The wonderful thing about this yogic path is that you can stay in your home with your beloveds doing what you’ve already chosen to do and get enlightened while you’re there. Except it’s harder in some ways because you have your usual dance patterns, the way you interact with everyone in your life. And they want you to keep being the same old…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Maayaa“
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This is the point of meditation, that your Kundalini will climb your spine and merge into your sahasrara. That you will be jivanmukta, enlightened while alive. And you will be engaged with the world — fulfilling your dharma, completing your karmas, giving from the…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Merging Into the Inner Infinity“
In honor of her Golden Jubilee, the 2026 collection includes quotes spanning the decades of Gurudevi’s writings.
Each quote is crafted to present profound teachings in concise modern day sutra form, providing inspiration and spiritual blessings for every day of the year.
When you weave these teachings and practices through your life, your meaning and purpose are easily fulfilled. Your eyes shine with light and your heart overflows, giving you clarity, understanding and generosity. What a way to live!
Pre-orders for the Living Mysticism 2026 Calendar Journal are now available through the Ashram! The journals will be released in the coming weeks.
Eventually, your most valued pleasures become stale. And you realize that you want something the world cannot offer. Your focus turns to spiritual development. This is called sannyasa. It means you’re cultivating freedom from desire, freedom from need, greed and fear. As my Baba described, instead of living in contraction, the other possibility…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “What Is an Ashram“
November 15th is Gurudevi’s birthday. We will formally celebrate her in her Swami Sunday meditation program on November 16th.
This is the last birthday in her 8th decade; her upcoming year takes her into the 9th. Thus, she begins her 80th trip around the sun.
This day also inaugurates her Golden Jubilee, as it marks her 50 years of teaching!
What does this unfolding of time mean to her? She says,
Yoga’s promise is that it just keeps getting better . . . Even before dedicating myself to yoga, I figured out that each new decade was like getting a job promotion. More responsibility, more autonomy, more freedom, more impact, more expertise to draw on, more appreciation for the others in my life, more, more, more . . .
What does this mean to those of us who treasure the gift of her presence and her profound teachings? When you attend this Swami Sunday, you will learn more about it in Gurudevi’s discourse. You’ll learn how this milestone birthday pertains to your spiritual advancement, which is the focus of all her teachings.
Let us gratefully celebrate the anniversary of Gurudevi Swami Nirmalananda’s birth. Let’s celebrate our great good fortune in receiving her profound, ancient teachings and practices of yoga. As she translates them to pertain to everyday life, she makes them accessible and easy to understand. We are supported beyond measure in walking this spiritual path.
Living close enough to the Ashram to attend On-Site, your pre-registration allows preparations to accommodate everyone. If you don’t live within driving distance, you can register for Swami Sunday Online. If you have a Shishya Membership, you are invited to register for the Shishya Gurudevi Connection.
Rosemary (Rudrani) Nogue, Yogaratna
I celebrate two yoga students who healed debilitating mental / emotional obstacles through Svaroopa® practices.
Today, they are Svaroopa® yoga teachers. As their Svaroopa® yoga teacher, I served as a conduit to the flow of Grace. They did their part by doing the practices.
About 22 years ago, Laurie (Kevalaa) Hislop, a neighbor, joined her first yoga class. She was experiencing anxiety, fear, inner turmoil, sleeplessness, a sense of fragility and exhaustion. She describes, “I felt like I wasn’t enough.”
Kevalaa was busy with three children, yet she came to my classes consistently. The yoga teachings gave her a sense of peace, so she copied Gurudevi’s classroom quotes down. On sleepless nights, Kevalaa read the Teaching Articles that were the source of the quotes.
In time, to support her healing process, she started an afternoon home yoga practice. It included Shavasana and Ujjayi Pranayama. Her healing journey took time and patience. She learned to not push in yoga poses or in her life.
Heather, another neighbor, started yoga classes 18 years ago. She was an overwhelmed, anxious, somewhat depressed, tight-bodied mother of two small children. Panic attacks were part of her life.
Heather knew this was the style of yoga for her. In class, she drew stick figures of poses so she could practice at home. Realizing she hadn’t taken a full breath in years, she added Ujjayi to her routine. These practices lessened her anxiety and stress.
After classes, Heather consistently helped me pack up (and she still does). While cleaning up, we talked about yoga and how it applies to life. She told me, “I can’t get enough of these conversations.”
She read all the Teaching Articles and listened to Gurudevi’s recordings of them. The more Heather tapped into her own Self, the happier she and her husband became.
Once Kevalaa and Heather were well, both “yoga sisters” dove into Foundations and the many YTT courses beyond. They also tapped into mantra, meditation and Shaktipat. Now they are inspiring Svaroopa® yoga teachers committed to this Grace filled path.
As Svaroopa® yoga healed them, it changed the trajectory of their lives. Guru’s Grace is the wind beneath their wings. They both love teaching and express immense gratitude for their yoga miracles.
Soul is not Self. When you experience the soul level of your being, it is profound. It is meaningful. It is deep and holy. You are deep and holy. Yet, there is more. Soul is like the sunlight shining through a window. Your soul is a window through which you can see…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Self & Soul“
By Gurudevi Nirmalananda
Maayaa is illusion. Moha is delusion.
The difference can be confusing, though it is easy to sort out. A magician doing card tricks is a master of illusion. To believe that their illusions are real is delusion.
Our world is made of energy, manifesting as matter. This means that matter isn’t really solid. You could call it an illusion. Some meditative traditions base their teachings and practices on this principle.
Kashmiri Shaivism says the illusion is real — you are living in a movie set. But there is nowhere else to go. This is Shiva’s movie set. The storyline is compelling, due to Shiva’s incredible creativity.
All the players are Shiva in disguise. The disguise is called Maayaa, the illusory power of Consciousness.
Maayaa is like the night sky on the Fourth of July in America. The stars and expanse beyond them are hidden by exploding fireworks. Maayaa is the fireworks. Maayaa is a great and powerful energy, so powerful that she can hide Shiva from you.
As you enact your part in the storyline, unfortunately you get lost in it. Your happiness depends on the story. Your whole sense of self is determined by…
Join us for a yoga class On-Site or Online.
Every class welcomes new students of all body types, while also inspiring experienced yogis.
Sign up today.
or call one of our Swamis at 484.678.2078
practice & grace: giving you your Self
revealing the mystery
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