As we celebrate sixty years of Integral Yoga, we also look back to the spiritual streams that helped shape the path Swami Satchidananda brought to the West. In 1949, Swami Satchidananda met his Guru, Sri Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, and received Sannyas initiation...
“Possession are okay, as long as you possess them, and you don’t allow them to possess you.” ~Sri Swami Satchidananda It’s ironic how as youngsters all we want to do is play with our toys. As children, we must learn to share at home with our siblings and at school...
Any sitting posture may be used for performing pranayama as long as the spine is erect and the hands rest on the knees. However, it is optimal if one of the meditation postures is assumed. The main meditative poses are Padmasana (Lotus Pose) and Svastikasana...
On September 8, 2026, we celebrate the 139th birth anniversary of Sri Swami Sivananda Maharaj, one of the great spiritual luminaries of modern India and the beloved Guru of Swami Satchidananda. We know Swami Sivananda as the sage of Rishikesh, founder of the Divine...
Question: I sometimes experience the rising of the sacred Kundalini, accompanied by a soft humming sound and a certain degree of bliss or peace. Why does this energy remain only briefly? Swami Satchidananda: It’s a beautiful question. I’m glad to know that you have...
In North America, the Spring season will soon be behind us giving way to the Summer Solstice in June. Spring has long been a time of transition, when the dark and barren days of winter give way to light, warmth and new growth. Before summer is upon us, this month’s...
Life has become very complex these days. The struggle for existence is very acute and keen. A great deal of constant mental and physical strain is imposed on humanity by its daily work and unhealthy mode of life. Action produces movements and these in turn cause...
Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and Yoga combined with six weekly group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests. The study offered participants...
The sincerity in seeking comes only when you know that you have a limited capacity. It's only when you say, “I can't do it anymore, please help me,” that the help comes. You then link yourself with an unlimited capacity. Sometimes God acts like a hard-hearted person....
Deepening your meditation practice requires more than simply sitting for longer periods of time. A truly effective practice depends on cultivating a sufficient level of refined energy. This energy expresses itself as alertness, mental clarity, willpower, conviction,...
“Contentment is golden. A contented mind is a golden mind.” –Swami Satchidananda It’s funny how children enjoy the simplest of toys and teenagers relish in their relationships with their best friends, while a quiet transition commences during adulthood and suddenly...
I’m sure that many of Swami Satchidananda's (Gurudev’s) followers have had enlightening moments in his presence and their personal relationship. As I reflect on the 60 years since his arrival in New York, here are a few of mine. On that auspicious day in 1966 when we...
Svadhyaya is the sacred practice of self-study through spiritual teachings. More than simply reading spiritual texts, svadhyaya invites us to seek wisdom that reveals our deepest nature, and then to bring that wisdom fully into the way we live, think, and serve. As...
I’ll be honest with you. Pratyahara isn’t a word I use often in class. Funny way to open when it’s literally in the title but stick with me. I was introduced to it during my Yoga teacher training, the fifth limb of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs, the withdrawal of the senses...
Are we truly free to act with full awareness in the present moment — in harmony with our true nature and our interconnection with all of life? To choose freedom means learning to respond to life without being driven by the hidden “shoulds” that may have taken root in...
Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that translates as “without injury” or “nonviolence” in English. It’s a principle in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist philosophy that involves causing the least amount of harm possible to all beings. It’s the first ethical principle given as a...