In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, senior Integral Yoga teachers offer wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This month’s focus is on Santosha, contentment. FROM THE YOGA...
Meditation is something we should learn to practice, not just in formal meditation, but all the time. But, for our formal, sitting meditation practice, preparation is most important. Is there not a saying, “Well begun is half done?” We often don’t begin well. We don’t...
In the summer of 1969, I had just turned 24. My ex-husband, Chris (Yoga name, Mahesh) and I had been married for just over a year and we were living at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY. The guru in residence, at the time, was our yoga instructor, Swami Satchidananda. We...
In honor of #Woodstock50, this is the extended version of the short film "The Woodstock Guru," that aired earlier this year. On August 15, 1969, Swami Satchidananda was asked to give an opening address at the famed Woodstock Music Festival to set a tone of peace and...
If you want to love all, serve all, and spread peace you first have to learn to love yourself. You also have to find peace within yourself. If you recognize the peace and joy within, then you will be able to give the same to everyone else. And you are not actually...
Swami Satchidananda often explained that the easiest way to learn to master something is to train with an expert in one’s chosen field. All fields of training and learning come down to a succession of those who master the material—whether its mechanics, doctors,...
Your practice of mantra repetition creates a sort of sound within. The sound is already in you. You are not doing anything new. That is the divine within you in the form of sound: namarupa, in Sanskrit. The Bible says that in the beginning there was the Word. That...
How can you experience joy in life and love passionately if you are practicing non-attachment? The best way to enjoy life, if you really want to enjoy life, is not to have any attachment to anything. Attachment never brings you permanent joy. It may begin with a...
In this monthly series on the Yamas and Niyamas, senior Integral Yoga teachers offer wisdom and reflections on applying these foundational principles of Yoga in daily life from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This month's focus is on Saucha, purity. FROM THE HOLY BIBLE:...
On August 26, 2023, seven months after her 105th birthday, Mrs. Rukmini Rasiah—affectionately known to all as “Amma” (mother in Tamil)—passed peacefully surrounded by beloved family members. The Ashram offered 108 Tryambakam Mantras on behalf of Amma's devoted,...
The Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco will kick off its 50th anniversary with a series of programs, including an inaugural event on October 5th, 2019. It was in October of 1969 that the first Integral Yoga classes were started in San Francisco, and then in...
In 1995, I started teaching regular Integral Yoga classes in a Therapy Center. Four years later, I moved my instruction to a cultural center and then eventually an old school, which auspiciously was in room 108! Even though it had always been my dream to create an...
Last week, Energy News Network ran a feature story about Yogaville entitled: "Energy Audit Inspires Virginia Yogis to 'Stand Up for Something That's Important.'" That something important is opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and at the same time investing in...
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...
Rev. Jaganath, Integral Yoga Minister and Raja Yoga master teacher, has spent a lifetime delving into the deepest layers of meaning in Patanjali’s words within the Yoga Sutras. Our series moves ahead to sutra 2.35. With this sutra, Patanjali begins to map out how the...
Yes. If you want it, you are seeking from outside. When you know you are already enlightened, you won’t seek. So seeking something means you have forgotten yourself. You have to realize yourself, not seek yourself. That is Self-realization. You realize who you are,...