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Swami Sivananda’s Sampoorna Yoga for Modern Seekers

If you asked Sri Swami Sivananda what a busy person in the West should actually do each day to grow spiritually, he would likely point you to a deceptively simple framework: do a little meditation, a little prayer, a little study, a little service—every day—with...

The Greatest Victory

Gurudev Sivanandaji used to say that we should watch our thoughts because they create habits. Once you develop a habit, it becomes your character. And then your character becomes your destiny. So, it all originates with your thinking. That is why it is so important to...

How to Practice Viveka

Viveka is the spiritual practice of discrimination—distinguishing between the real and unreal, the eternal and temporary, the Spiritual Presence and ego-identity. Here are some ways to put viveka into practice. See which of these resonates with you and supports you to...
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Vrittis: A Dive into the Yoga Sutras

Vrittis: A Dive into the Yoga Sutras

If there is one thing we start to see with Yoga practice, it is that thoughts constantly bombard our minds. Remember being in Paschtimottanasana for what felt like forever with a tornado of swirling thoughts, from that embarrassing event 20 years ago to what’s for...

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How To Have a Successful Meditation Practice

How To Have a Successful Meditation Practice

You may be an experienced meditator. Even so I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you go through periods of a few days, weeks, or months, when for one reason or another you don’t get up in time to have a formal sitting. This is not unusual. And, you are not alone if you...

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Spiritual Hints for Daily Life — Raja Yoga

Spiritual Hints for Daily Life — Raja Yoga

Depending on our temperament, we can pursue the journey of awakening in various ways. If we wish to develop the will and gain mastery over the mind, we can take a Raja Yoga approach. If we tend to be analytical and intellectual, there is the path of Jnana Yoga. If we...

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The Meaning of Sivaratri

Question: Can you please tell us about the meaning and the significance of Sivaratri? Sri Swami Satchidananda: Like any other spiritual practices or observances, the Hindus have one night-long vigil remembering Lord Siva. They divide the night into four parts and four...

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Food & Subtle Energy

Food & Subtle Energy

Sage Uddalaka instructed his son Svetaketu: “Food when consumed, becomes threefold. The gross particles become the excrement, the middling ones flesh, and the fine ones the mind.” My child, when curd is churned, its fine particles which rise upwards form butter. Thus,...

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Asana: Steps to Personal Transformation

Asana: Steps to Personal Transformation

Robert Butera, Ph.D. studied at the Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India, where Yoga is viewed as a spiritual practice and a total lifestyle. A contributor to Integral Yoga Magazine and presenter at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, Dr. Butera explains how asana is part of...

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Yoga for Veterans

Yoga for Veterans

According to Newsweek (April 27, 2009), “Some 8 million Americans have the disorder [PTSD] in a given year and the military is at even greater risk.” Now, Integral Yoga teacher Anuradha Bhagwati, a former Marine Captain, is teaching Yoga to veterans. In this...

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The Beginning Days at 500 West End Avenue

By Karuna Kreps I first learned of Swami Satchidananda when I was 16 and saw his striking photograph on the front page of the Village Voice. The caption read something like, “Flower children meet Swami Satchidananda at JFK Airport as he returns to New York, after...

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Yoga, Medicine, and Transformation

An Interview with Dean Ornish, M.D. Integral Yoga Magazine (IYM): Please tell us about your relationship with Swami Satchidananda. Dean Ornish (DO): Let me begin by saying that I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for Swami Satchidananda—because I was very close to...

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