Mike Narada is German and he has been living in India for the last 5 years. As co-founder of Gaiatreeschool Foundation and the Vishwanedam Ashram (from Sanskrit: where the universe grow) in the center of Odisha, he has been involved for many years for the rights of Adivasi / tribal people. Yoga and Vipassana has been an integral part in his life for more than 20 years.
For the last six years, he has led the Buddhism Mahabodhi Yoga High School in Leh / Ladakh in Himalaya. Every year, up to 3.000 students join in his inspiring yoga and meditation classes, in 3.500 meters above sea level. His yoga classes are well structured and are testimony of a sound knowledge and basic experience.
Before I began teaching yoga, I worked as teacher in a highschool and as school founder. I’m a child of the peaceful revolution in the east part of Germany in 1989. This time conditioned me for the rest of my life. Since childhood I had a dream, a great desire. I wanted travel to India. The GDR (German Democratic Republic) was a communist country and they defend themselves with a fence. Citizens could not move outside.
The “physically liberation” came with the peaceful revolution and onward I started step by step my spiritual life. My first visit to India in 1993, was the beginning. At the same time I found the school network SCHKOLA in the political triangle German/ Czech/ Poland. Integral education in a wholesome way is the main purpose of teaching young children’s, the new generation and the only way for changing our world. The input for this came to me from insight, from intuition.
If I arrived Delhi, and when I touched the Indian earth I felt like “back home”. From now onward we spent most of our holidays and travelled together with my wife Anke and our daughter Katja in Bharata (Sanskrit- India). In India I came in contact with Yoga and started the fist level: Practising hatha yoga.
In subsequent years, I fulfilled my duties and filled my roles as husband, father, teacher, and managing director as best as I could, without losing contact to yoga. Much more strengthened was my longing, to learn more about and practice Yoga. I attended a Yoga- Vidya – Teacher- Training course, completed several studies and yoga retreats and attend numerous regulations. Gradually began the second phase: Sadhana, with more determination and focus on individual areas of yoga. I realized more and more that yoga is not only the practice of asanas. Breathing exercises and kriya became a daily practice and so
I felt that yogic lifestyle (yama / niyama/ asana/ pranayama/ dharana) influenced and touched all other areas of my life. 2009 finally, I decided to tread my way in yoga even more concentrated and we went along with my wife for three years to India. It was the second transformation for me, after the “physically liberation” in 1989. With this decision the third step starts: Yoga lifestyle- bhakti Yoga. Yoga as a life lesson also includes responsibility and compassion for others (karma Yoga). In this way we created together with Ananta, a good Indian friend, the Gaiatree Foundation and the Gaiatreeschool in Odisha. Friends from home helped us with implementation and financing. In Leh, we started at the same time with the Buddhist Mahabodhi the Yoga- Highschool and a little later arose in Banbourtong / Northern Thailand a meditation retreat centre. In the year of 2014 with friends from home we found the German non profit organisation “Gaiatreeschool e.V.”. An object of this association is the spread of Yoga in all its aspects, tradition and shapes.
This is my wish, my duty my life, my happiness and joy. Om Shanti! I thank you expressly and wholeheartedly on all of my teachers, masters and gurus. Thanks to my wife Anke, who has always supported me and all my friends, who have accompanied me on my yoga- way and support.
May all beings be happy, may all beings be peaceful, and may all beings be liberated.
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