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21 – day Meditation Challenge

ONLINE | Monday, JAN  6 – Sunday, JAN 26 2025
Daily 7:15 – 8:00am

$74 Early bird use promo code CHALLENGE, exp. 1/1/25 | $108  regular | Financial aid available

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.

Join meditation teachers Swami Ramananda, Claire Schneeberger, and Diana Meltsner for 3 weeks of daily morning meditations, Monday, January 6 – Sunday, January 26, 2025.
Develop, deepen or jumpstart your meditation practice with a 21-day meditation challenge. Meditation reduces stress, brings Self-knowledge and more. It becomes a mini-retreat where we connect with the inner calm, feeling whole and the contentment of simply being. Meditation cultivates positive states of mind that can lead to compassionate actions in our daily lives.

We will practice Integral Yoga-style pranayama and meditation. There will be guidance in the beginning and we will progressively reduce the instructions and increase time for individual practice.

Each session will include a topic relating to meditation, such as Why People Meditate; The Technique and Objects for Meditation; What to do with distracting thoughts; Affirmations, Chants & Prayers; Breathing Practices, Obstacles, Insights & Wisdom; and traditional texts that speak on meditation.. We will create a space for sharing and questions at the end of each week. Keeping a weekly sadhana chart to track the practice is optional.

Each session will be recorded and shared with all enrolled.CUEs for Yoga Alliance are available upon request.
Financial aid available, please contact diana@integralyogasf.org.

 

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.

Claire Schneeberger
I am an educator leading workshops, classes, and healing circles related to meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and well-being. I facilitate a regular mindfulness meditation circle for WomenCARE, a center serving women with cancer in Central California, and have teaching certifications in meditation from the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute and in applied compassion from Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism (CCARE). I am passionate about building communities and connections focused on compassion, empowerment, and well-being.

Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT, ERYT-500, YACEP, has been teaching a 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 been working 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 at Integral Yoga Institute, an urban ashram in San Francisco. She is a yoga teacher trainer for the 200-hour and Meditation Teacher trainings. www.dianameltsner.com

2024-10-24T08:59:44-07:00October 24th, 2024|Tags: , , , , |

Thanksgiving Puja, Sharing and Potluck

Online​ & In-person | Free

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.

Book now/In-Person
Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

Join Swami Ramananda at the Institute or online as he performs a sacred ceremony to invoke the Spiritual Light and guide us in a reflection on the profound spiritual practice of gratitude. We will have time for personal sharing on the many blessings we have received. It’s our ability to be grateful for whatever we have that allows us to connect with the Joy and Divinity already within us.

We will share a potluck meal afterward and enjoy each other’s company. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share (no meat, fish or eggs).

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.

Join us earlier for a Benefit Thanksgiving Yoga Class ONLINE & IN-PERSON with Andreína Maldonaldo

All proceeds will support the Institute’s BIPOC scholarship program.

Thu. NOV 28 @ 9:30 am – 11:00 am PST

ONLINE & IN-PERSON | $15-$108 (class cards users ok)

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.

Book now/In-Person
Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

2024-11-17T11:04:11-08:00October 7th, 2024|Tags: , |

Teaching of the Month: Contentment – Making Peace with the Present

by Swami Ramananda

Contentment is a deceptively simple concept that offers tremendous benefit if we fully embrace its practice.

Sensory pleasures give rise to countless desires, none of which bring lasting satisfaction. Instead, they all reinforce the prevailing messages of our culture telling us that something pleasurable is a means to happiness.  Thus, the present moment is continually warped by anticipation over the next thing to do or get, and is never enough as it is.

Contentment, referred to as Santosha in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is not so easy to master because the habit of wanting and achieving is so deeply ingrained in us.  It does not mean that we give up having goals and striving for them, or give up enjoying sensory experiences.

Contentment does mean that we are at peace with what we have now and with ourselves as we are, even as we strive to learn and grow.  It does mean that we can enjoy the process of pursuing our goals, giving ourselves fully to them, without fear of failure.

I really like this idea but I struggle to practice it when my to-do list gets too big for my comfort, or when some challenging issue remains unresolved.  At such times, I can’t seem to help feeling that I’ll be happier after I finish a project or after this issue is resolved.  I find myself pushing my limits, working longer hours, ignoring my resolves for getting exercise and enough sleep, and or doing everything with a simmering stew of anxiety on the back-burner of my mind.

It has really helped me to make a conscious effort to practice contentment.  One way is to start my day, after my morning meditation, affirming that my essential nature is joy, and this joy is independent of anything that happens.  It feels really good to assert this truth and really try to feel it, reminding my mind that nothing can make me happy or sad.

I encourage everyone to use this month to experiment with contentment by pausing and reflecting, “Can I be at peace with this moment as it is?”  “Do I really have to have ____________ before I can be happy?”

This will certainly be challenging in some situations, but when we do succeed to feel for ourselves moments of a natural inner contentment, we’ll be inspired to keep practicing.  The more we learn to stay in touch with this innate peace, the more our lives will become a joyful balancing act, riding the waves of change.

You can join Swami Ramananda, Diana Meltsner and Eric Gustafson Cultivating Compassion and Forgiveness, 7-day Meditation & Raja Yoga, ONLINE, Mon.- Sun., October 14-20, 7:15 am – 8:00 am PDT

Or Deepen your in your own practice and guide your students to go deeper in theirs by joining Swami Ramananda, Diana Meltsner, and guest teacher Rich Panico M.D., for Meditation Teacher Training – ONLINE, NOV 14–DEC 19, 2024 & JAN 7–FEB 4, 2025

Swami Ramananda C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, 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 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.

2024-10-02T09:15:12-07:00October 1st, 2024|Tags: , , , |

Sunday Spiritual Talk: Responding to a World in Crisis

ONLINE | $5-$20 | Enroll for free, use promo code FREE.

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.

Many of us are deeply concerned about events in our countries and on our planet and are searching for ways to maintain peace in our hearts and stand up for our values. As we hear about ongoing natural disasters and the climate crisis, senseless violence, rampant injustice and the refugee crisis, 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? Together we will reflect on how to empower ourselves, both as individuals and communities. We will review how a spiritual practice attunes our hearts and minds to the spiritual consciousness we share, and how we are called to manifest that consciousness in response to the world around us.

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 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.

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.

2024-08-30T19:33:43-07:00August 30th, 2024|Tags: , , , , , , , |
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