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Stories as a Source of Wisdom

Online & In-person | $15

Enroll/Online
Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

Enroll/In-person
Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

Spiritual teachings can sometimes seem too abstract and hard to understand but can be fun to learn from stories. Ramananda will illustrate some of the most useful teachings of Yoga philosophy with real life stories and stories passed to us through his yogic lineage. Stories make it easy to understand teachings and their practical applications like coping with stress and obsessive thinking, aligning our will with a higher Will, and the meaning and practice of surrender.

Join us for a relaxing evening of storytelling to learn how these practical teachings can transform our lives and bring ever more peace to our hearts. There will be tea and cookies offered.

Swami Ramananda, CIAYT, 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 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.

2023-04-25T21:30:27-07:00March 29th, 2023|Tags: , , , |

Satsang: Taking Refuge from the Storms of Life

Online & In-Person | By donation $0, $5, $10, $15

Enroll/Online
Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

Enroll/In-person
Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines. https://integralyogasf.org/attending-in-person

As hard as we may try to manage our lives with care and skill, we all inevitably encounter times when life is especially challenging, overwhelming, or unbearable. Our normal coping skills may not be enough and when we are anxious, grieving or under pressure, we may make poor choices that make things worse.

In this Satsang, Asokananda and Ramananda will present the distilled wisdom of all the Yoga teachings as practical principles that lead to skillful action and wise choices. We will explore how to take refuge in the unchanging source of wisdom within us and how each of us can learn to access that presence in a unique way.

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.

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 Asokananda, E-RYT 500, 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, having absorbed the wisdom of his Guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda.
While he enjoys sharing the practical wisdom of yogic philosophy (especially the great Indian scripture, the Bhagavad Gita), he also loves his practice of Hatha Yoga. He is one of Yogaville’s primary instructors for intermediate and advanced Hatha Yoga teacher trainings.
He presently serves as president at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City. Before this position, he served as the President of Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville and Integral Yoga International.

2023-04-27T14:56:47-07:00March 28th, 2023|Tags: , , |

4-Day Yoga Retreat: Relax, Reflect and Rejuvenate

This retreat is now full. Om Shanti

Thursday, June 1st – Sunday, June 4th with Swami Ramananda, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, Diana Meltsner, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, Astrud Castillo

$635 Single room
$535 Shared room (per person)
$535 Single room active IYI Teacher
$435 Shared room active IYI Teacher (per person)

Check-in:  Thursday, June 1st at 5 pm, with dinner at 6 pm.
Check-out:  Sunday, June 4th at 12:30 pm after a meal.

This in-person 4-day retreat will include various Yoga classes for all levels of practice, workshops, meditations, inspirational evening programs, healthy vegetarian meals and free time for walks, resting or reading. We will practice periods of silence including Friday morning and the whole day Saturday. In this spacious silence, we can strengthen our inner connection to peace and renew our personal commitment to live courageously in the light of awareness.

We are blessed once again to use the Commonweal Retreat Center in Bolinas, known for the natural beauty of the ocean side location which is located on sacred Native American grounds. The practices of Yoga in this beautiful natural setting offer an opportunity to cleanse the body and mind of stimulants and toxins that we ingest through the mouth, eyes, and ears and find rejuvenation.

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 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.

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

Astrud Castillo has been teaching yoga since 2001 and sharing Kirtan internationally for the last 10 years.She trained in NYC at Laughing Lotus, currently known as Body and soul Yoga collective and is a senior teacher and teacher trainer. She has studied the basics of yoga therapeutics and Vedic chanting with T.K.V. Desikachar in India. Her teaching has been inspired by her mentor and friend Mark Whitwell over the last 20 years. Astrud’s classes are warm, welcoming and all inclusive.
Her love and relationship to Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, is always illuminated in her teaching. There is always chanting in Astrud’s classes, awareness around the breath and mindful movement.
Astrud leads annual pilgrimages to India, teaches Bhakti yoga with teachers in training and currently lives at the IYI in SF.
Her slow flow class weaves together poses in a creative and mindful way using the breath as the bridge to deepen and explore the balance between effort and surrender and focus the mind.

2023-05-05T18:30:12-07:00February 22nd, 2023|Tags: , , |

Satsang: Earth Day Community Action

In-person | By donation $0, $5, $10, $15

Enroll/In-person
Please review our In-person Safety Guidelines.

As we face the climate emergency and other related crises, many of us feel helpless to take meaningful action. Taking concrete action together in our communities can give us hope, purpose and connection.

Please join us for a beautifying walk through our neighborhood. We will meet in Dolores Park to collect trash from our streets and remind each other that , in fact, we have the power to make a difference. All materials will be provided. Afterward, we will gather at the IYI for a deep relaxation practice followed by a nurturing vegetarian meal.

Pre-registration required with in-person suggested donation of $5-10 for the meal.

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.

 

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 40 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.

Claudia Bartsch, E-CYT500, C-IAYT, has been teaching yoga for 19 years. With over 1,500 hours of training she offers an in-depth understanding of yogic practices and techniques and how to apply them for healing, integration and transformation. In 2011 she bridged her interest in Western psychology and the yogic path and became a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. Additionally, Claudia is a certified Stress Management Educator and a trained Reiki and Shiatsu Practitioner.
In her work she offers a unique blend of the various branches of yoga, hands-on body and energy work, empowering her clients to move towards greater resilience, well-being and health.
Please visit her website for more information: http://claudiabartsch.com

2023-02-22T16:30:11-08:00February 22nd, 2023|Tags: |
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