While the universe responds to what you do, what you put out — when you put out what you’ve always put out, you’ll get the response you’ve always gotten. When you do something different, it might take a little while, but what happens is you get a different response. This means you can actually change the world…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Proactive“
By Lissa (Yogyananda) Fountain, Yogaratna
I had two choices when I was diagnosed with cancer. I could be miserable and just try to gut it out. Or I could harness the power of Divine revelation.
A few weeks before, Gurudevi had suggested I look more closely at my fear of death. It had been running me my whole life. But now this fear had begun provoking panic attacks.
What came next was Divine perfection. I received a serious breast cancer diagnosis. “Curing me” would require surgery and 14 months of rigorous treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation.
Yet “healing me” became an inside job, fueled by Consciousness. I decided to embrace the teachings of yoga like never before and put them into action.
Of course I didn’t get there alone. A beloved Guru sister, a cancer survivor herself, guided me weekly through the process. She helped me see what a gift cancer was: an opportunity for a profound purification of body, mind and soul. But first, I had to learn to accept that nothing would be on “my schedule.”
What a difference radical acceptance makes! From confusion grew clarity. From fear, gratitude blossomed and kept rippling into more and more waves of bliss.
It was as if I took a magic carpet ride into the unknown skies of my own Self. Every day, I discovered each moment could be made holy as I looked through Shiva’s eyes.
The infusion lab became my temple. My oncology nurse, a Divine priestess. I began my first treatment with out-loud japa, of course. She chimed in: “Oh I know that mantra: I bow to my own Self.” A yoga miracle!
It also became a sweet, intimate time with my ever-present husband. At the last round of chemo, I taped a flower on the infusion bag, with great honor and respect for its role in my healing.
Daily Embodyment® sessions grounded me in Consciousness. Weekly acupuncture balanced my immune system. And as the chemo killed cells, three hours of Ujjayi Pranayama re-plenished my body with more prana.
My meditations deepened. I taught my Zoom Svaroopa® yoga classes throughout my treatments. Retaining that normalcy was a real spirit booster. It seemed that everywhere, everyone was touched by this miracle called yoga.
My doctor has proclaimed NED (no evidence of disease). I am humbled by the cocoon of love and Grace that surrounded me in my time of need. These yoga practices are pure alchemy.
The scary can become a profound opening. The dross of something like cancer can transmute into the gold of Consciousness awareness.
Now I want only to live and serve from a place of inner knowing. Fear of death no longer runs me in the same way. I am at peace.
It is said, “You never know what life will bring.” Yet yoga promises that you will know who you are while in the midst of it all. And that, for me, is everything.
By Gurudevi Nirmalananda
Something wonderful happens when you simply sit. No phone, no music, nothing to read, to say or to do.
Whether you’re under a shady tree or in a quiet indoor spot, you gradually settle into an easy motionlessness — your body becomes still.
Then your mind becomes still, like when the ripples on a lake dissolve back into the lake.
This is why people have a chaise lounge in their back yard, to stretch out and gaze at the plants, to watch the birds and butterflies. After a few minutes, you’re not seeing anything anymore. You’re settling inside. Most people fall asleep or drift in a dreamy sleep-like state. You have done this so many times.
But on the way inward, you can take the other fork in the road. Instead of settling into unconsciousness, you can delve into the bliss of Consciousness within. This is yoga’s promise, that when your mind settles, you experience your Self — called svaroopa.
Tadaa dra.s.tu.h svaruupe ‘vasthaanam — Yoga Sutras 1.3
As your mind settles, you are established in your own Divine Essence (svaroopa).
How do you get your mind to settle? One of the easiest ways is to use your body:
Sthira-sukham aasanam. — Yoga Sutras 2.46
Asana means to sit, in easy motionlessness.
In the beginning, you may need to scratch your nose, even cough and yawn. All that will soon settle down and you will be at ease. This is even a military command, “At ease, soldiers.” It’s useful for everyone.
Everyone practices it, even unconsciously, maybe lazing in bed during snooze-alarm minutes. Not sleeping, not really awake, coasting the inner edge, it’s quite blissful. It is even more bliss-filled when you take the road less traveled…
Be empowered to give people the gift of their own Divine Essence. Our new MTT format gives you the best of both worlds — Online as well as On-Site.
Now learning to teach meditation is easier and more accessible than ever.
Meditation Teacher Training
Begins April 7
On-Site & Online
In your On-Site immersion, you’ll experience the tools that unravel the knots in your mind. You will discover the deeper dimensions of your own Self and delve into that Beingness.
Experiencing your own Divine Essence is the key part of the process. This is why a Shaktipat Day is included!
Your Online classes begin after you return home. You will lengthen and deepen your meditations in your daily group meditations. Weekly satsangs (meditation programs) with Gurudevi ensure that you continue to marinate in Consciousness.
The two-day retreat that culminates your training is also Online. You will be prepared to teach your first series of meditation classes, supported by a Mentor all the way through.
Your body’s condition affects your mind and heart, which affect your relationships, which affect your whole life. Yet the purpose of the poses is not merely health and happiness. Every pose is for your spine which we work with very directly in the…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Your Body Matters“
By Joan (Jayadevi) Bragar
I find myself singing along with Gurudevi while driving my car. “OM Guru Mere Guru.”
On her album Honored Guru Gita, it’s a mere five minutes long, with a catchy melody. The words are easy to learn. I have downloaded it to my phone.
This chant in tribute to her Guru is sung in the Ashram every morning before Shree Guru Gita. The words honor the person of her own Guru, Baba Muktananda.
At the same time, it honors the Guru-principle, Grace ― the revelatory power of God. Within each of the three short verses, succinct lines are repeated for a serene effect.
In Verse 1, you repeat the first line “OM Guru, OM Guru.” It stems from the mantra Guru OM, which Muktananda received from his Guru, Bhagawan Nityananda. Muktananda gave this mantra to Gurudevi, and she shares its Grace with us.
In the second line of Verse1, “OM Guru, Mere Guru” fondly calls the Guru “mere Guru” — my Guru.
We hail the Guru in Verse 2, by chanting “Jaya Guru OM” four times. Gurudevi renders this verse as “Hail to the revealer of the Divine within.” The concluding line of Verse 3 is OM Guru OM, sung sonorously four times.
Chanting the three verses through, even though it’s only three times, I am carried into peace.
By Amanda (Purna) Schmidt
Align every remaining day of this year with spiritual clarity and purpose.
Gurudevi’s “Living Mysticism” calendar journal supports you in attaining your spiritual goals. And it is still available.
The book is more than a planner or notebook. It’s a collection of quotes from Teachings Articles spanning decades.
The heading of each page is a sutra-like excerpt selected from Gurudevi’s Teaching Articles, with the article’s title, month and year.
Below, you have plenty of space for sketching and writing. Some yogis report that they read the full article daily, diving deeper into these timeless teachings.
This book gives you accessibility to Gurudevi’s teachings and presence through her written words. You can easily have the Guru in the middle of your life day by day.
Return to the quote throughout the day for inspiration and guidance. Weave the sacred into your daily life.
Would you like your mind to be like a waveless ocean – calm, infinite, pure? Simply remember your experience of the Self. It’s a matter of taking care of how you feel. If you want to feel differently than you’re currently feeling, use yoga to make a shift. Using your memory to bring back the…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Want to Be Happy?“
Easier & More Accessible
Learn to teach deep meditation in our online training.
Meditation Teacher Training
Begins April 7, On-Site & Online
You begin with an On-Site immersion at Lokananda. This is primarily focused on deepening your own meditations. You cannot teach what you haven’t experienced.
Day by day, you will lengthen and deepen your meditations. The Shaktipat Day opens you inward to the powerful flow of meditative energy.
Experiencing your own Divine Essence is the key part of the process. In addition, by studying the sutras, you learn how to guide others in the same process.
When you return home, your online classes begin. Plus you get daily group meditations and weekly meditation programs with Gurudevi Nirmalananda. This ensures that you continue to marinate in Consciousness.
Your live-streamed MTT classes train you in increasingly powerful meditation tools. You hone your communication skills as you learn to teach about bliss and awareness. You are also trained to answer students’ questions and help them with practicalities.
Another meditation retreat completes your training – this one is online. You do it from home. Plus you get mentoring afterward, supporting you as you teach your first “Intro to Meditation” series.
This program gives you everything you need to begin teaching.
By Agnes (Aikya) Hetherington
In early 2025, I had the privilege of attending Gurudevi’s India retreat.
One highlight was a talk by Balkrishna, a Brahmin priest serving in Bhagavan Nityananda’s temple. Balkrishna told us repeatedly, with solemn emphasis: “You are so blessed to have a living Guru. Spend time with her, do what she tells you.”
I have heard Gurudevi put it a little differently, but I believe her meaning is similar: “Dead Gurus don’t kick ass!” Every week in her Satsangs, Gurudevi gives us little kicks in the butt.
While there is usually laughter as well, her message could not be more serious. We have the possibility of becoming enlightened in this lifetime, but we must do our part. It is always lovely to hear this, yet sometimes so difficult to do.
Living in the UK, I don’t have many chances to attend satsangs in person. Swami Sunday online has become my lifeline. Gurudevi’s teachings bypass my mind and go directly to my heart.
Yet Balkrishna’s words have continued to echo through my mind. One Swami Sunday, as I chanted with the group online, I was thinking “I should be there in person.” At that moment, Gurudevi’s photo fell off the wall onto my puja table!
It was too clear a message to ignore. A few months later, I travelled to visit my living Guru and get my butt kicked.
What I got was not so much a kick. It was more like a verbal, encouraging pat on the back. This was accompanied by a powerful injection of Vitamin G: G for Guru, G for Grace.
This vital infusion of Grace has propelled me into action that was long overdue. I have been teaching Svaroopa® Yoga online for three years. But I have not had the courage to start in-person classes here. Upon returning home from the Ashram, I went into action.
Scouring the area for a suitable venue, I tried ten places before finding a beautiful, welcoming studio. I quickly put out promotional material advertising a free “taster” class.
In early December, I taught my first in-person class in over twelve years. And there is considerable interest in weekly classes that will begin in January 2026.
I have learned that I am never doing this alone. I can tap into the flow of Grace whenever I need support. For me, listening to Gurudevi teaching live is the most effective way to stay in that flow.
practice & grace: giving you your Self
revealing the mystery
SVA Blog 