The topic of this book is the ancient discipline of yoga, with a particular focus on a specific school of traditional Hatha Yoga settled in the heart of Benares (India), the oldest inhabited and functioning town in the world. Smriti Singh is the founder and qualified teacher of the mentioned school (Om International Yoga Health Society). She was born in Benares on December 3, 1976. In autumn 2009, the teachings of Smriti Singh based on authentic Indian traditions made their way to Europe (Belgium and Holland) sponsored by Association Belge des Enseignants et Pratiquants de Yoga. It was a first step on the way of internationalization, followed by two more “European tours” in 2010 and 2011. The spreading of these yogic seeds, from their strong spiritual Indian matrix, is coherent with a bigger phenomenon: the rising role of India in history; a good presupposition for its deeper cultural influence. In the subcontinent Benares represents one fundamental tirtha (holy place), one jewel box where an ancestral spiritual knowledge has been preserved by what Mircea Eliade called “the corruption of the history”. Something from this treasure could be wisely invested in a necessary intercultural dialogue of post-modern age.
A yoga-teacher of the level of Smriti Singh, who started to learn yoga from her mother before learning to walk, has all the resources to be among the protagonists of this difficult but suggestive mutual exchange.
