By Karuna Beaver, SVA Board Member

I have had some amazing teachers in my life. One sparked a love of reading. Another taught me not only how to sing but how to find my voice. My first boss showed me how to be a responsible journalist by respecting all points of view. These teachers and many more helped shape who I am today. They taught me how to do things, how to view things and how to be in the world.

Yet it was my first yoga teacher who helped me see who I was beyond what I could think, do or say. She inspired me to look inside and to view both the world and my place in it in a completely different way. She inspired me to become a yoga teacher.

Swami Nirmalananda says yoga teachers are unique “because they are not teaching you how to manage the world, or to succeed in worldly ambitions. Yoga teachers teach you how to be in your own skin. They teach you how to find the wholeness in your own being and bring that into your day-to-day, breath-to-breath, relationship-to-relationship world.” To me, this is the “real world.” It’s the world in which you discover you are more than your mind, your accomplishments and your relationships. Yoga opens your door to this “More.”

And yoga teachers hold the key. Swamiji says, “Without the teachers, there would be no Svaroopa^® yoga. Without the teachers, there would be no yoga of any kind at all. If the next generation hadn’t been trained, yoga wouldn’t have come down to us.”

As a yoga organization, an Ashram, we rely on those who care about the world being uplifted and inspired by this kind of teaching. We rely on you. Our spring fundraiser’s theme is “Inspiring the Next Generation.” A good number of our teachers, myself included, are reaching retirement age. Now is the time to make a concerted effort to ensure that the Svaroopa^® Sciences reach the next generation. Your generous donation to either the Scholarship Fund or to Swami Support will make a difference.

Thank you to so many of you who have already responded. Your Ashram Board of Directors thank you again and again. While our fundraiser timeline is almost over, you still have time to contribute if you have not yet done so, or to add to your gift. Your yoga teachers, and our Master Teacher, have given you so much. They have helped you recognize who and what you really are. Where would you be without them? Join me in honoring them with a gift today.