The Art of Living

Founded in 1982 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, The Art of Living is a non-profitable educational and humanitarian NGO. It is one of the largest organizations that have taken initiative for humanity upliftment and life-enhancing activities dealing in vivid aspects of society such as education, trauma relief, women empowerment, education for all and others. The main objective and ambition of The Art of Living foundation is to ‘make the world violence free, stress free global family’.

In effort of globalizing spirituality, Sri Sri took the approach of four fold paths that is spreading happiness, joy of service, the highest identity and journey for peace and wisdom. It focused on bringing people from varied cultures, religion, and profession to come together for understanding and spreading the joy of spirituality.

"Spirituality encompasses joy, peace and love for humans", with this concept and ideology, The Art of Living offers several courses, at worldwide centers, in stages that help an individual comprehend the values of humanity. Courses at Art of Living can be taken up only in stages. Below are the courses offered and how they achieve the ideology of The Art of Living.

Total of 22 hour course, divided into four eve sessions and a weekend, deals at basic level of physical healing. It helps in stress management and achieving higher productivity by practicing breathing techniques (sudarshan kriya). Meditation and group discussions further enhance inner strength and pave way for joyful living.

It is a 4-5 days course, available to those who have completed the basic course, offered in-residence in some kind of retreat or wellness center. It emphasizes on silence, meditation, service and celebration. Powerful breathing techniques in sudarshan kriya and prayanam invigorate the whole system. It also provides ways to de-tox and manages stress, by bringing in synchronization the body’s biological cycles with the help of breathing and yoga practices.

Named as APEX, this corporate course is centered on the concept of inspiration. Through yoga practices integrated with organization’s values, employees display greater sense of commitment and responsibility towards the company. APEX incorporates modules like Creativity, Personal Capability Building, Team work, Conflict Resolution, and various other management issues to deal with stress at individual, team and organizational level.

Apart from these courses, there are specific age-group workshops and courses offered at Art of Living foundation.

This course is for children from 8 to 13 years for learning human values. This course helps in making children share, work and enjoy with diverse groups. Through simple yet effective breathing practices, they are taught to manage negative emotions like fear and anxiety. After going through this program, children reflect greater sense of mental strength and emotional stability.

YES! is a specially designed program for youth between age of 14 to 18 years. This practical framework deals with managing academic and social pressures that every child of this age group faces. It helps peer group to deal with challenging situations and criticism through various problem-solving strategies. It further caters to the need of every child to broaden their vision of world and tap their potential.

The Art of Living has inspired millions of people around the world to break barriers and rise above petty issues, creating a global family with a goal of spreading happiness, joy and peace. Through various courses offered, based on ancient practice of yoga and meditation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has succeeded in building The Art of Living Foundation, promoting the message of spirituality.