Coming Full Circle at the IYISF

by Kirana Stover

In the Winter of 1987, I studied in San Francisco. I lived on Guerrero and 22nd St. in a studio apartment with a bed that pulled out of the wall. Just up the street I discovered the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco, wonderfully spacious and welcoming. I had met Swami Satchidananda a few years earlier in Richmond, Virginia, when I was still in high school, so when I came upon the Institute, it felt familiar.

I was on a student budget and was offered the chance to do “Karma Yoga” mostly consisting of vacuuming the luxuriant blue rugs, in exchange for yoga classes. I loved the staircase with a secret message in the banister. I remember taking a class upstairs and at the end having a vision of Jesus shedding a tear, which turned into a diamond as it dropped into the palm of my hand.

I often studied in the cafes of the Mission District. There were so many characters in the cafes. One was dressed as a cowboy – with a vest and a hat – who sported a mustache painted on with black eyeliner. He sat at a long wooden table with me while I studied. One day he pulled a tiny piece of paper from his billfold and handed it to me. I was astonished to read the Gayatri Mantra printed there.

Another day while doing my Karma Yoga, Nischala Devi, a swami then, walked in the door. She had just returned from Portugal. I believe I first met Swami Asokananda under similar circumstances. Looking back, I never would have guessed that I would someday visit Quinta da Calma, the place Nischala Devi was returning from or that I would open an Integral Yoga Center near Barcelona. Both Swami Asokananda and Swami Ramananda have visited my yoga center. Swami Divyananda, another San Francisco regular, has been there as well. Such blessings have been showered on me!

In 1999 I returned to San Francisco for a visit and had lunch at the Institute. It was memorable because of the eclectic gathering of guests. I remember one yoga student who sold popcorn and hotdogs at the baseball stadium.

In 2023, I returned to Richmond to be with my mom. She had been diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer and very little time to live. Thanks in great part to my long-time yoga practice – “effort toward steadiness of mind” – I was able to be present with her during this time. My book, Mom’s in There was inspired by the time I spent with her.  She related to the Om Shanti chant in a unique way. During her last weeks she began sharing poetry and during her last days she began using archaic pronouns.

While studying in San Francisco I decided to do my senior thesis about dreams, specifically about how other cultures had used dreams to solve conflict and whether we could do the same. This led me to several numinous experiences over a period of several years. Being with my mom was also numinous.

Why am I writing all of this? Because, as my friend Ulrika Schygulla says, “Living is round”. Life, like God, works in mysterious ways. I am filled with a feeling of grace at the chance to return to the IYI San Francisco next month and share my journey.