Memorial Day Message - Director's Message may, 2025 Memorial Day places us once again in that quandary. We pay homage and respect to the fallen heroes and heroines of wars. We know the scourge of war causes great suffering and hurts the heart of all people everywhere. We also know that mutual respect and collaboration amongst people everywhere brings wisdom and peace. Yet as a species we just can’t seem to achieve this. It is a quandary. We are students of potent practices— practices that remain adapted to the times and that have flourished over thousands of years. We can slowly, gently become stabilized in those realms. We have touched those realms. We can remember to dive deep beneath the outer tumult in the world and turn inside towards the innermost heart where these realms of wisdom and peace live within us in all their fullness. Come share practices with us over the Memorial Day holidays! May we bring transformation in the outer world by our own transformation. My teacher always affirmed that the love inside the human heart is "brighter than the light of a billion Suns". Much love, Rudrani

Spring Message - Director's Message march, 2025 It is Spring, a glorious time of renewed hope and a time to bloom! May our beleaguered country also flourish and bring its many voices into unity collaborating for the good of all its people. These times inspire reminiscences of how we enjoyed greatness on the world stage decades ago. Growing up in World War II, I held a deep pride and love for my country. I loved America! I was seven years old in 1945, when we defeated Hitler’s fascism with the help of our allies. We were heroes! I was in awe of "America the beautiful". All through those terrible war years, our capacity as a nation for self sacrifice, to unite, to show heroism, was great. We lived, as did most families, glued to the radio for news. We saw Newsreels of the war, called Movietone News, in the local movie theaters. Although there were sacrifices to make, including the rationing of supplies such as dairy, poultry, meat, tin, leather... it didn’t bring complaints in my family. We were helping the world battle a scary evil. There were air-raid drills at night. Loud sirens would go off. The city would come to a total halt and drop into complete darkness. As a child, tucked in bed at night, I was worried about the light in my bedroom closet. A wild grizzly bear lived there… unless the closet light was on. In an air raid drill all the lights in the house were turned off despite the closet light being essential for my safety. There was a nationwide sense of shared danger and at the same time amazing unity. It was a patriotism hard to describe. Families saw their sons drafted, sent “overseas" to join the "allied front”. Hundreds and thousands of our beloved sons never returned. As our troops moved north with the wartime effort, our mothers knit socks and thick sweaters: “these are for our boys on the Russian front." People feared the draft. The rise of the Reich loomed. That momentous day of the war’s end, called VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) crowds streamed into Riverside Park We ran to join the celebrating throngs of people. I loved my country with all my child’s heart. Thousands were pouring into the park, heading for the River, to see our powerful navel fleet— gigantic aircraft carriers— enormous grey battle ships— parade up the river with ear-splitting 21- gun- salutes making an impressive parade on that unforgettable VE Day. People were in tears, embracing strangers, in ecstatic celebration. “So now do all the people love each other!?” My mom just kept saying “ Our boys are coming home! Our boys are coming home!” We were proud of our country. In this coming season of beauty, we hope to see the America we love blossom, see the true greatness of our national soul flourish and bloom. Much love, Rudrani

Summer Months - Director's Message June, 2024 There’s only one way to manage our own human frailty, disappointments and conflicts, and that is to see the Conscious energy dwelling at the very root of our being. The sages of Yoga call this Supreme Consciousness. It lives within us at the core of all highs and lows. To inquire into our conscious source takes us beyond the personal dimension, bringing us into the boundless realm where stillness and peace dwell in the midst of life. A deep appreciation and recognition of this core energy is a skill meant to dissolve the mind’s cloud-bank of obscuration. It is why we practice within ourselves and practice together. Let's take the reduced busyness of the Summer season as an opportunity to develop this. May we see our own inner Consciousness beneath the evanescence of life's highs and lows… it is the heart of Yoga. With love and blessings, Rudrani

Winter Holidays - Director's Message December, 2023 The Winter Solstice and the holidays are a secret Yoga training for us, a way to apply the wisdom teachings as we gather with others, expressing what is the best within us. May we all flourish as we navigate through this holiday season! We offer our gratitude to the World Yoga Center’s vibrant student body and to our talented teachers who co-create a climate of conscious presence. Your company is a treasure! Happy Holidays to all of you! With all our hearts, Rudrani

Labor Day Message - Director's Message September, 2023 As Labor Day approaches, may we remember the effort that goes into our togetherness and our need for each other's skills and services. It takes great effort for our social fabric to run smoothly. These are challenging times. May we continue to include gratitude for all the ways we inter-depend and pay honor to the immense work involved for all of us to manifest a harmonious human family. May we continue on the journey to attain true social equity, each of us playing a part in our interdependence. May we become drawn like bees to honey to harmony and the dissolution of conflict, ever drawn to the wisdom of universal brotherhood and sisterhood. This is what lies at the heart of our Yoga practice and makes our little neighborhood school glow with light you cannot see. We will be open throughout this holiday weekend with opportunities to practice together. Come whenever you can and enjoy! Much love, Rudrani

Juneteenth & Father's Day - Director's Message June, 2023 Juneteenth celebrates the tardy liberation of African Americans from chattel slavery in Texas, years after the Emancipation Proclamation of Abolition took place during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. There is much to be done in our country to fight this deeply dark shadow in our history and the still ever-present after effects of the delusion and abomination of slavery. Our shared commitment to its thorough eradication remains crucial. All the teachings of Yoga describe equality or Unity Awareness as the goal of the inner journey to higher consciousness, asking us to see the divine essence in every person and "every blade of grass". How wonderful it is to think of men all over the country being celebrated for their power to have parented our children well, instilling in their children these values of which we can be proud. Equality of all the people, stated in our country's constitution was meant for all citizens and remains a work in progress in our young, ever-evolving country, still struggling to attain its core values. May our Dads be celebrated for the best of their power to raise sons and daughters endowed with equality vision and compassionate hearts. May Dads everywhere receive the gratitude they deserve for believing we can realize these values within, and may we all be inspired, through steady practice, to bring them into the world. Sending love and blessings to all, Rudrani

Mother's Day - Director's Message May, 2023 Dearest WYC Community, Mother's Day came with a breathtaking sunny day! The parks were full as our children sought the joys of unfettered play. The city trees were decked out in fully green new leaves, dancing boldly in a fresh wind that purified the air. This wind felt caressive and celebratory. It lasted all day, touching everyone inclusively. May our hearts still vibrate with the beautiful reminders hidden in this Mother’s Day. Our mothers labored us mightily into this world to learn our karmic lessons. We are mothered also within, on the inner plane with Supreme Love, a love that knows no conditions. That Supreme Mother is at the root of our being. She is compassionately encouraging us to be all we can be in heartfelt joy and interconnection. Her potent presence can be felt as we live our highs and lows. She is the Great Tenderness, the Loving Kindness, staying solid as we learn to keep our balance in the world. She’s there in the rhythm of sleep and waking as we cry and as we laugh. May we honor her constant pull to unity awareness inside us. May we surrender separation to that deep love… it's part of her True Desire. Much love, Rudrani

An Anusara Yoga and Meditation Retreat July 21-24, 2022 With Rudrani and Jacalyn With great Joy, we will be returning to Pumpkin Hollow this coming summer in person! We will retreat into the Heart, the boundless, radiant, innermost core within us. The most updated safety protocols will be in place throughout (see below). We will be in beautiful surroundings, graced with a refreshing river, a lush organic garden, the sounds of a tumbling waterfall. Pumpkin Hollow is an auspicious space where the power of Nature surrounds us in a deep embrace and supports us to take yoga to its truest and most elevated dimension. Our retreat includes: -Anusara Yoga (morning asana level 1 or level 2) -Morning Meditation -Afternoon Pranayama/Restorative yoga including deep relaxation -Evening Satsang- a sharing of the wisdom teachings in light of our experiences The days will be spacious and provide time for resting, hiking, reading, swimming, solitude and hanging out. Registration fills quickly. We encourage you to register and reserve your space when you receive this notice. Be intrepid and take the leap. If you have never been on one of our retreats before, we are happy to answer all your questions. Many of you return again and again knowing we co–create a precious refuge….. We’ll create a magical blend of activities and practices that generate transformational energy, heading inexorably into the deep peace beneath the mind. Come with us this summer!!  Do you have questions and considerations?? Call us: Rudrani: 917 664 7503 Jacalyn: 917-822-1120 (For logistics including registration, transportation and accommodations call Jacalyn) Protocols for Safety All participants will need to show proof of vaccination to attend the retreat including boosters and negative COVID Test 24 hours before retreat. You all will be required to wear masks when coming in doors with the exception of the yoga classes where masking is optional. TUITION: Early Bird Pricing is $690 for shared room (Limited number of private rooms available so reserve your room soon!) $750 after June 15, 2022 Contact Jacalyn to register at yoginijp@gmail.com Testimonials: “The Retreat enables and empowers you to take time to breathe, reflect, connect, and deepen your practice- spiritually, physically, and emotionally- in a warm and trusting environment. Very generous and enlightening instruction from Jackie and Rudrani.” “I feel like a veil has been lifted; it is deeply profound without being overwhelming.”

Back by popular demand! The World Yoga Center’s Summer Meditation and Anusara Yoga retreat of 2020, held on line, was such a big hit that we are adding a Winter offering. Taught by senior Anusara yoga teachers Jacalyn Prete & WYC Director and Founder Rudrni Farbman, this deep dive into the practices of yoga & meditation will bring us into a more authentic relationship with our true essence: the Great Self. Through Asana, Meditation, Chanting, Contemplation, Restorative yoga Yoga Nidra, Seva, and Satsang, (conversation for the higher Self) we will be able to experience the peace and stillness at the core of our innermost Being. A true retreat guides us, with it's cumulative power, to learn to let go of our identity with the small Self and connect to Universal Consciousness. That power scintillates in every particle of matter and in our own being. Do join us and discover the oasis of shared practice. The group bonds, connects and ventures into the depths of Inner Space. We become each other's Well Wishers.