Satsang: Finding Equanimity in a World Out of Balance

Online or in-person

$5-15 sliding scale | To enroll for free use discount code FREE

Please register in advance; a Zoom link will be emailed 1 hour before the session. You can also join Zoom directly via your Momence dashboard.

Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

Many of us are deeply concerned about events on the lands we call home and on our planet, and are searching for ways to nurture peace in our hearts and stand up for our values. As we hear about the tragic suffering from the current wars, numerous natural disasters linked to the climate, and examples of tremendous greed and injustice, we may react with anger, anxiety or feel hopeless. How can we respond meaningfully, instead of tuning it all out or being passively complicit? What does ‘living a spiritual life’ mean in times like ours?

Join Swami Ramananda, Kamala Itzel Hayward and Kristie Dahlia Home for a meaningful conversation as we gather as Sangha, a community of people devoted to spiritual life.

A simple vegetarian meal will be offered after this in-person Satsang with a suggested donation of $5-10.

Satsang is a special time for us to come together as a community. In Sanskrit, Sat means truth and Sangha means community. Satsang offers an opportunity to come together to share spiritual teachings. The philosophy of Integral Yoga is explored often through an informal discussion. Although our spiritual paths may diverge, the act of sharing spiritual teachings with others is inspiring and creates a solid foundation for continued practice.

People of all faiths are welcome.

Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, C-IAYT, 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.

Kamala Itzel Hayward was a lawyer for over a decade before becoming a Yoga teacher and Yoga therapist specializing in trauma, addiction, and wellness. She is passionate about bringing Yoga and other healing modalities to adults facing chronic stress caused by living under oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, and more. She is founder of the Integral Yoga Institute’s Scholarship-Based Yoga Teacher Training for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. For the last 12 years, she has been sharing Yoga with individuals facing housing insecurity and related challenges, including systemic barriers; structural oppression; social dislocation; physical, emotional, and mental health challenges; substance abuse; and addiction. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Trauma Prevention and Recovery Certificate Program at the City College of San Francisco.

Kristie Dahlia Home has been devoted to the sharing of spiritual arts since 1995. With training in Instinctive Meditation, Yoga, Thai Massage, Reiki, Intuitive Healing, and Chi Nei Tsang. Dahlia has served as a Yoga Therapist at the UCSF School of Nursing, Dr. Dean Ornish’s Preventive Medicine Research Institute, and at UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, where her work included both public classes and medical research. She has taught Reiki for CPMC’s Institute for Health and Healing and Thai Massage at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Her students say that they appreciate her warmth, precision, contagious love of life, and keen attention to the unique needs of each individual. She has recently returned to life on land after five years at sea and looks forward to sharing practice with the IYI sangha once again. For more information, visit beloved.or

Satsang for Peace

Online & In-Person | $5- $100 sliding scale, all donations go to Purusha Seva Project and the Spiritual Action Initiative

To join for free please email joy@purushayoga.org

Please register in advance, a Zoom link will be provided via confirmation email.

At Purusha Yoga 3729 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Satsang For Peace is a collaborative event brought to you by Purusha Yoga School, Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco. The meeting is held at Purusha Yoga Studio at 3729 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Your donations go towards supporting The Purusha Seva Project and the Spiritual Action Initiative, non-profits.

The word satsang is derived from Sanskrit; ‘Sat’ meaning “truth” and ‘Sangha’ meaning “community”. A Satsang is an opportunity to come together in community to share spiritual teachings, often through an informal discussion. Although our spiritual paths may diverge, the act of sharing spiritual teachings with others is inspiring and creates a solid foundation for continued practice. This is a non-denominational gathering. All are welcome.

This Satsang for Peace invites you to share your truth in a safe environment of peace-seeking individuals from a variety of backgrounds. This evening will include:

1. Self Care practices to maintain inner calm and well-being.
2. Community Support to strengthen our ability to be together.
3. Group Discussion to share needs, ideas, and solutions.
4. Natural Steps Forward personally and in our community.

We welcome everyone to come together in a safe space where all feelings and ideas may be expressed and heard.


Swami Ramananda, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, C-IAYT, 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.

Joy Ravelli is a lifelong student of yoga, movement, art, and health education. She is the founder and director of the Purusha Studio, the non-profit Purusha Seva Project andt the IAYT accredited Purusha Yoga School. Joy’s teaching and leadership is steeped in the mission to empower individuals and create thriving communities. Joy brings yoga to marginalized groups as well as those who may use these practices to influence and lead others.

Satsang: Swami Sivananda, His Life and Teachings

Online & In-Person | By donation $0, $5, $10, $15

Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

“Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise; Be good, Do good, Be kind, Be compassionate.” Sri Swami Sivananda. At this Satsang, we will share some of Swami Sivananda’s practical teachings that have uplifted thousands for nearly 100 years. To further honor Swami Sivananda’s legacy, Snehan will lead us through chanting of mantras. Sankirtan was Master Sivananda’s favorite practice and Maha Mantra is still chanted continuously at the Ashram he founded in India.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887 – 1963) was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in British Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism.
He was the founder of the Divine Life Society (1936), Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy (1948) and author of over 200 books on yoga, Vedanta, and a variety of subjects. He established Sivananda Ashram, on the bank of the Ganges at Sivanandanagar, near Rishikesh. He was Swami Satchidanada’s beloved teacher’s Gurudev and you will find his photograph on many altars in Integral Yoga centers around the world.

“Do not love leisure. Waste not a minute. Be bold. Realize the Truth, here and now!”

A simple vegetarian meal will be offered after this in-person Satsang with a suggested donation of $5-10.

Satsang, a special time for us to come together as a community. In Sanskrit, Sat means truth and Sangha means community. Satsang offers an opportunity to come together to share spiritual teachings. The philosophy of Integral Yoga is explored, often, through an informal discussion. Although spiritual paths may diverge, the act of sharing spiritual teachings with others is inspiring and creates a solid foundation for continued practice.
People of all faiths are welcome.

Snehan Born, E-RYT 500, has four decades of experience with yoga and has been teaching since 2000. Snehan resides and teaches at Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco and teaches at Mission Blue Center in Brisbane. He has also led teacher trainings at Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville, Virginia and The Integral Yoga Institute, NYC. 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 and “Life of a Yogi” from Sri Dharma Mittra. He has also studied with Sharon Gannon and David Life of Jivamukti Yoga in NYC. In 1997, and again in 2001, Snehan studied with Deepak Chopra in India and taught an Integral Yoga class to about 250 participants in Agra. Also in 2001 he received “Conscious Eating”, a live foods certification from Dr. Gabriel Cousens at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona.
Snehan has lived and traveled extensively within India over 9 trips and practiced with many teachers there. He has taught yoga all over the US as well as in India, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan and Europe.

Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, YACEP, 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. She has worked in the clinical setting for Kaiser Permanente since 2005 as a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and health educator and is teaching mindfulness and meditation to the medical staff.
Her focus is on the healing aspects of yoga on the mind as well as the body by applying the teachings of Yoga, practices of breath-control, mindfulness and meditation. Diana helps her clients to find healing and the ability to move through life with increased ease, stress resilience, and intuition.
Diana Meltsner works as a programs manager and serves on the board of directors at Integral Yoga Institute, an urban ashram in San Francisco. She is a yoga teacher trainer for the 200-hour and Meditation Teacher trainings. dianameltsner.com

2023-08-18T09:38:20-07:00August 18th, 2023|Tags: , , |

Satsang: How Yoga Heals

Online & In-Person | By donation $0, $5, $10, $15

Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

Many people are familiar with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the various branches of Yoga–yet do not recognize the integrated system of wellness outlined within this text and inherent in Integral Yoga. Within lies the power to heal body and heart; overcome illness and unhappiness, and reach a place of vibrant health, strength and peace.

Yoga is a transformative experience– integrating the mind- body- spirit. The results are subtle yet deep, proven to reduce stress and improve health. Whether you are experiencing the effects of trauma, stress, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, injury, or disease–or you are maintaining a balanced state of wellness–we all can benefit by gaining a deeper understanding of how Yoga affects our physiology and learning practical applications of the tools Yoga provides for healing.

In this Satsang Raama will share how Yoga heals and explore ancient practices blended with modern science and take home evidence-based, practical strategies to enhance your own healing.

Satsang, a special time for us to come together as a community. In Sanskrit, Sat means truth and Sangha means community. Satsang offers an opportunity to come together to share spiritual teachings. The philosophy of Integral Yoga is explored, often through an informal discussion. Although spiritual paths may diverge, the act of sharing spiritual teachings with others is inspiring and creates a solid foundation for continued practice.

Raama Das, C-IAYT, is a former director of the Integral Yoga® Teachers Association and has been instructing Integral Yoga since 2009. He is a lead trainer for the Integral Yoga 200-hour Teacher Training at Yogaville and co-presenter for the 200 and 500-hour Yoga Alliance programs at Heal Me Institute in Fredericksburg. Raama recently received certification as a Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), having studied Yoga programs for specific health conditions, including, anxiety, depression, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and addiction. He is also certified as a teacher of Intermediate Hatha, Raja Yoga, Meditation, Stress Management, Yin Yoga, and Yoga for our Elders.
Raama has studied and served extensively at the Integral Yoga Academy at Yogaville and managed the Integral Yoga Therapy Program. In addition, he has participated in many months of deep Tantric and classical Yoga sadhana (practice) at the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School in Sweden under the direction of Swami Janakananda. He currently serves as Institute Manager at the Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco.

2023-07-12T11:45:03-07:00June 7th, 2023|Tags: , |
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