Auroville is a universal city-in-the- making whose purpose is human unity in the broadest sense of the
word. Founded in 1968, it has grown and developed in rural India as home for presently more than 1800
residents from about 30 countries of
the world.
Auroville is a non-sectarian and self-managed community with the goal of promoting sustainability on all levels
for itself, its immediate surrounding and for the world at large. Its future
aim is to be a township of some 50.000 inhabitants.
Auroville's underlying vision comes from the work of the noted Indian political leader, scholar, teacher,poet and 'seer' Sri
Aurobindo (1872-1950) and his co-worker Mirra Alfassa (1878 -1973) better known
as 'the Mother', a spiritually and culturally highly gifted personality, originally from France who lived in
South India from 1920 onwards.
"All life is yoga" says Sri Aurobindo
Since 1990 Vlady's School of the Inner Way has had a presence in Auroville and it is evident that it will continue to do so.
The teaching is quite compatible with some aspects of the 'integral yoga' underlying
the Auroville experiment and both Auroville residents and guests are benefiting from it.
This yoga has often been described as " an adventure of consciousness and joy"
and all serious practitioners of T'ai Chi
will recognise that quality of the teaching of The School of the Inner Way.
The school arrived in Auroville thanks to one of Vlady's pupils who came to join Auroville in July
1990. Through her, Nicole Bernard came to teach a workshop in the beginning of 1991. Her
professional and dynamic teaching made a lasting
impression. In April of the same year two Aurovilians, Heidi and Mauna followed a course
with Vlady in Portugal. Mauna then took courses in Belgium and France with different teachers, -
practicing the 108 while hitchhiking from one place to the other. In the back pocket of her jeans she carried a
rolled up list of all the postures and she practiced her way through Europe.
Back in Auroville
On her return to Auroville, others were interested in sharing her practice. She wrote to Vlady
who gave her the go ahead...,"Bonne chance, je suis avec toi ! ".
Slowly a steady core group developed and every year, during the warm 'winter' months of December and January, we were
fortunate to have intensive courses with teachers from the School. In successive years
Edwige,Nicole, Piero, Christine and Ann Gerard graced us with their presence and teaching.
Meanwhile Aurovilians went to Vlady's summer course, and other courses as well.
Sometime in '95, two students of Vlady who were coming to live in Auroville observed that it was
crazy not to have central place for the teaching Tai Chi. They suggested they should build one
and they did!
Marco and Liliana, a dynamic and artistic business couple from Italy, created a beautiful Tai Chi Hall
and a smaller 'dojo' for the inner Chi work. These are located amid trees and gardens near the centre of Auroville in a well
established, French speaking community called 'Shamga' which is well equipped for receiving guests. The school is now in good hands,is well established here in Auroville, and
part of an increasing worldwide network. With the help of a steady influx of teachers from Europe made possible by the
much appreciated Solidarity fund, an increasingly high quality of training is being achieved.
