By Kristine (Dhairyavati) Freeman

Our Ashram Fundraiser “Unmilana” has begun. Spiritual transformation is called “Unmilana” in Sanskrit — your inner opening, your blossoming forth. Through our Svaroopa^® yoga practices, we discover inner light and bloom it into the world.

Svaroopa^® yoga gives us so many transformational practices to choose from — asana, meditation, chanting, seva and dakshina (financially supporting the source of the teachings). Please join me in the practice of dakshina —  make a donation to our Ashram today!

Recently, I’ve been focusing on expanding my asana practice. It hasn’t been easy — tapas! I noticed I’d been doing the same poses over and over again. I was stuck in an asana rut. But with the help of a Yoga Therapy session, I got a growth spurt. I was able to cultivate a new practice to give my body the support it needs.

These yoga poses also support my spiritual transformation. They allow my own inner light to unfold into new areas. As this inner light spreads and grows brighter, I’m able to bring it into more and more of my worldly life. This is so beneficial for me and for those around me.

Gurudevi says, “Your yoga melts the tensions and dissolves the fears so that the inner Source can arise inside to fill you and to bloom into the world. Yoga doesn’t make you yogic, it makes you more You.”

Will you share your blossoming forth? Gurudevi says, “Like a star at night, you can bring the light of your own being into the world, which makes a difference for everyone.” And you can make a difference for the Ashram, which has made such a difference for you.

Please consider a generous donation to our “Unmilana – Blossoming Forth” fundraiser. Let your inner light overflow. Share your Self freely. It will come back to you again and again.

Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or send your check to Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335. You may also email us at donate@svaroopayoga.org.

Thank you again and again!

By Ruth (Rama) Brooke, Yogaratna

Spiritual transformation is called unmilana in Sanskrit — your inner opening, your blossoming forth.
I have experienced the opening, expanding and unfolding through Gurudevi’s teachings and practices. This has likely been your experience as well.

Today, I ask you to join me in the practice of dakshina, financial giving in gratitude to the Ashram. Please give generously to our fundraiser, aptly titled “Unmilana — Blossoming Forth.”

Several years ago, in a personal meeting with Gurudevi, she said:

You are a bud blossoming forth from muddy earth into sunlight. Try to stop it! You can’t!

These words have resonated with me ever since. They speak to the power of the shakti (spiritual energy) flowing through her. As I look back, I see how that energy has blossomed within me. The emotional walls I spent most of my life constructing have tumbled (mostly).

I don’t need that protection to feel safe. I have a greater knowing of who I am. I am able to express my-Self with more clarity and less discomfort.

Another profound teaching stays with me as well:

Svecchaya svabhittau vishvam unmilayati.

By free will alone, Consciousness blossoms forth the universe on the screen of her own existence.
— Pratyabhijnah.rdayam, verse 2

Gurudevi explains that everyone and everything in the universe blossomed forth as a form of Consciousness-herself. She also personalizes the teaching, like she did for me that day in our meeting. You are one such form of Consciousness. You are blossoming forth. You are becoming more you.

Yoga guarantees this transformation. How will you choose to blossom forth and shine your light into the world?

Gurudevi and our swamis model this so beautifully for us. The light of Consciousness shines through their eyes, their teaching and all that they give. Please join me in giving back in gratitude. Donate generously to our Unmilana — Blossoming Forth fundraiser.

Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555. Or send your check to Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335. You may also email us at donate@svaroopayoga.org.

Thank you again and again!

By Lynn (Gurupremananda) Cattafi

My redbud tree is a joyous mass of bright pink blossoms. Its spring blooms are so bright that they are visible at night, lighting up the dark.

In the same way, you bloom extravagantly, nurtured by your Svaroopa^® yoga practices! Join me today in offering your financial support to Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram’s “Unmilana — Blossoming Forth” fundraiser.

The Sanskrit word for blossoming forth, unmilana, signifies the act of opening, expanding or unfolding. In the Svaroopa^® yoga tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism, unmilana is associated with spiritual transformation. Gurudevi describes unmilana this way:

Like a plant blossoms forth flowers, you are built to blossom forth a unique form of Consciousness into the world. The impulse to do this arises in you over and over again. It is the purpose of your life.

Feeling a deep renewal inside, my mind, body and heart are opening in new ways. I am blossoming forth joyously. It’s not the springtime here that is making me blossom forth. It’s my Svaroopa^® yoga practices. Most importantly, my spiritual transformation is due to having a Master Teacher like Gurudevi.

Gurudevi is a master gardener, expertly tending to her garden of blossoming yogis, including you! Her teachings nourish your roots. Her programs are designed to cultivate your continued growth. She helps you deadhead the stuff that’s old and finished. She supports you in sweeping the debris from your path.

She showers all of us with Grace. By the inner arising light of Consciousness, we blossom forth, shining our light into the world.

Wherever you are in your own spiritual growth process, Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram has pathways to support you. Gurudevi and our swamis meet you exactly where you are. They show you how to bloom. How fortunate we are to have such a Guru as Gurudevi Nirmalananda guiding our spiritual growth.

She can’t do it without your financial support of our Ashram, through which her teachings flow. Please give generously. You are supporting your own growth as well as the worldwide garden of seekers.

Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or send your check to Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335.  Thank you again and again! 

By Beth (Bhanumati) Cunningham

Please join me in offering financial support to our Ashram during this season’s fundraiser, titled “Unmilana — Blossoming Forth.”

The Sanskrit word unmilana names the act of opening, expanding or unfolding. It’s commonly used to describe the blooming of a flower or the opening of eyes.

It reminds me of my aunt, who possesses a great generosity. I believe she gets it from her “blossoming sessions.” With cup a of tea, my aunt watches flowers bloom on her front deck.

Afterwards, her face is softer, her eyes wider and brighter, her voice rich and open. She blossoms forth with her flowers. Then she goes into the world and gives whatever she can, wherever she can. It is her joy.

This is unmilana — the blossoming forth. Consciousness blossoms forth with unceasing generosity in you, as you. Generosity is your very nature. The Self gives. It only gives. When you give, you are more you.

To give is your very nature. In giving to the Ashram this season, you are giving back to your own Self. You support the teachings and the Teacher who has given you your Self.

Gurudevi is the perfect model of unmilana and its generosity. As a Shaktipat Master, she pours herself tirelessly into supporting our progress toward enlightenment. She bathes us in the light of the Self, like the sun bathes the rose. She saturates us with Grace, like the rain soaks the garden. Her teachings nourish us like the rich earth.

Our blossoming sessions come in meditation, using the mantra she has given us. Instead of watching flowers, we watch our very own Self bloom inside. We blossom forth, inwardly to our Self and outwardly into the world. Our very nature comes to bloom, and we cannot help but give.

Supporting the Ashram financially is its own special kind of blossoming. It is incredibly powerful because it is so palpable. It supports the blossoming forth in others. So, I invite you to give to this season’s fundraiser and watch your gift bloom.

Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555. Or send your check to Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335. Thank you again and again!