HSS Conducts Successful Yoga Awareness Project

Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS), a voluntary, non-profit, socio-cultural organization launched a nationwide Surya Namaskar

Yajna (Sun Salutation Exercise Program) in the month of January to start 2010 on positive vibe, and to spread awareness of this age-old practice of doing Surya Namaskars among people living in America. “Healthy Mind in Healthy Body” is a goal aspired by every individual. Practicing Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) gives everyone the avenue to achieve this goal. HSS has been conducting the Sun Salutation program for four years now and this year it ran between 16th and 31st January. The participants were encouraged to do Sun Salutations daily and spread the message of “Health for Humanity” in the community. Sun Salutation is a simple ten step sequence of Yoga postures that integrates well-balanced fluid movements with proper breathing techniques. It can be performed by person of any age and any level of Yoga expertise from beginner to expert. The combined effect of pranayama (breathing) and the asanas (yogic postures) in Surya Namaskar does wonders to the physical and mental health of a human being. Doing Surya Namaskar regularly has tremendous benefits including strengthening of abdominal muscles, toning up of the digestive system, getting rid of constipation and dyspepsia, reducing body fat, improving body posture, ventilating the lungs and thoroughly oxygenating the blood, and above all toning up the nervous system thereby improving memory.

The strong desire of HSS to create a healthy community through this Sun Salutation event was recognized by the cities of Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Milpitas when each of them issued a proclamation declaring one day during the event as “Yoga Awareness Day”. The concluding program of the event was held in Sunnyvale temple on Sunday, January 31st from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. During the two hour period, Yoga enthusiasts from Santa Clara County including HSS volunteers turned up in large numbers to do Surya Namaskars together. The dexterity with which many participants especially young children performed Surya Namaskars was commendable. A total of 8000 Sun Salutations were performed by more that 120 participants of all ages during the two hour event. Sunnyvale city council member David Whittum and Milpitas Vice Mayor Pete McHugh graciously attended the event and read out the proclamations from their respective cities. David, a Yoga enthusiast himself was thoroughly impressed by the turnout and vowed to spread the benefits of Sun Salutations in the community.

Society Of Indo-American Engineers And Architects Organizes Leadership Seminar

Employing theatrical gestures and appealing body language, former actress Carol Doscher convinced a gathering of engineers, architects and construction professionals, the members of the Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA), that they could win their clients’ hearts and minds by incorporating human touch in their presentations.

SIAEA organized the seminar at the Superstructures Auditorium of AT&T building in New York City as a part of an ongoing effort to help its members improve their presentation and leadership skills.

Doscher and her associate Geoff Webb engaged their audience in an hour long interactive performance during which they offered a variety of tips for creating successful business presentations. “Don’t depend too much on data in your power point presentation, rather use a lot of graphics to make it effective”, they advised.

The self designated Chief Encouragement Officer of Graceworks, Doscher reminded the audience that ‘the most powerful thing you can do as a presenter is to just be yourself’. She said that interpersonal skills live in the lower right portion of human brain. She advised the audience to work out earlier on the day of the interview and practice to be spontaneous. “Since half of your message is communicated physically, use large purposeful movements to help your listeners understand what you are trying to say”, she commented.

“The more you engage your body, the more connected you get, the less nervous you feel, and the clearer message becomes”, she advised.

Webb said that successful presentations are the ones where presenter genuinely connects with the audience. “You need to be able to speak to the needs of your audience with comfort and confidence”, he said. Introducing the presenters, Ravi Shenoy, president of SIAEA, said that such events proved to be very successful. “We have lined up a number of interesting programs for the benefit of our members”, he said advising them to regularly visit the society’s web site for updates.