Satsang

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.

Sevika Ford2020-12-23T12:56:57-08:00December 23rd, 2020|Tags: Sangha, Satsang, Swami Ramananda, yoga|

Satsang: Hard Knocks
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Satsang: Hard Knocks

Satsang: Hard Knocks

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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.

Does anyone get out of this world unscathed? I doubt it.
Are we alone and naked in this world?
It feels sometimes like we are beaten down, we are beaten up and we are rolled over, sometimes completely flattened.
What kind of life is this? Is there such a thing as mercy? Is there a God? If there is, is it a vengeful or compassionate God?
How can we make the transition from feeling done in to one of peace and contentment? Is there a blueprint?
Yes, there is. This Satsang will discuss the ways from darkness to the light.

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 share spiritual teachings and explore the philosophy of Integral Yoga through 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. May be attended on a drop-in basis with no preregistration.

The topics for discussion at Satsang change each week and include a wide array of diverse and interesting subjects and issues ranging from personal healing to global transformation.

Swami Vimalananda Ma, RYT500, is an Integral Yoga sannyasi – monk. She has been involved with Integral Yoga since 1971 and Director of the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute from 1992-2011. She specializes in teaching yoga philosophy and spiritual counseling.

Sevika Ford2021-01-04T17:47:32-08:00December 23rd, 2020|Tags: Sangha, Satsang, Swami Vimalananda|

Satsang: Wings for the Soul, Mystical Poetry Night
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Satsang: Wings for the Soul, Mystical Poetry Night

Satsang: Wings for the Soul, Mystical Poetry Night

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

Join us for an evening of sharing words that reﬂect the voice of our soul. We will read and have discussions, awaken inspiration and peace in the heart. Mystical poetry and sacred songs are powerful expressions of the human experience, the dynamic meeting of the mind with the Grace of the Divine. It crosses the lines of time or even specific religious views.

All are welcome to have a poem or two ready to share or simply listen and enjoy. We will end with a 15 minute writing exercise led by Susan. Have a pen and be ready to be amazed by what can happen at the end of this highly inspiring collaboration.

Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT and e-RYT500, has been teaching yoga in the Bay Area since 2001. The classes she teaches include prenatal, gentle, various levels of Hatha yoga, and yoga workshops. Diana is a lead teacher trainer for 200hour Basic Yoga Teacher Trainings at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco. She is certified yoga therapist and offers individual therapeutic sessions with focus ranging from stress reduction to injury recovery. Her classes include physical postures, breathing, guided relaxation, meditation and other yoga teachings which help people to find deeper sense of well-being and ability to move through life with increased ease, intuition, and stress resilience.

Susan Ford, C-IAYT, RYT-500, began practicing yoga when she was 18 years old. Her first yoga teacher training was Accessible Yoga through Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) and began teaching in 2011. Susan has been an assistant trainer for the Basic Yoga Teacher at IYI since 2012. She specializes in Gentle Yoga and working with people with disabilities, heart disease, arthritis, anxiety, depression and asthma. Her focus is to help students to meet their bodies where they are by introducing and incorporating Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Pranayama and meditation. Susan has been certified in Yoga for Arthritis, Therapeutic Yoga, Raja Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training.

Sevika Ford2020-11-06T13:15:21-08:00November 6th, 2020|Tags: Diana Meltsner, Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco, Sangha, Satsang, Susan Ford|

Satsang: Setting an Intention for a New Year
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Satsang: Setting an Intention for a New Year

Satsang: Setting an Intention for a New Year

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

If we don’t have some clear sense of what we really want to do with this life, we may be distracted by the many devices and messages that constantly call for our attention, and lose focus on what we truly value. Inspired by sources of universal wisdom, we will explore and identify for ourselves the overall purpose we hold for this lifetime, and the way we want to carry ourselves through each day. Having such an intention in our hearts breathes spiritual life into our lives, frees us from being captive to the consumer-oriented messages of our culture, and guides our way to a meaningful life.

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.

Sevika Ford2020-11-06T11:55:13-08:00November 6th, 2020|Tags: bhakti, Satsang, Swami Ramananda|