by Swami Ramananda

The beginning of a new year is a natural time to reflect on and re-envision our lives.  The tradition of New Year’s resolutions can be life changing or it can be a temporary way of fooling ourselves with lofty ideas that fade when reality hits. Clarifying our intentions for this life is useful, but really makes an impact when we translate the vision into committed actions.

For example, I may be clear that I want to be more rested and energized as I embark on each day. I may want to make time for spiritual practices or participate in workshops that support my personal growth. But for those ideas to bear fruit, I need to break them down into specific goals. I have to commit to a specific bedtime to feel more rested each morning, and determine how many meditation sessions per week are optimal for me to adequately develop my practice.

In addition to translating our vision into specific steps, it behooves us to reflect honestly on our other responsibilities, our physical and mental capacity and our willpower. It’s easy to set an admirable goal in a moment of inspiration that proves unreachable when we are stressed or struggling—a recipe for frustration and/or failure. A good goal challenges us in small ways, building confidence with each success.

Success also requires enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. It’s unrealistic to assume that we can muscle our way into new habits without planning ways to support them. We can consider what other adjustments or changes are needed to make a goal doable. For example, we may not be able to make time for some new activity in our lives without letting go of something else. Finding a practice partner or sharing our vision with friends are other great ways to support our intention.

Whenever we are trying to create positive changes in our lives, we can expect difficulty. Unwanted thoughts and behaviors are usually a product of impressions embedded in the subconscious mind, and it takes time and repetition of a new pattern to replace them.

With a combination of determination and willingness to persevere, we can override unhealthy inclinations.  Perhaps even more powerful is a prayer for strength and guidance, opening our hearts to the grace of a Higher Power in whatever way we understand it.

Carrying a meaningful intention in our hearts breathes spiritual life into our days.  Remembering again and again a higher purpose frees us from being captive to the consumer-oriented messages of our culture. I pray that by practicing this way, we all grow more aware of the source of deep peace and love that is ever-present within.

Join Swami Ramanandaji this month for the following programs:

Creating a Spiritual Vision; Community Meeting, Fundraiser & Potluck
Sat. JAN 6 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm PST, ONLINE & IN-PERSON

21-Day Meditation Challenge
Mon. JAN 8 @ 7:15 am – 8:00 am PST, ONLINE

Tuesday Tea Time Series / Monthly
Tue. JAN 16 @ 11:15 am – 11:45 am PST, ONLINE & IN-PERSON

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 Swami Ramananda

This focus begins with some form of spiritual practice that can allow us at least a glimpse of light. As we nurture this light within, it can soothe and nourish the heart, diminishing the selfishness, confusion and attachment that veil our true nature.  

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.

by Nalanie Chellaram

In the last ten years my work has been made much easier by the progress made in the fields of Neuroscience and Epigenetics.   Following a great deal of scientific experimentation, significant evidence has materialized to show how the brain works and how meditation practices can help rewire our thinking process.  MRIs taken before meditation and after meditation have clearly shown how the areas of the brain that deal with emotions have become relaxed, and literally light up.   The concept of changing thoughts this way is not new.  It has always been taught in the Yogic scriptures, which date back more than 3,000 years!   Yet the nature of Homo sapiens is to doubt unless empirically proven.  The surge forward in science is finally connecting the dots to spirit, and both are joining at the same point.

 I have learnt that to be spiritual is to know that we are all part of a whole.  That all things are sacred, and when we live in harmony with mankind, nature and especially ourselves, we start to know we truly are ‘a divine spark’ and so is everything else.    We just vibrate at different frequencies depending on the way we think and live.  When we experience this oneness we feel bathed in peace.  We realize that truly all life is a stage and we are but actors on it.  Once we know that, we can determine how we want to live in the circumstances we are given.  We can be bitter and angry if we choose, but what does that do for anyone, especially ourselves?  Or, we can decide to accept the situation and make the most of it.  Then, not only do we benefit ourselves, but also everyone else.   A win/win situation!   And where is God in all of this? The ancient Yogic scriptures, called The Vedas, put it this way:

‘Ekam sat vipraa bahuda vadanti.’

 This means, ‘Truth is one, the wise call it by different names’.

Please join  Nalanie Chellaram, C-IAYT, BSYth & Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT E-RYT 500 online for  Satsang: Recovering Our Natural Wisdom & Joy on Sunday, December 10 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am PST | Free.

Nalanie Chellaram, C-IAYT, BSYth, has been surrounded by spirituality for her whole life. She was raised by Hindu parents, educated at a Catholic school and studied philosophy in college. Nalanie began practicing the teaching of her Guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda in 1986 and continued to study the science of Yoga. She has been accredited by the Council of Teachers of the Satchidananda Ashram in Virginia, USA to teach Asanas, Pranayama and Meditation. She is also an accredited Teacher Trainer for Integral Yoga and a therapist under the British School of Yoga. She is the Chairwoman of the Integral Yoga Center in Gibraltar where she runs regular weekly satsangs, teacher training and counseling sessions. This Center is a registered Charity serving the community. Nalanie, who now lives in Spain, frequently lectures on the Science of Yoga, in Portugal, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA and the Far East. She is the first of a new generation of spiritual teachers. Her particular upbringing and education has given her a special insight into both Hinduism and Christianity, inspired by her Beloved Guru.

by Swami Ramananda

Do we still believe that the sun travels across the sky while we stand stationary on a flat piece of earth?  No, these once held beliefs were dispelled long ago.  But how many other things to we accept as true simply because our limited senses tell us so, or that is what everyone else believes?   For example, we see ourselves as separate from one another, and we assume our security and happiness come from acquiring or arranging things well enough.

Yoga teaches us how to experience for ourselves that this normal perspective is an illusion.  Sri Swami Satchidananda used to ask us, “Who made your very first food? Your mother?”.  Then he would remind us that even she watched as her breasts created that nourishment.  For that matter, who arranged that the plants around us absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen? And who arranged for the body to breathe without even a thought from us?

Clearly, the universe and all its forms are created and guided by an unseen hand, a supreme intelligence.  Each particle is a miraculous world of infinite detail and interconnected so fully that even prayers offered from a great distance can generate measurable benefits.  How is it that we manage to watch our bodies self-regulate minute by minute, the planets orbiting and the march of the penguins and fail to be in awe?  Can we just as easily observe, if we pay close attention, how we are being steadily guided to realize our innate condition of peace and compassion for each other?

For those of us who do not suffer from a lack of basic needs, gratitude is the most natural response to even a small effort to acknowledge all that we are given.  If we pause to really see the magnitude of these gifts, we will not fail to humbly offer thanks, to let the fullness in our hearts spill out as service to those in need.  May we in some small way earn this blessed life by making peace in our hearts and bringing peace to those around us.

You can join Swami Ramananda for Thanksgiving Puja, Sharing & Potluck on Thu. November 23 @ 11:15 am – 12:15 pm PST, online & in-person. Free.

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.