What is Yoga? In simple words: to remain with ease and peace. You might wonder what that ease is. I am talking about that ease, which you disturbed and then called yourself dis‑eased. Even to become a diseased person you should have had ease before, is it not so? If...
On September 8, 2023, we celebrate the 136th Jayanthi (Birth Anniversary) of Sri Swami Sivananda, the Guru of Sri Swami Satchidananda. In honor of this occasion, we offer this video during which Swami Satchidananda is asked to explain this well-known teaching of his...
I know it sounds hard, but we must remember that when we go through, or see, suffering it is not the Immortal Self that suffers. Who is the sufferer then? It is the mind that goes through all the changes—the little ego, guided by vasanas, wrong thinking, and...
The Chinese sage, Chuang-Tzu, once had a dream in which he was a butterfly. When he woke up, he didn’t know for sure if before, he had been a man dreaming he was a butterfly, or if now, he was a butterfly dreaming he was a man. Likewise, we are all caught in a dream...
Let us know that in Truth you are the Divine Image, the image of God. Somehow the veil of the ego prevents you from realizing this. Just remove that veil. It is that veil that is the basis for all these mental dramas. It creates all kinds of problems, troubles,...
The essential teaching and goal of Yoga is to make the mind calm. “Yoga chitta vritti nirodha,” says the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. That means that Yoga is the calming of the waves created in the chitta, the mind by keeping the mind balanced under all conditions. In...
Negativity is insidious. I had been slipping imperceptibly into a ruder kind of communication. I grew tense and snapped at loved ones. I caught myself up in the world’s failings, my own shortcomings and powerlessness to change anything, and the small, daily annoyances...
Live in the golden present, then you won’t have any anxiety or any fear of losing anything. Look at the sparrows, they just fly around. If they are hungry they just go and pick up a grain from anywhere. They are not constantly worried about what will happen tomorrow,...
The word pranayama is not a single word but rather a combination of two Sanskrit words: prana and ayama. Prana could be translated as vital energy or the cosmic energy that causes any kind of movement. Even the movement of the electrons around the nucleus within an...
Over ten years ago, a yogi friend went hiking up a steep mountain. She was wearing good shoes and enjoying the challenge, as well as the stunning view upon reaching the peak. Soon after she began her descent, she slipped and badly twisted her ankle. Immediately, she...
Yoga Nidra is yogic sleep. But, it’s a sort of sleepless sleep. You are awake and at the same time you are sleeping. The scriptures call it “jagrat sushupti,” awakened sleep. You sleep, but you don’t sleep. During regular sleep, you sleep but you don’t know that...
I don't know about you, but I grew up in the 1960s—first concert (Dave Clark Five), listening to "Cousin Brucie" (the legendary "disk jockey" on the radio), first date (nothing to write home about), first hippie yearnings... And, of course, the celebrated band: The...
is pleased to announce its full re-opening post-pandemic. While the Ashram will continue with online programming as well, it is now fully open for in-person programs, Yoga teacher and therapist trainings, residential programs, and guest visits. Please note that the...
Someone asked me the question: “I feel selfish and troubled all the time. Why is it so hard to feel peaceful all the time if it’s my true nature?” Well, that question cannot be answered with words but can be realized. How? By knowing the Knower, being the Be-er. Now,...
Q: In the Ramayana and Mahabharata, it’s clear that there was killing. The Gita itself takes place on a battlefield. How is this explained and justified in terms of ahimsa (non-violence)? Swami Satchidananda: In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about non‑violence to...
Integral Yoga Media is happy to announce that many of the albums and singles of Swami Satchidananda chanting and leading Yoga practices are now widely streaming. These include: Swami Satchidananda (the original double album), Songs of Grace, the Sacred Mantra Series,...