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Spiritual Study: Our First and Foremost Duty

Online| $5-15 sliding scale | Free for active IYISF teachers

Book now/Online
Please register in advance; a Zoom link will be emailed 1 hour before the session, or join Zoom directly via your Momence dashboard.

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Swami Satchidananda states that we have a “first and foremost duty.” He writes, “We should analyze all our motives and try to cultivate selfless thoughts.”

How do we see our thoughts clearly?
Why is this our foremost duty?

Join us for a short talk and discussion. This session will not be recorded.

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.

2025-11-03T12:53:37-08:00November 3rd, 2025|Tags: , , , , , |

Celebrating Community; Karma Yoga

Free

Book now/In-Person
We appreciate advance registration.

Join us for a few hours of fun, food, and meaningful connection as we explore how to transform our work into spiritual practice. We’ll begin with a brief talk and discussion on the practice of Karma Yoga, led by Swami Ramananda. This will be followed by an opportunity to support our beautiful building through mindful service—cleaning the Institute’s classrooms, hallways, and outdoor areas with awareness and joy.

We’ll conclude our time together with an extended deep relaxation and a nourishing meal. During the meal, we will honor the dedicated Karma Yogis who have generously supported the Institute over the past few years.

“Work done in the right attitude becomes consecrated; becomes a sacred act. A life consecrated in doing selfless acts will become a divine life.” – Swami Sivananda

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 co-founded 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.

Kia Meaux. I have been a dedicated student of yoga since 1989 beginning with my first teacher, Richard Freeman in Boulder, CO. I began teaching my alignment-based vinyasa flow classes in 1998 here in San Francisco and then eventually opened my own yoga studio, Kaya Yoga in 2006. Due to Covid I closed my yoga studio in 2022 and currently only teach yoga online. My interest has moved more towards meditation and the practice of deeply contemplating “What Am I? I am currently a Resident of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco where I have the great fortune to manage the daily organization of the house.

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.

2025-06-23T14:05:03-07:00June 23rd, 2025|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Teaching of the Month: Service and Self-Care

by Swami Ramananda

We all probably struggle at times to make wise choices when deciding between taking care of others and taking care of ourselves.  Many of us were raised with a strong work ethic that is reinforced by the “gotta get ahead” mentality of American culture, right along with the sometimes conflicting value placed on sacrifice in Judeo-Christian faiths and the Yogic teaching of selfless service. No wonder we can feel pulled in different directions.

Sri Swami Satchidananda articulates clearly in his book, The Golden Present:  “You yourself should know how much you can give. You cannot give beyond your capacity. If you have done a lot of service that day, and if you are really tired, you should say no. Otherwise you are saying no to your own body or mind.”

A physical capacity is one thing. When we’re dead on our feet, we probably know it. But there’s also a mental capacity, a pschological one to work with. Just how far is it healthy to extend ourselves? If we push ourselves too far, we may find ourselves with unhappy moods arising, dwelling on unhealthy thoughts, saying to ourselves, “Why should I have to do this? It’s not fair.” or the opposite, “I should do this.  I’ll show them how good I am.” Both those ideas  are based on judging and comparing ourselves to others, and are products of the ego—that persona we have unconsciously developed that compels us to look good in the eyes of others. This isn’t who we really are, or what we want to encourage.

Of course, selfless service is a key element of Yoga in action and can be a tremendous source of joy and fulfillment.  But it is meant to consider the well-being of everyone—including ourselves, .It’s not about a form of self-denial.  We can be so focused on” doing the right thing” or promoting a successful image to sustain a reputation that we ignore our own needs.  After periods of self-denial, we may feel resentful and needy, and react to that by making selfish choices.

Even when we do think about our needs in a healthy way,  taking care of ourselves may feel self-indulgent.   It is so important to remember that taking good care of ourselves is not in conflict with service.  It makes it possible to serve with sustained energy, a focused mind and an open heart.

We can all practice finding a balance between service and self-care so that we don’t go overboard by either giving too much or too little.  And, of course, this discernment is aided by a daily meditative practice that builds enough clarity and awareness to catch ourselves falling into overdoing or being self-centered.  Observing our habitual tendencies, we can learn to see when we need to show more compassion for ourselves or could reach out more often to lend a hand.

Fortunately, we have countless opportunities to practice service and self-care every day, whether we are driving, listening to a friend, checking out at the grocery store or working with others. Clearly, the best motivation for serving others comes from experiencing for ourselves the feeling of compassion flowing through our hearts, and the natural sense of joy that arises from giving freely.  Ultimately, we are all learning, one act of kindness at a time, that loving each other and loving ourselves are actually the same thing.

Join Swami Ramananda for his upcoming workshop, Deepening Your Yoga Practice, On and Off the Mat a 3-part course, online and in-person, 3 Thursdays; Feb 13, 20 & 27.  Together we will explore how to experience maximum benefits from even a short daily Yoga practice on the mat, and how the teachings of Yoga can be integrated into our daily activities.

Swami Ramananda C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a gr.eatly 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 all levels of Yoga teacher trainings and programs around the globe. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program and has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings. He a founding board member of Yoga Alliance and is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative 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.

2025-03-10T10:46:36-07:00February 1st, 2025|Tags: , , , |
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