Our Bala Vihar program has been a great success for the 2009-2010 academic year. We had a great group of kids from all walks of life learn about yoga and meditation through stories, art, and music. Our classes are highly interactive: not just lectures, but real learning; not just a monologue but a dialog with the students. Our classes are different: they engage the students and let them be kids and have fun while they are learning.

Due to popular demand we will be holding classes every other week through the summer on June 26, July 10, July 24, August 14 at 10:30 am at St. Timothy’s. We are conveniently located in Mountain View, and are easily accessible from the entire Bay Area through 101, 237, 85, and 280.

Sign up now on our registration page. Class sizes are limited!

We are now enrolling for Spring 2010 for Bala Vihar. As our program grows in popularity, we’ve been featured in the San Jose Mercury News and the Palo Alto Daily News. We provide a great learning environment for kids from grades K-5 to learn about Yoga, Meditation, and enjoy Slokas, Kirtan, and Arts and Crafts. This program combines innovative teaching methods as well as programs to engage children.

The kids love it and the parents do too. One of the added benefits of the program is that kids develop a feeling of community with other children. Register now!

On October 15, 2009 Bala Vihar was featured on the front page of The Daily News. Last week a photographer came to take pictures of the meditation and yoga class.  You can click on the image to view the full page .pdf.

This fall has been a wonderful time for community expansion.  It is always such a joy seeing the group grow and learn each week.  We now have an expanded music curriculum for children 3rd grade and older along with new art and story adventures for the younger kids.  Everyone has such a great time, even the parents are doing yoga now!

The months to come are going to bring more excitement and knowledge.  We are already preparing the children for our end-of-year showcase in June which will allow children to present and perform one-year’s worth of learning while building the foundation to the next stage in their education at Bala Vihar.

Each child has something to share, whether it be their newly learned sloka, their art project, or a new drum beat on the tabala.  Our goal is to encourage and support their enrichment and growth.

Today was a day filled with art and stories about Krishna. After a session of opening prayers, yoga, and meditation, we all got ready to do an art project. Savitri, our art teacher, assembled kits for each child filled with colored tissue paper, pictures of Baby Krishna and Vishnu, drawings of trees, and beautiful colored diamonds. The kids used these materials to create pictures depicting the birth of Krishna and his journey to his home as a baby. At the end of the class, we had an art show where each child could show his or her artwork to the class. We all had a blast– especially me!

“Does anyone know the meaning of Shanthi?” asks Ashok, the Director, to a group of elementary school kids who have just finished reciting a verse (or Mantra) from ancient India.  This is the Bala Vihar class, founded by the Pacific Meditation Center, a group that meets every Saturday morning, to experience the peace and serenity of ancient chants, yoga and music.

At an age where a group of kids is rarely seen so quiet and peaceful, this group of mixed-age children experience a taste of meditation, music, yoga and ancient tales in an oasis of peace and serenity, created by this dedicated group from the Pacific Meditation Center.  From the moment they enter the room, the children experience a sense of calmness, in the voice of their teacher and the expectations for the duration of the class. The kids participate in chants, ask questions about an ancient tale, perform slokas for the class, meditate and sing.

While we continually strive to equip our next generation to face the challenges of their future, perhaps our kids need the early education to bring their mind and body to a state of peace and relaxation as needed. I hope that more kids join and experience this unique program. Thank you, for creating this class, so our kids can learn to experience their Inner Being through a chant, meditation or a yogasana.

Pramila Srinivasan.

I have had the joy and privilege to be a teacher on the Bala Vihar staff as the kid’s yoga instructor. My name is Savitri and I have been doing yoga and meditating for about 8 years (3 on my own and 5 as a member of the Shambhava Yoga community). I find so much bliss in teaching, particularly children.  Adults tend not to see yoga as a meditative activity.  For many adults, yoga is synonymous with that dreaded activity . . . exercise.  While it is true that yoga is a great workout that can give you toned abs and thighs, the atmosphere in most classes is entirely centered on the outer experience, as opposed to the inner experience.

The Shambhava Yoga lineage teaches that traditional hatha yoga was designed not simply to create a strong body but more importantly to be used as tool to facilitate the meditative process.  We are teaching the children in the Bala Vihar classes that yoga and meditation are very much one in the same.  The process of going inside and focusing on a deeper level is first introduced to the children in the mediation instruction. The technique is encouraged and applied in the yoga instruction as an integral part of the asana (pose).

Ultimately the goal with yoga as a meditative exercise is to teach the mind how to maintain an inner focus while the body is engaged in outward activities.  The value in this is extraordinary because we do not live our lives on the meditation pillow, but are ourselves engaged in a variety of activities throughout our day.

Yoga is just one aspect of the Bala Vihar curriculum designed to teach children the tools to help them grow-up strong, centered, and fulfilled inside and out.

We are happy to announce that due to the great success of last year’s programs, we are launching a new program for the 2009-2010 School Year.  We have a great new space and are admitting children between Grades K-5 for our program.  Some details:

Bala Vihar classes are the perfect opportunity to give your children instruction in yoga, meditation, and cultural heritage while engaging in a fun learning atmosphere.  With a strong emphasis on music, art, and creativity, all children are encouraged to grow, learn, and play.  Parents are welcome to attend at no additional cost.

• Classes will be held at 2094 Grant Road in Mountain View at St. Timothy’s Church (no affiliation).
• Classes run on Saturdays August 22-June 11, 2010.
• Tuition is $220.  50% discount per child for your additional children.
• Tuition includes a beautiful binder of learning materials and weekly handouts!

Click registration and enroll now!

Pacific Meditation Center is a non-profit organization that offers yoga and meditation instruction for children and adults.  We are located in Mountain View, California. We are launching a new program for children to teach yoga and meditation.  Check out the new program.