Where We Are
Mill Village
Mill Village is a rural community in the province of Nova Scotia, in Eastern Canada. Situated along the Medway River, Mill Village is a 12-minute drive to the Sahaja Yoga Centre in Liverpool, and is about an hour and a half from the Halifax International Airport. Mill Village Consolidated School opened its doors in 1962. The school sits on 5.8 acres of land and backs onto a forest. It's approximately 10,000 square feet in size, spread over two floors, and has a soccer field, baseball diamond, space for a basketball court and outdoor skating rink. Before it permanently closed its doors in 2014, introductory Sahaja Yoga meditation sessions were presented to all children and staff.
Nova Scotia
“We have to be like a beautiful tower of light. Like a lighthouse.”
Mill Village is located in Atlantic Canada, within the country’s second-smallest province, Nova Scotia (“New Scotland”). The province offers an ideal environment for a Sahaj school, having been blessed by Mother Nature with abundant nature and pure air (75% of the province is covered in forest.) Deemed “Canada’s Ocean Playground,” Nova Scotia is surrounded to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and is decorated with empty beaches and 3,800 coastal islands. Necessarily, it is home to 160 lighthouses.
Nova Scotia is known for its safe, friendly, welcoming culture, a culture which also bears the mark of the Mi’kmaq First Nation, made up of descendents of Nova Scotia’s original indigenous inhabitants.
Three national parks are located in the province. Kejimkujik National Park is about the size of Vienna, is only an hour from the Mill Village school and offers hiking, canoeing, seal watching, sky gazing, and camping.
Life in rural Nova Scotia, particularly on the South Shore (where Mill Village is located) enjoys a relatively slow and relaxed pace. Things are not rushed. Mill Village is located in Queens County where many make their living—and have for decades—fishing the Atantic ocean, particularly for lobster.
Nova Scotia has a vibrant artistic tradition. Students will be exposed to the work of artists in the local communities, whose skills and trades range from quilting, photography, ceramics, and mosaics, to leather sculpting, handweaving, and Inuit art. The town of Lunenburg, in particular, is a haven for artists and artisans. Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is just a 40-minute drive from the school.
External links
Canada
“I would request some of you to go to Canada because it’s a very beautiful place and we have very beautiful Sahaja Yogis there.”
While other countries and locations were being considered as potential sites for a new Sahaj school, it came to our attention that a school in Nova Scotia was for sale to the right project for the price of $1. The more closely we looked at Canada, the more things began falling into place. The country has favourable visa laws for students and volunteers, the Canadian education system is widely respected around the world, and has many qualities that fit well with a Sahaj approach to schooling.
There is also a great benefit in locating a Sahaj school in an English speaking country (French is also a national language of Canada, but Nova Scotia is primarily an English speaking province). It becomes far more practical to realise one of our great desires for the school—to establish rich connections with the local community (read more on the Local Community page).
More Information
More information about visas and travel to Canada is available on Information for Parents