Ayşe Yufkayürek

Ayşe grew up in Northern Germany within a German-Turkish family. She has been with Shri Kali since 2011 and divides her time between studying and teaching at Shri Kali, Turkey, and Europe, where she organizes Tantric Yoga classes and workshops. She is a registered RYT 500™ with Yoga Alliance. Ayşe also studies towards a Masters degree in Sustainable Development.

Before Ayşe came to Shri Kali, she had been suffering from an arthritis-like condition in her knees and decided to do some changes in her life. The first change was to quit her corporate job in London and go travelling throughout Asia, which lastly brought her to India and finally to Shri Kali Ashram, where she was looking for a one month yoga program initially. “I remember when I arrived at Shri Kali, I looked at everything out of the framework I had grown up in but quickly realised that if I wanted to get a deeper understanding of myself, the world and the traditional knowledge taught at Shri Kali, I would have to let go of certain thought constructs and doctrines. This was especially relevant in consideration with the knee inflammation I was suffering from, as even though I was on prescription drugs, I still had flare ups and could not figure out what aggravated it. What struck me in the early beginning when I was at Shri Kali was that the information given about life and society resonated with my inner values and beliefs about faith and religion, which I have always been curious about, as I grew up in a multi-cultural environment.”

Ayşe recognised the importance of the Tantric teachings at Shri Kali and experienced its positive impacts in all aspects of her life, in relationship to her family and friends, to herself, and her health. She was able to gradually stop the intake of the drug for her knee inflammation. She says, “I owe this success in the regaining of my health to Bhagavan and his gifted ability to convey to me this beautiful science. Of all my academic studies, educational courses and activities, this is the most valuable and precious information I have ever encountered, as it provides true content through timeless and sustainable concepts that are applicable to every aspect of life. In fact, there is no other place I would want to learn from. I call Shri Kali the ‘school of life,’ as the information given here is relevant to everyone, no matter what age, religion or culture.”

“I was never too much interested in mingling with the Western yoga world. It always fascinates me to see how much people are attracted by it but the modern esoteric vibe did not resonate with me beyond the physical practises. I had a fairly modern perspective on yoga, knew little about its philosophy and nothing about its spirituality. Indeed, I did not think of Tantra as an ancient tradition until I came to Shri Kali. What resonated with me instantly was the ‘down-to-earthness,’ logical explanations, knowledgeable talks about history, institutions, the state of our world and its people, economically, sociologically and psychologically. Information is given openly to everyone who is interested. Bhagavan encourages everyone to engage, interact and express from their true self. People are given guidance but they understand for themselves, rather than learn from a preset curriculum. The setup of the school is very unconventional, which can baffle people at first, but then they experience the possibilities arising in such an open and boundless environment, where you can learn actively from everyone and everything. I have seen many people come and go since I have been at Shri Kali; actually people tend to come and stay long term if they can, or like myself, they come back whenever they can. It takes some time to see through the layers of our conditioning. When I did, I decided that I wanted a spiritual understanding to life, which I continue to live by.”

“I have seen a lot of misery, illness and unhappiness within the Western lifestyle, despite apparent material well-being. I had not known many people, of whom I could say they were truly happy with themselves and the life they were living. This was not the outlook on life I wanted but I learnt that, more than approaching a different life model, it is all about the information you are being given. Learning and living according to a traditional Tantric system is so enriching to my life; I am more balanced, healthy and in tune with myself.”

“Shri Kali and its people continue to impress me. It is my biggest pleasure to share this culture. I see people approaching all kinds of self-help activities but the truth is, there are no quick fixes in life. Tantra as taught at Shri Kali requires a subconscious integration to create new patterns and achieve transformation. Bhagavan is able to convey this spiritual science to everyone who is interested in receiving his knowledge. I feel privileged having met a traditional teacher, who grew up in a Tantric environment, transmitting to me and others the traditional yoga, philosophy and culture. Bhagavan is dedicated to share and preserve this wonderful science for the simple reason of love for humanity.”

“Not only studying and practising Tantra Yoga but also sharing my inspiration and experience beautifies my life, which is really all about compassion and love, which leads us to one thing we all want to be in our lives: genuinely happy! I will be at Shri Kali from Dec. 2013-May 2014.