by Snehan Born

Swami Satchidananda said, “Bhakti Yoga is the easiest practice because we begin with Love. Chanting doesn’t require a quiet place or a particular kind of dress or a particular type of life.”

 This testimony is evidenced by the steadily increasing popularity of Kirtan chanting all over the world. People are discovering the benefits and pleasures of chanting the Holy names of God. The practice requires no particular faith nor belief to have a positive effect on us.

By singing or repeating these names, even if we don’t know the language we are chanting in, there comes a quieting of the mind and an opening in the heart. Those who regularly practice Kirtan and Japa experience, without fail, a shift from mind centered being to heart centered being. Then comes the question: How do we maintain the open heart and stay centered there  in our exchanges with other beings who may not, consciously or unconsciously, welcome nor support an open heart? If we are not securely grounded in our open heartedness then we will feel the need to guard our hearts from the critical responses of others.

I have been thoroughly enjoying chanting Kirtan and Japa practices for decades now and most definitely in the past 6 years of living at the IYI in San Francisco.  Joining an online sangha that meets every morning to study and repeat the Hanuman Chalisa has given me very clear experiences of reliably opening the heart only to feel that I shut it down upon the first encounter with negativity. But these experiences have shown me the more challenging work of staying open hearted in the presence of negativity.

It is certainly not easy, but just lately I’ve had some pretty clear experiences of quelling the tendency to react in defense and rather, just allowing the presence of perceived negativity without needing to “correct” it. I have watched the mind rushing back into its job of defending the ego and have interceded with the knee-jerk reactive mind, requesting  that I stay in the heart, because I know how good that open heart feels.

When I’ve been more successful with this, I have been surprised with the degree of calm presence that I find myself in. Within that space, I can choose to react, if at all, from loving kindness and choose thoughts, words and actions emanating from Love. Even if this doesn’t shift the negativity on the outside, inwardly I remain relatively peaceful compared to the alternative of defensiveness and needing to be understood. And that feels way better than any degree of defense or understanding can produce.

Join Snehan for monthly Full Moon Chanting – February 23 @ 8:00 pm – 8:30 pm PT online & in-person.  He also teaches weekly online and in-person:

• Weekly Mantra Meditation every Thursday, 12 – 12:35 pm
• Mixed Level every Tuesday, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
• Sunday Master Class every Sunday, 9:15 – 11:00 am

Snehan Born, E-RYT 500, has over four decades of experience with yoga. He resides at the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco, where he teaches yoga classes and is a lead teacher trainer. Snehan is certified in all levels of Integral Yoga Hatha and has received additional certifications in Pranayama, Meditation, Raja Yoga and Stress Management from Integral Yoga. Chanting mantras and playing the harmonium are part of his regular practice and classes. Snehan has lived and traveled extensively within India and practiced with many teachers there. He has taught yoga all over the US as well as in India, Nepal, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan and Europe.

by Swami Ramananda

When we talk about the purpose of spiritual practice, we often say something about experiencing our True Nature. What exactly does that imply? When I reflect upon what that means to me, I think of experiencing an innate peace or contentment within myself, as well as a sense of oneness with the whole web of life. This integral sense of connection gives rise to a natural compassion toward all fellow beings, which enables me to derive joy from caring for and serving others.

Of course, the culture we live in obviously paints a different picture. We are conditioned in numerous ways to think of ourselves only as a body and mind, separate from each other. And if we’re unable to experience the spiritual consciousness that is our shared ground of being, we invariably find ourselves living in a trance of separation. This sense of disconnection suggests that something is lacking, leaving us with an underlying sense of incompleteness and insecurity.

Our culture prescribes the solution in the form of acquiring things, achieving goals, and arranging our lives well enough to create the conditions for material security and seeming happiness. Our minds are thus dominated with all the judging, planning, reasoning and evaluating necessary to create a so-called successful life, causing us to dwell so much in our heads that we inevitably lose touch with our hearts.

I think that in many ways the spiritual path is a return to dwelling within our hearts, where we can feel a natural connection to each other and to the source of wisdom and joy that is our True Nature. The sages of many spiritual traditions have asserted that learning to love each other fully is the essence of their teachings. The Dalai Lama once said, “Kindness is my religion.” Jesus Christ gave us the well-known teaching: “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

In his book, A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield beautifully articulates this understanding: “When we see the mind’s very nature is to think, to divide, to plan, we can release ourselves from its iron grip of separatism and come to rest in the body and heart… As one great Indian master, Sri Nisargatta, put it, ‘the mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it’.”

Of course, we must use our minds to function in the world, and it behooves us all to think clearly, plan ahead and use good judgement. Yes, absolutely.  However, our thinking can also function in harmony with a Higher Will when we stay open and connected to our hearts. When we allow ourselves to be guided by a Higher Will, we will have compassion, first of all for ourselves, enabling us to acknowledge our mistakes and recognize our unhealthy behaviors without judging ourselves harshly.

Living with an open heart also enables us to enjoy the connections we make with each other – deep friendship and intimate love are beautiful and powerful aspects of human life to be embraced and treasured.  What we must learn though is to love without requiring something in return, experiencing the joy of giving love freely. When a mother loves her baby, for example, she doesn’t expect anything — the experience of opening one’s heart fully to another being is itself fulfilling.  We can all learn over time, often from the pain of our unhealthy attachment to others, to love in this selfless way.

Just as we learn to open our hearts in relationships with those we love, we must also learn from our difficult relationships.  If we dislike someone that we find annoying or shun those who are struggling, we ultimately hurt ourselves by closing our hearts and failing to remember the spiritual presence and connection that resides within us all.  The teachings from many spiritual traditions clearly guide us to cultivate an inner response of compassion to those who are suffering.

In this context, a compassionate mindset does not dictate any specific behavior.  Compassion may take many forms — from lending a helping hand to simply offering a prayer, acting with kindness or listening with empathy.  This practice keeps our hearts open and at peace, remembering that we too struggle when we are overwhelmed or distraught.

Clearly, the best motivation for serving others comes from experiencing the feeling of compassion flowing through our hearts and the natural sense of joy that arises from giving freely. Ultimately, we are all learning, one act of kindness at a time, that pursuing our spiritual growth also means nurturing the impulse of an open heart to selflessly love and serve as instruments of the Divine Will.

You can join Ramananda this month, online or in-person for:

• Tuesday Tea Time Series (monthly) on Tuesday, FEB 13 @ 11:15 am – 11:45 am PT
• Satsang: Finding Genuine Joy on Saturday, FEB 17 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm PT
• Scripture Study: Next Steps on the Spiritual Path, 3-part on Monday, FEB 19, 26 & Mar 4 @6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PT

Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.

He leads all levels of Yoga teacher trainings and programs around the globe. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program and has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings. He a founding board member of Yoga Alliance and is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.

by Mia Velez

Why BIPOC exclusively?  There is an observed social pattern that yoga events and programs are often dismissed by BIPOC folx because they believe it’s not for them; and perhaps in the past, when they did attend, they felt out of place. Maybe they felt vulnerable being the only BIPOC person in the room. We want to change that!  We want to demonstrate that yes, there are BIPOC folx out there who are interested in yoga and they are welcome at IYISF.

This event is designed: to create camaraderie, to experience the healing frequency of the actual space of IYISF, and to show up and show out for the year of the Dragon 2024.  The day starts with an opening reception with snacks and herbal mocktails to mingle and socialize, then we will:

• Explore our physicality with Hatha (all levels welcome – if you have a body, you can do Hatha).

• Awaken the artist in all of us by creating vision boards.

• Soothe the nervous system with sound healing and Reiki while in restorative postures.

• We conclude the evening by breaking bread – sharing a home cooked, vegetarian meal.

Creating BIPOC spaces isn’t an attempt to exclude our White brothers and sisters. We simply want to ensure space for those who have been historically/systemically left out.  Please help us fill the physical space of IYI and bring BIPOC perspectives into the Yoga dialogue.

Creating a BIPOC community at IYI benefits us all.  When any one of us experiences the benefits of Yoga, it ripples out to our surroundings and benefits everyone – creating a ripple of change through sympathetic healing. Please help us spread the word.

Revitalize the Spirit: BIPOC mini-retreat is on Saturday, February 10 from 11:30 am – 7:30 pm PT.

You can also join Mia for Scripture Study: Yoga Sutras for Modern Times, 3-part series on Monday, February 5 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm PT.

Mia Velez, E-RYT 500, entered the Integral Yoga Sangha in 2016 through the kitchen by helping to cook Thursday community lunches and silent retreat meals. In 2018 she was certified as an Integral Yoga teacher to learn more of the IYI approach and be part of the lineage. Mia is a disciple of the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lineage and is highly influenced by her martial arts training. After completing her first 200-hour teacher training in 2008, she began to see undeniable parallels in Yoga and Kung Fu. When she began teaching Kung Fu in 2014, she incorporated Yoga insight and principles in her classes. Her goal in teaching is to connect with the students and to facilitate a safe space for exploration and self-inquiry. Yoga and Kung Fu are integrated into her daily life as a mother, a preschool teacher, and an advocate for gender, race, and class equality through multiple non-profit groups.

by Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, YACEP

I recently had an interesting conversation with two of our neighbors as we ran into each other on the beach. Our dogs are friends and we walked together. It was a lovely and spontaneous exchange of experiential knowledge. The topic was releasing tension from the body.

They have explored releasing tension through body work, acupuncture and eventually arrived at energetic release through touch. We talked about the build up in fascia and muscles resulting in limited movement of the joints and how miraculously the energy healing can reduce this very tangible physical tension.

In Yoga we speak of the different layers of our Being; physical, energetic, mental and further the layer of the bliss body and the individual soul.

The Taittiriya Upanishad was the first ancient text to discuss these different layers (Koshas) of our body and became a module for healing in contemporary Yoga Therapy. Vedanta tells us these layers are interconnected and part of one Self.

We hold patterns of tension and it shows up on all of these levels. In the body, it can be habitual tensing of the jaw or shoulders. We hold patterns of tension in our breathing, not exhaling enough or holding the breath. On an energetic level, the flow of energy slows down or becomes stagnant in certain areas of our body. On the mental level, the tension shows up as rigid thinking, ceaseless ruminations and resentments, feeling stuck or irritated. All of these are examples of contracting rather than opening.

We can cultivate the ability to let go. As we let go and release tension on one level, all the layers of our Being respond. We can feel the sense of ease and joy and connect with intuition, the whisper of our soul. We start to feel the soul purpose, the big reason why we are here. It allows us to align with the truest expression of who we are.

My favorite practice has been working with the breath and truly letting my breath have the freedom to move. The ancient practice of Ajapa Japa using the So-Hum mantra has been helping my breath to recover from habitual patterns of tension. Essentially, this mantra means, “I am That”—I am pure awareness or consciousness. I can feel the energy awakening in my body by having an increased sensation in different parts of my body and a sense of openness. Cultivation of mindfulness has allowed me to have the ability to recognize these subtle shifts in my body and furthered my ability to let go.

Mindfulness, Sati, described as ‘bare attention’ and Dharana, “one-pointed attention”, both teach us how to focus our attention on the present and experience life in more depth.

Meditation has been such a big part of my life and yet the mental work alone is not enough. We know that trauma lives in the body and that one cannot think oneself out of anxiety. The body needs to be a part of the healing process and releasing tension is a big step in healing.

It was so nice to explore this topic with someone who didn’t know that yoga is a complex array of practices, more than a than a physical exercise that follows a certain set of postures.

Join Diana for Satsang: Mystical Poetry Night on Sat. February 3 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm PT with Susan Ford. Or attend one of her weekly classes: Therapeutic Chair Yoga Online – Wednesdays, 9:30 – 10:30 am, or Guided Meditation Online – Sundays, 5:30 PM – 6:00 pm.

Diana Meltsner, E-RYT-500, C-IAYT, has been teaching variety of classes and workshops since 2001 and since 2017 offers yoga therapy sessions privately and at Integral Yoga Therapy Clinic in San Francisco. Learn more at dianameltsner.com.