Universal Peace Foundation of North America (UPFNA) has been serving the Omaha community since 1999 and formally registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2005. Our mission is to spread universal peace through individual and inner peace by practicing Kundalini meditation and yoga, guided by our Guru, Gurumahan, and our parent organization in India. When an individual is peaceful within, their family is happy. When families are happier, society, the nation, and gradually the whole world become peaceful and blissful.

UPFNA employs a holistic, three-pronged approach in its activities:

1. Training the Body: Utilizing a series of simple Hatha Yoga postures.
2. Focusing the Mind: Implementing a series of breathing techniques.
3. Connecting with the Self: Practicing a series of meditation techniques.

UPFNA operates solely on donations and offers its services to the community through a variety of classes and targeted workshops for different sections of society. Below are some highlights of UPFNA’s ongoing activities to promote holistic well-being and education:

• Weekly Kids Yoga Classes: Offered at three levels based on age groups, from kindergarten to high school, attended by more than 120 kids. These classes focus on physical well-being, inner strengths, personality development, and molding well-rounded citizens.
• Kundalini Yoga for Adults/Community Yoga Classes: Open to the public, these classes are attended by more than 20 different practitioners every week.
• Private Kundalini Yoga, Therapy Yoga, and Prenatal Yoga: Specialized classes for individuals with special needs.
• Introduction to Yoga and Meditation: Classes held at community centers and public libraries.
• Training and Volunteering Opportunities for Teens: Enhancing leadership skills and becoming yoga instructors.
• Health and Human Services: Partnering with Douglas County to provide yoga and meditation classes at adult correctional facilities and youth centers to strengthen inner self-reliance and discrimination power.
• Annual Advanced Yoga Workshops: Led by our eminent yoga guru from India, benefiting over 150 attendees.
• Yoga Instructor Training Programs: Advanced practitioners can obtain 200/500 hour certifications to become certified yoga instructors and pursue it as a career.
• Yoga for Wellness Workshops and Courses: Offered at offices as part of company wellness initiatives.
• Stress Management Sessions: Conducted at offices and during special events.
• International Day of Yoga and Global Peace Day Celebrations: Promoting global peace and well-being.

Since 2010, UPFNA has also established a chapter in the San Francisco Bay Area, offering weekly yoga classes and special meditation sessions. please click here for more info

Our Yoga Instructors/Volunteers

Sasirekha Rathinam: One of the founders of UPFNA and our senior Yoga Instructor since 1999, managing over 120 kids as part of Kids Yoga/Personality development. She also teaches Prenatal Yoga, Therapy Yoga & Kundalini yoga/meditation for adults.

Balakrishnan Palanisamy: One of the founders of UPFNA and our senior Yoga Instructor since 1999, he is the go-to person for knowledge on Kundalini Yoga and has been leading Kundalini meditation since 1999.

Jayaram Nagarajan: Yoga Instructor/volunteer since 2014 and practitioner for over 20 years, currently teaching at Correction Center & Youth Center, Omaha, NE, apart from community classes and stress management sessions.

Jitendra Chintamadaka: Over 10 years of YOGA practice and teaching experience. The practice includes primarily Hatha Yoga (Kriya, Asana, Pranayama, Mudra & Bandha and Kundalini), and Raja Yoga (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Prathyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi). The intensity of practice in his class will depend on the group.

Ravi Pillai: Yoga Instructor/volunteer since 2018 and practitioner for over 14 years, currently teaching at Correction Center, Omaha, NE, in addition to community classes.

Namasivayam: Yoga Instructor/volunteer since 2018 and practitioner for over 10 years, currently teaching at Youth Center, Omaha, NE, in addition to community classes.

Kaitlin Heavin: