Who are we?
What is yoga?
To understand
- whom we are addressing;
- who our target audience is and, implicitly;
- what concepts and techniques we use,
we must first explore what yoga is, whom it addresses, and what purpose it serves in today’s world. The definition (or definitions) of the Yoga phenomenon are what shape both the practice itself and the directions of public outreach.
There are more than 320 widely accepted definitions, which demonstrates — if further proof were needed — the remarkable complexity of this phenomenon, which dates back approximately 10,000–14,000 years. However, none of these definitions fully encompass its theoretical and practical reality.
Especially since, contrary to popular belief, Yoga is not of Indian origin — it arose as a universal state of being, with every civilization, including the Geto-Dacian one, having its own form of yoga (which excludes the idea of a cultural import). The Indian subcontinent, however, provided an admirable ground for the development of this system of human optimization.
To draw an initial conclusion, Yoga proves to be the most extensive and precise secular system of self-knowledge and human transformation known in history — “Knowledge through Self-Knowledge” being both its goal and its method of action.
Today, there is general agreement — from psychotherapists to managers in all fields — that in the current state of humanity, regardless of the type of society or culture, self-knowledge must take absolute priority.
From the many valuable definitions that can guide everyday practice, two stand out:
“Yoga is life lived consciously.”
and
“Yoga is permanent, continuous, and selfless self-awareness.”
NB – Two clarifications:
– Awareness, not concentration — a special state of attention that does not judge, but simply observes.
and
Detachment — renouncing the “fruit of action.”
This approach excludes from the outset any form of sectarian movement and serves as the criterion by which we recognize authentic Yoga.
The purpose of these courses thus becomes clear: to develop each person’s capacity for self-knowledge, leading to improvement on all levels of being — awakening inner resources, enhancing health, and increasing effectiveness in living one’s own life in harmony with the lives of others.
Therefore, there is no specific target audience — people of all ages, genders, social positions, professions, and ethnicities are welcome, as long as they are tired of living blindly, stumbling over their own ignorance. Of course, this does not exclude adapting the exercises to the needs and abilities of each participant, with whom we maintain constant feedback.
What is essential in yoga is not the exercises themselves, but the inner attitude. The exercises — whether asanas, pranayama, mudras, yantras, meditations, or any other yogic technique — serve to cultivate this inner attitude.
Yoga was the first in human history to discover the integrality of the Being and to develop integral exercises that shape the entire being simultaneously.
For some time now, no one has the right to live only for themselves.
Yogacharya Mario Sorin Vasilescu
Master Tara
I believe we can live in a world filled with goodwill, generosity, tolerance, compassion, and understanding — a world where our main concern is to be kind to one another.
Why waste our lives playing the roles of helpless victims, waiting for someone else to change the world we live in? We have the power to act and to create change within ourselves and around us.
Self-knowledge allows us to connect with the truths within us — and then everything becomes simple. We can begin to live with ease and grace, bringing gentleness into our lives.”
TARA
From the inner melting of all her experiences of self-knowledge and self-healing over the past 20 years — experiences that led her to approach the human being in an integrative way, as body, mind, soul, and energy — she created her own working method: The Path of Intuitive Action.This approach has brought her remarkable results in working with others during retreats, intensive 1–2 day workshops, individual counseling, and weekly classes.
Her mentors have been Mrs. Ana Pricop, Yogacharya Mario Sorin Vasilescu, and Vishnu – Master of the Krya Yoga School in Rishikesh, India.
Since 1999, she has been practicing yoga within the National Group for the Study and Practice of Yoga, coordinated by Yogacharya Mario Sorin Vasilescu. In October 2003, she became an instructor, leading the Iași branch of the Group.
Further deepening her studies in India earned her the title of Yoga Master, accredited by Yoga Alliance International, and the initiation name TARA.
She has also received initiations and teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama during her stays in Leh, Ladakh (Little Tibet), Bodh Gaya, Dharamshala, Varanasi, and Varkala, as well as from Drikung Kagyu Kyabgon Rinpoche, the head of the Tibetan Drikung lineage at the Center for Tibetan and Himalayan Studies in Dehradun, India. During her six journeys to India, she spent time in a Tibetan monastery, embracing the purity of simple living — a life rooted in truth and compassion toward others.
Cine sunt eu, Tara?
Nu m-am născut genială.Nici măcar supraom!Viața mea nu îmi aparține.Îmi amintesc clar că am trăit până pe la 14 ani STAREA de … gândește Dumnezeu în mintea mea. Îl trăiam, Îi simțeam prezența cum mă călăuzea să acționez pentru a susține apartenența la ÎNTREG.Am învățat:1. din suferință adâncă, cu nenumărate fațete2. de vorbă bună, adică din ASCULTARE față de Maestrul meu, Mario Sorin Vasilescu.Am ieșit din iadul karmic și am ajuns să fiu fericită și recunoscătoare pentru destinul meu.Am învățat diferența ca de la cer la pământ între a-mi spori orgoliul pentru că îmi pot influența subconștientul să se supună voinței mele de om și a îmi elibera traseul până la subconștient pentru a se reconecta cu supraconștientul, cu voia Domnului.Aspirația mea zilnică și acțiunile necesare pe care le aleg sunt pentru a Îl vedea, trăi, simți, urma, însoți, alege etc. pe Dumnezeu. Pentru a mă elibera din dualitate.Am trecut dincolo de iluzia că reperul vindecării mele, reperul stării de bine “eterne” este să îmi dresez mintea să nu mai aibă gânduri; ca și cum gândurile sau emoțiile sunt problema.După foarte mulți ani de antrenament în lucrul cu mine, nu mai am ca reper de stare de bine să mă simt plăcut, confortabil, nedureros etc.Reperul meu de stare de bine este creșterea nivelului de conștiință, în fiecare zi.Nu îmi mai este frică de zgâlțâielile subconștientului, mentalului colectiv, Karmei neamului meu extins. Deja face parte din structura mea, normalitatea că a evolua în continuare înseamnă să folosesc bogăția experiențelor de cunoaștere pentru a explora nuanțele eliberării de iluzia identificărilor.Experiența imensă pe care am acumulat-o, prin lucrul cu mine și cu mii de oameni, stă la baza conceperii cursurilor cu efect terapeutic. Depistez cauzele individualizate și prin conștientizare, tehnici de recuperare a energiei vitale și reconfigurarea structurii informaționale se produce evoluția conștiinței. Iar ca bonus, vindecarea și deblocările din viața de zi cu zi.
The Integral Yoga Group
In the autumn of 2019, during its sixteenth year of study, the Integral Yoga Group, under the guidance of its teacher TARA, opened the doors of the Armonia Center in Iași.
The idea of a Center — a place where each of us can come to discover ourselves and learn to live in harmony with our inner truth — has been TARA’s lifelong dream. However, it took a long process of crystallization and refinement for all of us who shared our teacher’s wish to create in Iași a space dedicated to learning and personal growth, with the purpose of changing our mindset and learning to live in harmony with ourselves, while acting to bring about transformation both within and around us.
Starting from this shared vision, we created the KOKORO Association (“Harmony” in Japanese) and opened the Armonia Center.
Our values:
- Right action
- The desire to change our mindset
- Goodwill
- Humanistic spirit
- The power of example
- Staying grounded in reality
- An honest way of living, with ourselves and with others
