Ganga

I was born in Alexandria ,Egypt,at the age of 6 we had to flee to Lebanon.
In my early twenties, my mother took me to my first Satsang , lead by Swami Chidananda from the Divine Life Society- Sivananda in Rishikesh, in a war torn Beirut.
My mother was going through hard times , alone with me and an aging mother.
She found in Yoga and Satsangs, a haven of peace , resourceful and nourishing. The Swami of the Sivananda center in Beirut, Swami Lalithananda became a close friend to my mother. Living across our home, they exchanged visits and support , in a city taken by armed men.
From these years of yoga and satsangs, I don't recall having understood much, if all practically nothing.
I did learn by heart Mahamrityunjaya,mantra and heard several times Swami Chidananda repeat “Brahman" and " Everything is in the mind “!
I arrived in Paris 40 years ago, French is my mother tongue language.
My husband is a photo-journalist met under heavy shelling in Beirut.
Three boys later, it was difficult to keep my career at the BBC and other radios as a war correspondent.
So I started to give yoga lessons in my living room..
With only the good words of my 2 swamis in my ear.
I then went to Sivananda School to get several certifications as Asharya.
In this high certification course, we have Vedanta , Gita and Sanskrit.
But frankly , still I have not understood much.
With 18 years of practicing yoga and transmitting yoga. Up to 5 classes per day. Plus leading long yoga retreats in several countries, with Ayurvedic cooking.
The seeds have slowly started to sprout.
I can say that I now understand a "bit "more of the Vedanta and Gita classes.
I am currently still giving yoga classes, and giving Ayurveda cooking classes.