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Arizona Yoga (2004)
Seva in Afghanistan
by Rama Vernon
“The world is like the kink of the dogs tail, as long as you hold it
you think it is straight. The moment you let go, it just kinks up
again." These were the words of Yogi Vivekananda, the first Yogi
and Swami to visit the

Untied States in l893 for the World's Parliament of Religion. His
teachings influenced my practices of Yoga for several decades.
and U.S.S.R., I was called to serve the world in bringing warring
factions together through dialogue forums and conflict resolution
trainings. After creating hundreds of peace exchanges between the
two superpowers, my and South Africa.colleagues and I were
eventually asked to extend our work to Armenia, Azerbiajan, the
Middle East, Central America, China, Kosovo, Cuba, Ethiopia, and
South Africa.

What is it that you are doing that works?" A Moscow official once asked. For many months,
as I pondered this question, I discovered that no matter what country I was in ... no matter
what leader, or citizen I was meeting with, it was all Yoga. Through Yoga, without realizing
it, I transcended the borders of separation between my country and another, the good and
evil concepts that seem to dominate the thinking of so many in our world today. I also found
over the years, I was able to transcend the separation, and my own divisions of what was
the "inner" work and the "outer" work within the world. After a time I could no longer draw
lines of demarcation but found that one would support the other and both were mutually
interdependent.

I've recently returned from Afghanistan where decades of wars and invasions have taken
their toll on the country and its people. I was invited to assess the country's needs, work
with its widows and orphans, and explore the possibility of creating a Women's Conference
with representatives from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Russia and Turkey.
Meetings were arranged with highly educated women of the Rotary club in Kabul. These
women are journalists, educators, and members of governmental ministries, active in
rebuilding their country. They are very enthusiastic about coming together with their sisters
from neighboring lands, in the hope that through these connections they might prevent future
conflicts and war. I was shocked when Hawah, one of the leading women TV journalists of
Afghanistan suddenly said, "Men destroy...Women rebuild!" Expecting a reaction from the
Afghan men, I watched them, waiting for a response. They did not flinch but instead with
downcast eyes, nodded their heads in agreement. READ MORE

LA Yoga (2005)
World Traveler, Yoga Master
by Felicia M. Tomasko
Even when Rama Jyoti is silent, her powerful presence fills a room. It
is not a stretch of the imagination to see her meditating in the Middle
East, teaching yoga in Afganistan to Muslim women, or meeting with
Gorbachev; karma yoga activities that are integral to Rama's work.

Devotion is essential to Rama's teaching. Rama describes all her
poses as sacrifices and offerings. These feelings of devotion spill out
into her international work and the IYC (International Yoga College),
which she founded. READ MORE

Awareness Magazine (2001)
Rama Vernon
By Kay Walburger
Rama Vernon, a housewife and mother of five children asked herself,
"What can one woman do to make a difference in the world?" The
reason for the question was the fear her children and their school
friends were experiencing from the world events taking at that time.
The cold war was escalating and the threat of nuclear holocaust was a
clear and present danger. The impenetrable Iron Curtain kept Russia
isolated and its people unreachable. Our national mood was reflected
in our president's words as he called Russia the 'Evil Empire!" And the
tone of peace negotiations was depressing since most of the time
allotted for peace conferences was wasted squabbling over the size
and shape of the peace table and who would sit where.

Everyone knew this would be a war no one could win because radioactive fallout would
poison the planet's health and resources for thousands of years of contamination.

Major doubt about anything surviving at all was a fact each person had to face. Who wins a
toxic war that destroys all or most of the life on the earth? "My children were so frightened
they would not live long enough to grow up, I knew I had to do something about the situation,
but what? What could I do? What did I know of peace and how to communicate it to others?
With a mother's heart I asked myself for this wisdom, and prayed and meditated on the
answers, " reminisces Rama.

A Place of Peace
Rama's own childhood had taken place during World War II ans was fortunate to have
parents who were natural healers and spiritual-minded people who had taught her profound
principles of metaphysics and mysticism. The family entertained guests and friends that read
like "The Who's Who of the transformational world of wisdom. READ MORE

Vernon, Rama. (1998) On Hatha Yoga. (Electronic Version). International Yoga College
Website. www.InternationalYogaCollege.org.

Niles, Naomi. (1995). Beijing, China: From Local to Global. Good Times in and Around
Sedona.

Cleaveland, Carol. (1991) USSR Meeting Led her to Life's Work. The Morning Call.

Anderson, Tom. (1988). Soviets, Americans Improve Understanding. Gannett Westchester
Newspapers.

Ratan, Suneel. (1988). A Natural Glasnost and Grassroots. Greenwich Time.

Varosh, Lori. (1986). Bellevue Woman's Way to Peace: Get to Know a Russian as a Friend.
Journal America.

Gibson, Krysta. (1985). Seattle Woman organizes peace trip to Russian. The New Times.

Articles

"Love is the greatest power in the Universe, it's the greatest healer and it
transcends all the boundaries and all borders we have created with our own
self-limitations."