VINIYOGA® COUNCIL OF ACADEMIC PATRONS

Viniyoga Pte. Ltd., though an independent organisation, operates under the guidance of the Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation (KHYF), the worldwide umbrella of the Viniyoga® Tradition.

The main objective of the KHYF is to serve as an umbrella organisation that builds and sustains an international network of high quality yoga teachers, therapists and trainers who are trained and practice in the authentic and classical Viniyoga® tradition of T Krishnamacharya and TKV Desikachar. These lofty objectives are consistent with the fundamental belief that we owe the world the best quality training and is also a fitting tribute to our teachers T Krishnamacharya and TKV Desikachar, who were great examples for excellence in every aspect of their life, be it personal, or professional. The KHYF also aims to create meaningful cultural and spiritual connections with like-minded people from around the world to work together and elevate the consciousness of this world.

In order to fulfil these noble objectives, the KHYF has created a Viniyoga© Council of Academic Patrons, that is made up of an international panel of professionals, who are well experienced and respected in their fields of expertise and guide the organisation and its affiliate centres with their expertise, advice and blessings. It is also a way we acknowledge and honour the precious contributions of these specialists in their area of expertise.

The list of esteemed current members of the Viniyoga® Council of Academic Patrons are the following.

Sonia Nelson, a personal student of TKV Desikachar since 1975, is Director of Antaranga Yoga and a KHYF Certified Teacher Trainer. In 2000 Sonia established the Vedic Chant Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in 2012 co-developed and implemented a two year Vedic Chant Immersion and Teacher Training Program. She has given yoga and chant workshops throughout the US. and has released a number of CDs including tutorials for Vedic Chant and chanting the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.  Currently, Sonia focuses her teaching on mentoring, continuing education and personal practice development for yoga teachers. More information can be found here.

Dr Elena Palomo Lertxundi is an experienced Medical Doctor, Psychiatrist, Homeopath and a Mindfulness Instructor. She has championed patient involvement in healing and is a strong supporter of alternative healthcare modalities including Homeopathy, Mindfulness and Yoga. She has co-created Meditation and Science, a not-for-profit organisation whose main objectives include scientific investigation with regards to meditation and mindfulness, and its promotion, distribution and dissemination not only in the scientific area but also in society in general, promoting the teachings and practice of these disciplines in holistic health care. For more information on her credentials kindly visit click here.

Dr. Ramesh Bijlani, a medical doctor, educationist, writer, inspirational speaker, teacher, scientist, and above all a person committed to using his unique blend of talents for touching the hearts and lives of his fellow beings. He is currently the Chairman of Sri Aurobindo Education Society Educated in New Delhi. An extraordinary human being who has vast experience in research, education, writing and mentoring. A detailed resumé of Dr. Bijlani can be found here.

Dr C Bernard Colaço is an experienced Rheumatologist with a strong research base in the immunopathology of Rheumatic Diseases. He has conducted and published the initial studies in Anti-Phospholipid antibodies at Hammersmith Hospital and Middlesex Hospital in the early 1980’s leading to a massive interest in international research in SLE and APLS, with all the basic principles covered in his pivotal studies. He has also undertaken family studies in the Immunogenetics of Rheumatoid disease.He has championed patient involvement in care throughout his career and established a Patient Led Self Help Group in 1998 which is leading inPatient Public Participation and Collaborative Research. He has undertaken Patient led surveys and audits and is promoting Yoga Therapy as a means to reduce medication and medical intervention at a local health service level, with plans for RCT trials in yoga for low back pain. More information can be found here.

Dr. Seshadri Vaduhanambi is one of the leading Ayurvedic doctors of India, and has served for more than 30 years in various capacities in one of the renowned Indian Pharmaceutical Industries, where he was also the CEO for 14 years. He is the recipient of many awards and accolades both nationally and internationally. He practices in Chennai along with his wife and daughter, who are also well known practitioners. He serves as board member and/adviser to many organisations around the country and is an embodiment of Ayurvedic principles and ultimately a very kind human being.

Dr. Allister Bush is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Porirua, New Zealand. He has clinical and academic interests in psychiatry in different cultural settings, particularly indigenous and Pacific contexts, and the interface between Psychiatry and Indigenous healing practices. He is a member of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry International Relations (CAPIR) subcommittee of the Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the College and is the World Psychiatric Association zonal representative for Oceania. He is co-author of a book documenting a partnership between Maori healing and psychiatry. He is actively involved in many charitable ventures through which he brings medical care to the underprivileged. He is a great supporter of Yoga for its holistic approach to health, healing and spiritual development.

Veronica Zador, served a two terms as the President of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and as Vice Chair and Chair of Standards Committee for Yoga Alliance; the two leading representative organisations for yoga teaching and yoga therapy world-wide. An international lecturer she has published over 30 articles on yoga therapy. Veronica’s work is to offer clinical applications of yoga therapy for physician referred patients in the Department of Integrative Medicine of Beaumont Hospital. In this capacity she provides yoga therapy patient encounter reports within the electronic medical recording system.  Veronica is the founder and program director of the Beaumont School of Yoga Therapy (BSYT), one of the first yoga therapy programs in the United States within a major teaching hospital. BSYT clinical externships involve yoga therapy clinical rotations within under the auspices of a major teaching hospital exclusively affiliated with the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. As a yoga therapist within the Department of Integrative Medicine she serves as clinical lecturer for the Oakland University School of Health Sciences and as a standard faculty adjunct instructor for the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

Victor Morera Siscar trained in Osteopathy and other manual therapies by teachers of various nationalities. He begun to practise yoga at the age of 17 in different traditions and begun to teach very early. Yoga Teacher Trainer in Sadhana Teacher Training School, from 1996 to 2012. Creator and founder of one of the first Yoga Therapy Trainings in Spain, in 2000. That same year he began his studies in Sintergética (synthesis of different energy medicines), where he delves into everything related to manual medicines. He is currently linked to that school, and investigating its practical applications in the field of health. In 2008, he began his studies of the Manos Training with Dr. Jorge Carvajal, and once completed he joined their teaching team. In 2009, together with Grazia Suffriti, he founded the Pranamanasyoga School of Yoga Therapy. Creator of the method “Conscious Organic Movement (MOC)”, a system of self-healing through conscious movement. Author of 2 books: “Postural basis in Hatha Yoga” and “Somatic gestures in āsana”. He lives in Pamplona, Spain, and he travels on a regular basis to teach and practise as a Yoga therapist in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Sevilla, San Sebastián. More information can be found here.

Rev. Issho Fujita was born in Ehime prefecture in Japan in 1954. He studied developmental/clinical psychology at University of Tokyo. Besides academic study, he intensively practiced Aikido and Noguchi Exercise. When he was a PhD. Student at the age of 27, he was recommended by a master of Chinese medicine to attend a week-long Zen sesshin (intensive Zen training session) at Enkaku-ji, traditional Rinzai monastery in Kamakura. Through this experience he was deeply fascinated by zazen practice. Eventually he left the graduate school to study Zen full time at Antai-ji, Soto Zen monastery in Hyogo Prefecture. In 1987 he became a resident teacher at Pioneer Valley Zendo in Massachusetts, USA. During his stay until 2005, he also taught at various colleges and institutions, such as Smith College, Amherst College, Mt Holyoke College, University of Massachusetts, and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. In 2010 he was assigned to be a Director of Soto Zen Buddhism International Center in San Francisco. Until resigning from that position in 2018, he visited many Soto Zen centers, temples and groups worldwide to teach Soto Zen teaching and practice. Now he lives in Hayama, Japan, with his family, as a free-lance Zen teacher who teaches somatic style Zen in forms of lectures, workshops and books. More information can be found here.