Satsang: Passover

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.

Celebrate the great festival of liberation and the profound rituals and ceremonies of Passover. As in the ancient practice, we will supplement the service with a discussion of the holy day’s mystical and practical significance in both Jewish and Yogic traditions.
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.

Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz, IYM, has been a devotee of Swami Satchidananda since 2001. A 2004 Graduate of the All-Faiths Seminary in New York he received ordination from Rabbi Joseph Gelberman an Interfaith Minister. He has performed wedding ceremonies around the United States, lead interfaith services, and Jewish services at the Actors’ Temple in New York as well as at other synagogues and gatherings. Most recently he lived and served at Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville Virginia as a Karma Yogi as well as participating in religious offerings.

2021-01-22T15:24:58-08:00January 20th, 2021|Tags: , , |

Community Open Mic

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

Let’s gather together for fun and sharing. What is giving you delight, pleasure or inspiration? Do you have a hidden talent that you’d like to share with our Sangha? On this occasion, anyone can go in the spotlight on Zoom and sing, tell a joke or story, read a favorite quote or poem, or share from the heart.

All are welcome.

Let’s gather together for fun and sharing. On this occasion anyone can go in the spotlight on Zoom and sing, tell jokes, read a favorite quote or poem, or share from the heart.

 

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, E-RYT 500, has had a wealth of experience teaching Integral Yoga around the world since 1973. She has taught at corporations, universities, the Commonwealth Cancer Center, and for the Dr. Dean Ornish Reversing Heart Disease programs. She has also served as one of Integral Yoga’s Basic Hatha teacher trainers.

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

2021-02-25T20:40:42-08:00January 4th, 2021|Tags: , |

Co-creating a Wave of Change in 2021

by Swami Ramananda

As this calendar year comes to an end, people all over the world are ready for a fresh start. All of us in the Northern Hemisphere are now seeing the return of light to our days, which is an ideal time to recommit ourselves to awakening the inner spiritual Light. In addition, the COVID vaccine offers us hope that we may once again be able to be together with friends and family in 2021. 

This worldwide pandemic and other events this year have been teaching us many lessons. We have seen how we struggle without some of the comforts we relied on as sources of happiness. We are still seeing how taking risks to pursue life as it was can easily spread the virus and endanger lives. Our eyes have also been opened to the tremendous harm caused by systemic racism. As literally millions all over the world are suffering from racism and the spread of the virus, it has become clearer than ever that we are all interconnected and that only by working together can we protect each other and our communities. 

Some of us have been learning to be alone. All of us, if we are sincerely interested in spiritual growth, have had a tremendous opportunity to self-reflect—to see in ourselves the thinking and behavior that creates suffering, and the need for spiritual practices that can free us from the prison of selfishness. If we are willing to embrace those lessons and put them into action, we have a tremendous opportunity to co-create a better world.

Many sources of wisdom have asserted that changing the world begins with changing ourselves, and the new year is a traditional time to rethink how we want to live. But far too often, a New Year’s resolution made in a moment of inspiration falls away in a relatively short time as our intentions are swept away by the stresses of daily life.

Along with creating intentions, real change happens through a realistic assessment of the obstacles we face, the willpower we have—which tends to fluctuate—and the support system we can count on to provide continual encouragement. Only by carefully creating very doable and measurable goals can we expect to make the sustained commitment to some new routine or practice that is necessary to make it a habit.

Here are some things we can ask ourselves:

o Are there changes I could make to my diet or lifestyle to support the healing and vitality of the body-mind? It can be much easier to give up some unhealthy habit by substituting something healthier that can fulfill the same need.

o Is there some Yoga practice or teaching I can begin or increase to support my well-being and spiritual growth? Starting small but practicing daily builds a habit and the benefits we experience provide additional inspiration.

o Am I taking care of my emotional needs for connection and support? We have a tendency to override or escape uncomfortable feelings which often lead to compulsive behavior. A practice partner or someone to talk to can make a big difference.

o Have I educated myself sufficiently about how systemic racism is embedded in our culture, and how I may unconsciously be contributing to it? Simply avoiding the topic altogether because it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient sustains this insidious crisis.

o Is there some habitual way of thinking that I find myself stuck in, such as self-judgment or judging others? Do I need guidance to deepen my awareness of how and why that happens and to choose more positive ways of thinking?

o Am I using my time and energy in harmony with my values? We can waste a lot of time with social media and we can do tremendous good by focusing our energies on some form of service—few things are as fulfilling as opening our hearts this way.

If we sincerely reflect on questions like these, we can create a slow but steady process of personal transformation that will inevitably spill into our lives in many other ways. Don’t think for even one second that we cannot hope to make a difference in the numerous and complex problems in our world. Healing our own hearts and minds enables us to feel the natural connection we have with all of life. Making a commitment to embody spiritual values brings them more fully to life than any political process. 

Everyday choices, as well as our long term goals, take on new relevance when we realize that each action and every focused thought is a tangible contribution to the collective consciousness of our planet. We each have the opportunity to co-create a new wave of change in 2021, manifesting more fully than ever the Light in ourselves and our world.

Swami Ramananda is the President 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 35 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.

2021-01-02T14:36:27-08:00January 2nd, 2021|Tags: |

Satsang: Enlighten Up

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.

Most of us are facing numerous challenges in our day to day lives, making it difficult to keep our balance and even harder to stay focused on our spiritual growth. We may lose hope of making real progress towards experiencing a life filled with deep peace and natural contentment. Join us for this Satsang in which we will use stories, humor and reflection to enlighten up, gain inspiration, laugh at our minds and discover how to enjoy the spiritual journey with all its twists and turns.

Reverend Paraman Barsel has been a disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda since 1970. He has served as president of Yogaville West, the Washington D.C. and New York Integral Yoga Institutes, and Yogaville East in Connecticut and has served on the Board of Trustees and Spiritual Life Board of Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville, Virginia. He was co-coordinator of the LOTUS Dedication. Paraman was an editorial consultant on Inside the Yoga Sutras and Inside Patanjali’s Words by Rev. Jaganath Carrera as well as several of Sri Swami Satchidananda’s works including the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and To Know Your Self. He helped to design the first Integral Yoga Hatha Basic Teacher Training program, and has taught meditation workshops, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga and the other branches of Integral Yoga for many years. He was ordained into the Integral Yoga Ministry in 2007. In addition to teaching he currently helps with the Ashram Prison Project and, with his wife, has co-hosted hundreds of Sutra Study Gatherings in their home for many years.

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.

2020-12-23T12:56:57-08:00December 23rd, 2020|Tags: , , , |
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