subtle body and the psychospiritual topics of each chakra. She also offers an online Yoga community for energetically sensitive people.

Together with her husband and cat, she lives in Sedona, USA.

17:00 | Closing Remarks and Concluding Chants

Dr Kausthub Desikachar

Dr Kausthub Desikachar will delivered the closing remarks and offered the concluding chants for this extraordinary Viniyoga conference!