By donation $0, $5, $10, $15 , sliding scale, pay what you can.
Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.
Please join us for the final celebration of Vijaya Dasami . After 9 days of Navaratri, celebrating the Divine Feminine in the forms of the three goddesses: Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati, we honor the Divine Mother and her victory over evil. We will discuss and celebrate our own victories and challenges we have overcome on our spiritual path.
This is a very auspicious occasion where we bless all the tools we use during the year as well as our surroundings. After discussion, we’ll celebrate with chanting, an Indian worship service (puja) and home blessing.
To bless your home, you can prepare one or more of the following: a candle, incense or sage, small bowl of clean water, flowers, or a bell. Have your house clean and ready to receive a blessing as well as the objects you would like to bless. We will offer guidance in how to do the personal space blessing and practice it together.
Please join us. No experience necessary.
Navaratri celebrations:
Satsang: Navaratri – Celebration Honoring the Divine Mother – Durga Puja
Thu. October 7 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm PDT
Navaratri: Celebration Honoring the Divine Mother – Lakshmi Puja
Mon. October 11 @ 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm PDT
Navaratri: Celebration Honoring the Divine Mother – Saraswati Puja
Wed. October 13 @ 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm PDT
Swami Ramananda 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 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 co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) 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.
Swami Divyananda Ma took monastic vows in 1975 from the great saint and yogi, Sri Swami Satchidananda. Over the years she has served as the director of the Integral Yoga Institutes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and as Ashram Manager at Yogaville. She also served for ten years as the director of the Integral Yoga Institute in Coimbatore, India; this immersion into the South Indian culture has given depth to her understanding and practice of Yoga.
Now an itinerant monk, Swami Divyananda is constantly “on the road.” She leads the annual Sacred India Tours to sacred sites in India in addition to international Yoga retreats and trainings. Learn more at sacredindiatours.org.
Diana Meltsner C-IAYT and e-RYT 500, has been teaching yoga in the Bay Area since 2001. Diana has been a lead teacher trainer for 200-hour Integral Yoga Teacher Trainings since 2012. The classes she teaches include chair/gentle, various levels of Hatha yoga, prenatal, guided mindfulness meditations, and various yoga, pranayama and meditation workshops. She’s been working as a health educator and yoga instructor for Kaiser Permanente since 2014.
She is C-IAYT certified yoga therapist and San Francisco center manager for the Integral Yoga Therapy 800-hour certification program. Diana offers individual therapeutic sessions with focus on physical and mental wellness. Her offerings help people to find a deeper sense of well-being and ability to move through life with increased ease, intuition, and stress resilience. dianameltsner.com