A puja is a sacred ceremony used to invoke the presence of the Divine Consciousness, in order to experience that Divinity within ourselves, and to seek guidance or blessings. The ceremony includes purifying ourselves and opening the heart to receive that Presence, and then honoring it with incense, light, flowers and food offerings.
The external ritual is a powerful meditation and surrender of the ego-mind in order to experience a Spiritual Consciousness beyond our limited understanding. We will review and then perform a puja. Please bring a small image or picture that represents for you that Divine presence.

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 40 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 beginner, intermediate and advanced level yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U. S., Europe and South America. Ramananda trains Yoga teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.