At Studio Breathe, the Peace Day events started Saturday night, with Peace Yoga Mala, 108 salutations to the sun to support Trees for the Future and The Global Fund. On Sunday morning, many different studios joined together for a Pacifest, part of the last Tam Tam of the year at Jeanne Mance Parc, just east of Mont Royal. Yoga teachers who are ambasadors of Lululemon led a two-hour yoga circle, followed by a speech by Mayor Tremblay, the release of 21 doves, and a massive tam tam drumming session for world peace.
The first day of fall brought a chill to the morning, but the sun soon rewarded its saluters with warmth!
That morning, also in Jeanne Mance Park, another Global Mala project organized by yoga teacher Dawn Maurizio attracted 42 yogis to perform their salutes to the sun. This event raised $2104.08 for Équiterre a Montreal-based non-profit NGO that encourages individuals, organizations and governments to make ecological and equitable choices, in a spirit of solidarity.
In the evening, a near-capacity crowd of about 275 people came to the DB Clarke Auditorium at Concordia University to see the Nritya Yoga presentation "Celebrating the Human Spirit An Offering of Indian Dance". This multi-media presentation was written and choreographed by Amrita Choudhury, and danced by Amrita and two of her students, Jade Goldfarb and Anne-Sophie Therrien. The dance and slides evoked powerful messages for this day of peace: our longing to connect with others, struggles to overcome adversity, the interconnectedness & interdependence living beings, and our joy in discovering the beauty and wisdom within all cultures and spiritual traditions.
Each day's news brings fresh cause for despair and cynicism about humanity's ability to live in peace. But each of us can find that peace in our own hearts, rediscover it, and radiate it into the world around us. Peace grows this way. On Sunday, September 21, yogis in Montreal joined peaceminded people here and around the world to gain inner peace, and give outer peace a greater chance in our world.
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