Dearest Michael and Dushan,

I could write much more if you want me to. But for now, this is what's flowed from my heart.

Through the Sarva curriculum and practicums, I have come to understand - and more importantly to
experience - that transforming my worldview transforms my life in an effortless way, from the inside out.
When I completed my first silent, solitary meditation retreat as part of the Sarva curriculum, I felt an
unprecedented peace and confidence. Over the past several months of Sarva study, I've improved my self-respect,
my self-reliance, and my ability to help others effectively.

Michael and Dushan are sensitive and courageous teachers. Their intellects shed light on ancient teachings
in ways that are relevant to our modern lives. Their emotional energies reach into our hearts to destroy the
roots of our suffering. As individuals and as teachers, they lend comfort, humor and stability to our lives
when we most need it. They are true masters.

Everyone will encounter apparent reasons why they cannot sign up for Sarva. Whether these obstacles are
emotional or pragmatic, I encourage everyone who has genuine interest to take the leap. I was newly pregnant
when Sarva began, and I felt hesitant to start at an academy that would be a major commitment on top of my new
obligations as an expecting mom. However, I soon found that Sarva is as nurturing as it is demanding. Sarva
became my refuge. My fellow students and our dear teachers are now part of my daughter's spiritual family, and
they have helped me (and my husband) embrace the transition into parenthood. Sarva, has taught me methods for
living happily through whatever other challenges we'll encounter in our lives.

With loving dedication,
- Alysa

1. How has this training effected you physically, emotionally and intellectually?
Physically, my asana practice has improved considerably as a result of Michael's training. My daily practice is
now infused with knowledge of the body's natural spirals, proper alignment and the connection between breath and
the subtle body. This is critical for elevating one's physical practice beyond "exercise" to one of real, true spiritual
and physical awakening.

Emotionally, I have begun-through meditation and the support of the Sarva Sangha-to open up to the power of
vulnerability. I have learned this is the fastest path to Love and Understanding. I've also been profoundly affected
by having teachers I love and trust hold me accountable to my habits and unconscious thoughts. This is a priceless gift
I will never be able to repay.

Intellectually, I have a far greater handle on the principle ideas of Buddhism, The Fourth Way and ultimately all
true spiritual linneages. And the connections between these great paths are revealed with the utmost respect.

2. Did it meet/exceed your expectations?
I truly had no idea what I was getting into when I embarked on this journey. When people ask what I've been up to, I
find it hard to put into words. "Yoga School" is not quite right. I've been calling it "Shed Your Skin and Become an
Entirely New Person School" or "Extreme Makeover: Life Edition." I suppose Sarva really is the best way to describe
what you get with this training-a comprehensive approach to the health of your body, mind and soul.

3. Has it been relevant to your life and relationships? How?
Sarva is ultimately an investment in not only your own life but in the lives of the people you love and everyone you come
into contact with on a day-to-day basis. The aim of living a more conscious, love-filled life is expressly dependent on
the friction that arises in human interaction. It is absolutely the only way to realize the ideas shared by our teachers
and the great texts. And once you know the secret, that your World is coming from you, treating others with respect and
compassion is the only option that makes any sense!

4. Did it expand your view of what "yoga" is?
Yoga is the practice of understanding that you and your world are yoked. Lots of distractions seem to pop up out of nowhere
to cloud you to that fact. Michael and Dushan are offering the priceless knowledge of how to combat those distractions.
Surgically. There is a method. And the only way to learn it is for someone who knows it to teach you.

5. Would you reccomend this training to others and what kind of person should consider it?
I would recommend this program to anyone who is ready to change their lives. And that's important. I think being ready,
which sometimes means hitting rock bottom, is critical for success in this process. Personally, I was at a crossroads in
my life and I was sick and tired of spinning the wheels, vaguely hoping something would change in myself and in my
relationships, but without actively pursuing any of that change. I also believe that to try to focus on just one area of
your life at a time is like trying to patch a hole in the bottom of a rotting boat-it will only create more holes. For me,
the only option was to build a new boat.

Erika

Dearest Dushan & Michael,

Thank you for your love and support, for just the right amount of wrath wrapped in sweet teachings and rocking
physical practices. Thank you for the many tools, readings, lessons, talks, stories, fun but most of all for the
love that I feel whether I am sitting in Three Jewels with the whole Sarva den or at home all alone, but never
lonely. I feel it.

1. Physical

I had been practicing asana with Michael for almost two years when Sarva began, so I knew ahead of time that the
outer method of the physical practice could move my winds in a way that made me feel different about my body.
Combining this physicality with mastering an inner method, which is the life blood behind a lot of what we have
learned, has manifested a whole new picture of who I am. I feel much more like a spiritual being having a human
experience now than I did before. I have a career as an acupuncturist, so much of what I do daily is in favor of
accessing the subtle body. I can say so honestly that the tools I have learned in Sarva, too numerous to list, not
only feed my practice but have far extended what is possible inside of my own flesh and inside my treatment room.

Emotional

This is a big one. We used many metaphors to describe the unfolding of this emotional shift during the past seven
months. Shedding skin feels very accurate for my personal experience. I feel lighter, have woken to my emotional
baggage repeatedly through out the seven months and each time I am more able to put it down and move forward. I had (I
think we all had) a lot of personal karmic bombs going off during the academy and with increasing velocity as time wore
on! The remarkable proof of change is that I feel more strongly rooted in my being than I ever have. And through each
event that unfolded I have been better and better able to hold correct world view. I have surprised myself! Going
through a difficultly feels shockingly blissful when you act in ways so different from your previous misguided instincts.

Intellectually

I have a funny relationship with my intellect. I am obsessive about honing it, as many new yorkers are known to be. Yet,
it never lives up to it's reputation. I feel more clarity on this and the meaning behind it now, after lots of good, hard
work. I am starting to understand that the intellect is a tool, to be utilized by the ultimate higher Self, not the self
it's self :). I also find more and more that words, the expression of the intellect, are a hinderace in conveying the
truth of a teaching. I'm learning to act from a place of being which may sound simple and even easy when reading it (silly
words!) but is a great big practice.

2. I never could have guessed what was to come of this seven month training. I had hoped to get quiet enough to sit
and work on being a better me. My expectations were to have a daily meditation practice.. I'm still working hard on this
front, everyday and every sitting is a surprise. Now my vision has been expanded far beyond the reaches of 'me' to wanting
that space and insight for every being. I feel so full of tools to serve a broken planet and energy to expand and lift
our collective vision. The most tangible evidence I have is the sangha, each angel I have been blessed to study along side
of for seven months has brought light into my dark places, allowing me to feel truly held close and supported as I shift up.

3. The Sarva Academy training has been more integral and profound than any other training I have been privy to in this
lifetime. I am much closer to being honest, kind and helpful all moments of the day than ever before. I feel more loved
and more loving. My partner and all my loved ones appear as angels and lamas which allows for such rapid growth, because
now, every moment of my life is my yoga practice.

4. My view of 'yoga' is Sarva. Complete, entire, unending and constant unfolding. It's not something that I do in one
room and leave there. It follows me through my professional life, my personal life, my adventures and my toughest moments.
Yoga is the way I breath and speak and share who I am and appreciate you who are and at the same time I hold the world
view of our mutual, connected divinity.

5. I would and I have recommended Sarva Academy to others. People that are looking for what is behind the curtain and
asking the big questions are a good fit for this work. People willing to fall apart and picking up the pieces in an
entirely new arrangement are fit to take the challenge.

Both Dushan and Michael are magical surprising teachers. I couldn't have guessed the wonders that continue to unfold
from the first day forward. Each of these highly suspicious men brings a distinctly different flavor to the work we do in
Sarva. I am inspired to action by Michael's words. He has the most eloquent knack for making high teachings clear, fun
and funny. Dushan has been a pillar for my most unstable times and a guiding light when what I needed most was to sit
quietly and consider others. To share space with each of them is a gift, together though, it is like a cosmic double rainbow.

Love and Huge Gratitude,
Alexis

As unromantic as this may sound, what drew me to Sarva, at first, was a feeling of exhaustion. My own accelerated
emotional metabolism wore me down. If a job or relationship didn't meet my expectations, I simply threw myself
into the next one. I never let myself feel disappointed. When I finally cried about my failed marriage, three
months into Sarva and nine months after breaking up with my husband, my closest friends were relieved. Over the
course of seven months, it was as if I met myself for the first time, and this was because Michael, Dushan, and
every single one of the brilliant people in the Academy (Sarvies, we later started calling ourselves) gave me the
courage to do so. They continue to do so. Every one of the philosophical questions that I so enjoyed studying and
thinking about in college and grad school--death, time, love, language--we learned to think about as we rode the
subway or had disagreements with our bosses at work. We laughed a hell of a lot while we talked about these deep
things, and sometimes cried. We became a real dharma family.

It would take too long and too personal of a testimonial to describe how Sarva has impacted my life, but I hope
that these few words resonate with one person who should do this...

Mary Ellen

Initially, Sarva appealed to me intellectually~ I wanted to learn dharmic structures of a yogic lifestyle not
only for myself but to pass original dharma on to my yoga students & holistic health clients. The 200 hour yoga
instructor training that I had under my belt gave me no real essence of dharma, and I spent years turning away yoga
classes b/c I felt unqualified to teach. Sarva has changed this for me. I am slowly taking on group classes and feel
an ease to teach that never existed for me before.

Pre Sarva, I would indulge in master teachings by Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie Mcnally, & Kimberly Theresa
and others but the materials were difficult to digest and I always felt a disconnect when I'd get home and try to
apply what I had heard to my life. One big advantage of Sarva was the comprehensive overview of all teachings of the
Tibetan Lineage, plus a side order of the western approach to dharma called "the Work" by G.I. Gurdjieff.

Emotionally, I was starving for Sarva before I knew what Sarva was or wasn't. My boat was taking on unnecessary
water and although I had insight as to why, there was no lasting solutions from all the other so called self-work
classes, and my spiritual ship was sinking. As soon as I heard Michael Hewett introduce the goals of Sarva during a
Q & A talk, I felt like Sarva was created just to fill in my hollow knowledge of yoga.

In a short 7 months, Sarva has given me beautiful tools to surf my emotions when the seas are high and the Gurdjieff
work has taught me how to balance my emotions, intellect and remember why I was born in the first place. Sarva isn't
a formula you read in a book but a way of life and an ethical training that teaches you what karma truly is.

Michael and Dushan were available to answer any question, and fellow classmates became a Sangha to lean on.
Straightforward steps are given all through the Academy on how to use the teachings right away. The Sarva Academy
is user friendly.

Physically, I've dropped about 10 yrs. off my life b/c of the Sarva Academy. I felt old and worn out physically
and emotionally. So much in fact that every time I looked in the mirror, I saw a skull and cross bones staring back
at me. In July, thanks to Sarva, I will be 45 years young and I will never again doubt my ability to grow spiritually
or learn something new. Age doesn't matter once you arrive at the Sarva Academy.

Michelle

Sarva Academy suggests the notion that we live our lives as though we are asleep. Through highly personable and
individualized attention and intense group work Michael and Dushan deliver a depth of knowledge that has the potential
if applied with hard work and sensitivity to start to awaken our beings and introduce us to the possibility of taking
full responsibility for the world we live in.

Because of Sarva I have gained profound insight into my self and how I interpret my life. I am struck with deep
gratitude for my Holy Teachers and the precious community of fellow "Sarvies" I have met and grown with in the last
year. With the seeds of high lineages planted I have been taught the correct tools to use to cultivate a beautiful and
peaceful world in which I can ease my suffering and the suffering of others.