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Beyond the Meditation Cushion

The great South Indian sage Thiruvalluvar said, “What is tapasya (penance)?” Tapasya doesn’t mean go and close your eyes and meditate. That’s easy, comfortable. Tapas means to burn. A spiritual seeker is supposed to practice tapasya.  Thiruvalluvar says, “The more you...

Planting New Seeds for Spiritual Growth

As the first signs of spring emerged, I invited a group of sincere seekers to embark on a journey of inner cultivation through a 3-part series called Keys to Sustainable Growth. Just as the earth awakens in spring, offering fertile ground for new life, I encouraged...

The Path to Spiritual Ripening

Everything takes its own time to mature, including one’s spiritual maturity. Just because you pray a raw fruit will ripen, it won’t ripen overnight. Imagine that you plant a seed and you just sit there and pray, “Please seed, I have planted you and I hope you will be...

Resolutions That Last: The Art of Sustainable Spiritual Practice

For many years, I’ve given a talk on New Year’s resolutions at our annual Integral Yoga New Year’s Retreat. I focus mainly on setting achievable goals for a regular spiritual practice of poses, breathing, relaxation and meditation. Here’s a few suggestions from that...

The Essential Quality for Spiritual Growth

A few years ago, I read an article titled “Humility, The Virtue No One Wants.” It was a good title, I thought, because humility is maybe just a little too close to the word humiliation for comfort, a bit like shame, the sort of thing we think we’d like to get away...

Integral Yoga San Francisco Announces Ongoing Personal Retreat Offerings

Experience a profound rejuvenation of body, mind and spirit by immersing yourself in a personal retreat at Integral Yoga Institute. Relax and unwind at our urban Ashram, where you will find space for self-reflection and intentional self-care, in the heart of San...

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The Most Important Goal in Life

The Most Important Goal in Life

Your real partner is your soul. You are married to your soul, your spirit, or the God within. When you really have that spiritual awakening, your recognize that your first responsibility is to yourself—to know your Self. Everything and everybody is there to help you...

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Finding the Joy in Self-Discipline

Finding the Joy in Self-Discipline

Question: Why do Yoga practices appear as disciplines when they are the source of joy? Yoga practices don’t appear as discipline—they are discipline. And who said that a disciplined life is an unhappy life? This seems to imply that discipline doesn’t make us joyful....

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Bringing Our Intentions to Life

Bringing Our Intentions to Life

We’ve all probably experienced times when we felt bounced around by too many stressors and we struggled just to keep our balance. In stressful times, we may be happy just to make it through the day, have something nice to eat, and a little entertainment to relax with....

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Steps on the Spiritual Path

Steps on the Spiritual Path

Question: For people who are new on the path of spirituality, what do you recommend for them? Are there steps or procedures? Swami Satchidananda: You have already taken the first step by wanting to become a spiritual student. That is the most important thing. You want...

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Spiritual Practice: Never Give Up!

Recently I was asked the question, “What can I do when I find I am lacking the discipline to practice my disciplines?” Follow the spirit: The spirit vs. the mind—that means your own inner consciousness and your outer mind. There is always a tug of war between those...

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How to Develop Your Willpower

How to Develop Your Willpower

The best thing to do to succeed in your spiritual practices is to develop your willpower. That is because everything begins in the mind. The practices that we do in the name of Yoga are to help us become masters of our own minds. Your mind should be your instrument;...

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How to Be Happy Always

How to Be Happy Always

Yoga theory sometimes leaves us nowhere; it’s mostly intellectual. What the mind can understand is very little. So in the name of Yoga practice, we do something that can expand the mind and then, little by little, we understand things in a better way. We don’t want to...

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The Benefits of Silence

The Benefits of Silence

Those who are interested in making gold should be silent. There is even a saying, “Silence is golden.” In Sanskrit there is a proverb. Silence in Sanskrit is “mouna.” And the proverb goes, “Mouna kalakanasti.” Kalakam means: problems or quarrels. Nasti means: don’t...

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Q & A with Swami Satchidananda on Spiritual Energy

Q & A with Swami Satchidananda on Spiritual Energy

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...

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