ONLINE

$445.00 | $395 Early bird, exp. 6/8/26

July 8 – August 2, 2026
Wednesdays: 5 – 7:00 pm PT ONLINE
Sundays: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm PT ONLINE

For experienced students of Raja Yoga, this in-depth course offers guidance and support for the journey beyond Maya—where practice deepens, discernment becomes essential, and the subtle workings of ego are revealed with greater clarity. Through a side-by-side study of the Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and selected slokas from the Bhagavad Gita, we will explore how these timeless teachings illuminate one another and offer practical guidance for daily life.

This course supports practitioners in clarifying their next steps on the path, refining their sadhana, and loosening identification with the limited personal story that has shaped their sense of self—opening the possibility of greater inner freedom.

Each class emphasizes the integration of scriptural wisdom into lived experience, inviting participants to “take the teachings into the laboratory of life” and to evaluate progress through the daily exams that life itself presents. Guided journaling, meditation, and introspective practices will support participants in:

• Clarifying next steps on the spiritual path
• Identifying common obstacles and subtle pitfalls
• Refining pranayama, meditation, and other current sadhanas
• Recognizing patterns that dissipate energy or stall spiritual maturation

Frequent group discussions will foster insight, mutual support, and inspiration, creating a shared field of inquiry and encouragement. Participants will also have the opportunity to co-lead a three-week public scripture study series, with mentoring and support from experienced teaching staff. This course is for personal growth; it is not a teacher training and there is no form of testing at the end of the course.

This course will be recorded, and all recordings and shared materials will be available throughout the course and for one month after it ends.

Prerequisites:

• Completion of Raja Yoga Teacher Training or extensive experience studying the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• Experience with incorporating the Sutras into daily life
• Familiarity with Bhagavad Gita and its allegorical meaning for personal, spiritual growth

Online live Zoom sessions – The entire course can be completed online.

Reliable Internet access is required to participate in this online course. You must be able to run Zoom on your computer or tablet, and have an active email account for delivery of course materials.

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.

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.

Guest speaker Swami Asokananda, a monk since 1973, is one of Integral Yoga’s foremost teachers, known for his warmth, intelligence, and good humor. His teaching comes out of his own practice and experience, since he has absorbed the wisdom of his guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda, since the age of 19. While he enjoys sharing the practical wisdom of the Yogic philosophy (especially that of the great Indian scripture the Bhagavad Gita), he also loves his practice of Hatha Yoga and is one of our primary instructors for Intermediate and Advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher Training. In the past, he has served as the president of Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville® and Integral Yoga® International; he is currently the President of the New York Integral Yoga Institute.