How was it? Everything was in Complete Harmony and the Joy was Flowing when the Oakville Town Celebrated 20 Years of Sahaja Yoga Meditation with Proclamation and Flag Raising Ceremony on Friday, June 19, 2026 in front of the Oakville Town Hall

Sahaja Yoga Meditation Network of Volunteers received Wonderful Appreciations – As You can see in the images above, we received appreciations from Members of Parliament, Minister of Provincial Government and of course from the Mayor of Oakville proclaiming Sahaja Yoga Meditation Day and Raising our SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION DAY FLAG with Two Yoginis

It was very meaningful that We Enjoyed the Support of Two Town Councillors who came in person and Welcomed the Participants – We had such a great time to share our Activities and even Plan Together possible New Beginnings in the Way We may Add Value to the Volunteering in Oakville

We Thank You: Town Councillor Knoll and Town Councillor Xie who took the time to get to know even better our Volunteers

We were happy to have our Youth Wellness Initiative being represented by Manisha (who joined one year ago our FREE Sahaja Yoga Meditation Classes in Halton) who showcased her multiple talents, from Singing the “Kundalini Energy” song to Raising the Flag with the Mayor of Oakville

Please Pay Attention to Every Photograph and Every Video-clip! There were so many Beautiful Happenings and the Natural Elements became Active Supportive Partners to our Event!

Even the Mayor remarked during his Speech that the Wind Stopped during the Guided Meditation – While Many of us Observed the Obvious: it was a Gorgeous Luminous Day, in a sweet way that made all Colours to Look So Vibrant. The Birds were Singing, the Sky hosted various Cloud Formations that resembled Auspicious Symbols and The Sunrays were falling upon us as Blessings from Above.

Shri Hanumana‘s Profile was noticed on the Sky right after the Flag Raising Ceremony. He is known as the Son of the Wind God (in the Greek Mythology is known as Hermes also it resembles the Archangel Gabriel – the one that carries the Good News as well Who Protects the Good Deeds)

Thank You MPP Effie T. for sending a Representative to our Event and for the Beautiful Words of Appreciation as well for sharing our Yoga Day Wellness Events with your Newsletter!

We also want to thank to the Minister Crawford for his Appreciation and also to Constituency Manager Morillo for her warm speech that followed the Collective Meditation.

We made sure that all the official representatives get a feeling of Who we are and What we do before they provide their words of appreciation and support. Therefore, we presented a succinct introduction to our Sahaja Yoga Meditation Network of Halton volunteers, mentioning our 20-year history of active engagement in the Oakville Community.

It was wonderful to see that among the community representatives there were also those that know us well, they participated in our sahaja yoga meditation events offered across the Halton region and we can call them friends. They even shared with the other officials their positive feedback of collaborating with Sahaja Yoga Meditation Network and 100 Seeds of Joy team.

Town Councillor Xie and OCCPEHR Executive Director Dankowich enjoyed reconnecting with their friends from Sahaja Yoga Meditation Network of Halton Volunteers (the Cultivators of Joy)

It was wonderful the Symbolism that Connected like a Golden Thread the various aspects of our 20-year Anniversary in Oakville culminating with Sahaja Yoga Meditation Day Proclamation by the Mayor of Burlington on that day of June 19, 2026 – marking the New Beginnings Marathon dedicated also to the United Nations’ International Yoga Day celebrated on June 21, 2026.

For instance, this time we had two representatives of the Oakville business community, who wanted to support our celebration with a pure heart, without asking of any recognition, nor even a mentioning.

However, we are free people 🙂 and we feel that Good Deeds deserve to be recognized and celebrated – as we do celebrate our family members, why not those ‘strangers’ that have a heart that beats for their community?

Viviana is a local businesswoman of Romanian origin, who has the “Oakville Best Bakery” – Casa Romana Sweets. Last year she hosted a “100 Seeds of Joy” wellness event at her bakery for a group of Romanian “women of business”. Twenty years ago, a Romanian family opened the doors of the first free sahaja yoga meditation class here in Oakville; for this year’s 20-year milestone celebration event, Viviana brought for everyone to enjoy her lovely and fresh goodies. Thank you Viviana!

We know that India is the land of Yoga and the Founder of Sahaja Yoga Meditation – Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi – travelled the world to spread the knowledge of achieving one’s self-realization through this accessible and simple yet profound form of meditation and yoga practice.

Therefore, we remembered and offered flowers with Gratitude in our hearts, to our spiritual teacher who led by her personal example, until her very last year of life, the “pass it on” method of teaching and helping others. Thank You Shri Mataji!

We opened up to you our “Serendipity “experience that happened during this event.

Last year, we went to an Oakville Indian restaurant to celebrate our successful Festival of New Beginnings 2025 (offered in Burlington). There, we met a pure heart, who happens to be a local businessman that loves both the traditional Yoga and the Oakville community; meanwhile he is busy being a creative chef! Randy and our team shared with each other our respective dreams we have related to the Town of Oakville, and this year Randy contributed towards our team’s efforts towards offering a FREE Gentle Yoga & Meditation Event in Oakville’s Lakeside Park on June 20, 2026..

Thank you Randy! So it happens that both Randy and Viviana arrived to the Oakville Town Hall at the same time, and we took the opportunity to introduce them to each other, as well to our team.

How cool is this?! The Indian and Romanian roots for Oakville’s Sahaja Yoga Meditation Network of Volunteers just happened to meet and share the Joy of Giving at our 20th Celebration.

Connections and Revelations after 20 years of friendship and Oakville partnership

It was really cool to find out that my friend Stephen Dankowich is Ukrainian (second generation in Canada). Who revealed that to me? My other friend Ekaterina (visiting from Montreal), who chatted with him after the Proclamation ceremony. Stephen became our first community partner in Oakville – since I contacted him as the Executive Director of the Halton Eco-Festival, about 20 years ago. This year we reconnected during Oakville’s 2026 Community Spirit Awards Ceremony (as fellow nominees). How amazing is this?!

Only a few SYMN team members were able to join this event (on a morning working day) but each one of us made sure to create beautiful memories that could be shared later with Everyone!

A Special Moment was the one Shared with us by Shivangna (100SOJ team) who Invited Everyone to Join her in Meditation and reaching to the State of Yoga (many participants who meditated there for their first time were pleasantly surprised how effective it was to let go of thoughts and Be Present!

Everyone’s heart opened up and we were able to be still for a few moments – absorb all in, realize that we are able to connect.

Our Very Special Guest helped us to bring Canada Together: Ekaterina joined the Ceremony from Montreal and she has also Ukrainian and Russians roots. We all enjoyed her angelical voice!

Another Moment of Amazing Serendipity: We were in the parking lot and about to leave, when Vandana – Oakville’s Miss Canada finalist was coming from the Town Hall towards us! We started chatting and our Collaboration started!

Did you know? On Friday June 19, 2026 it is also celebrated the Midsummer Eve in many countries! Also, “Vandana” means “adoration,” “worship,” “salutation,” or “praise” and it originates from the Sanskrit Language

At first, our team was filled with joy to see a representative of Canada on this special day for us; because we mentioned earlier during the ceremony that our activities are meant to bring people together, to find inner peace and joy; as well that we realize the Togetherness of Canada – as we are from all backgrounds and French Canada was represented by Ekaterina.

It was really nice to see how “Canada joined us” :-), right after meeting with the Mayor of Oakville. Soon, we found out that her Mrs Canada’s name is Vandana, and we told her that just minutes earlier, Ekaterina was singing a song that included the verse “Vandana,” as it was about worshipping Mother Earth in Sanskrit language with an ancient hymn “Shri Bhoomi Devi Vandana” from the Land of Yoga – India.

Make sure that You will watch the Video that includes most of the Flag Raising & Proclamation Ceremony. It is shared by the End of this Article. Please, leave a comment too 🙂

It was also meaningful that at some point our three banners were each supported by a new SYMN volunteer and each belonged to one of the three major communities in Halton: Oakville, Burlington and Milton. So, HALTON came as “one”.

Take a look again” what an amazing day we had! We gathered so many photos, it was hard to choose the ones for the blog.

(VIDEO) Flag Raising Ceremony with the Oakville Mayor’s Proclamation of Sahaja Yoga Meditation Day

If you wish you can explore the following Articles posted earlier this year:

• Sharing the Community Spirit Award of Appreciation from the Oakville Mayor with You in Stories and Photos
• Great Honor: Sahaja Yoga Meditation Day – proclaimed by the Mayor of Oakville with Flag Raising Ceremony
• A Collection of Appreciations from MP Karina Gould & Canadian Government for Sahaja Yoga Meditation Team’s Continuous Community Engagement in Burlington
• Sharing the Recognition from the Ontario Government and Member of Parliament for our 100 Seeds of Joy team!
• The 100 Seeds of Joy Youth Wellness Sessions receive Great Appreciation from Two Halton Schools!

The photos with flowers are from Oakville. Let us know if you’ve enjoyed the News and our Celebration :-).