Look at our big new windows and doors! Bright, shiny and new for the new year – let the light shine in.
This is the first stage of our storefront upgrade, with new colors and front steps coming soon. With a big thank you to the generosity of a donor and a number of sevites who have been working on the project for months.
This will make it easier to see us – and to come in for more yoga…
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
November 2026
Join Gurudevi in celebrating her 50th anniversary of teaching as well as her 80th birthday in Ganeshpuri, India. She is generously inviting you to join her in her Golden Jubilee, explaining,
I had been planning a personal retreat for my 80th birthday, marking off tentative dates in my calendar. Then I realized it is also the 50th anniversary of my teaching. That means you are part of the reason I’m going. You are the reason why I do what I do. So you are invited!
This retreat focuses on diving deep. Daily practices begin at 4:20 am in Nityananda’s temple, followed by breakfast, chanting and a yoga class. A leisurely lunch and recess follows.
The afternoon includes a sutra discourse, more chanting and meditation. After dinner, Nityananda’s temple has a special closing ceremony every night. Day by day, hour by hour, you will join Gurudevi in marinating in Consciousness.
Yogis who have previously traveled with her to Ganeshpuri describe their powerful experiences:
The practices are intensified by being performed on these sacred lands. Each
time I come to India, my starting point is where I left off last time. — Bob (Rudra) Nogue
Ganeshpuri puts me physically in the riverbed of Grace that flows through this lineage. Doing practices with Gurudevi in the dusty village that was built around Nityananda is a magical combination. Being submerged in a village culture that is full of love for Guru and God opens my heart. I blossom as I spend immersive time with Gurudevi and like-minded yogis. — Rosemary (Rudrani) Nogue
I have traveled to Ganeshpuri three times to be with Gurudevi in the place where she was with her teacher. Early morning, meditations in Nityananda’s mahasamadhi room propelled me deeper and deeper inside. When I visited Muktananda’s mahasamadhi shrine and laid my head on his silver-casted sandals, a wave of Shakti shot through me and unlocked access to my Self. I saw my future. — Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver
By Lori (Priya) Kenney
One of my students has been taking yoga classes for 20 years, most recently online. She has been an Embodyment® client of mine for almost two years. Her online asana teacher suggested she would benefit from in-person classes to reduce pain and become calmer. She is the reason I started teaching!
During her weekly Embodyment® sessions, I see and feel the benefits from her years of asana classes. Muscle tension releases much more quickly, and she has greater range of motion. Likewise, I see her flexibility and range of motion increasing dramatically in classes due to her Embodyment® sessions.
She is leaning into all the poses more deeply. Her Lunges are more extended. She’s taller and more lengthened through her rib cage in Seated Side Stretch. She has more ease in doing poses that were challenging before. And she’s a stellar example of coming to class, getting settled in Shavasana and immediately turning inside. The combination of Embodyment® Yoga Therapy and asana classes is very effective.
I feel connected to this student in a very human way. We have an easy and trusting relationship. I noticed this again upon returning from YTT1 when I began teaching new poses. She has taken Foundations at least twice and used to occasionally substitute teach for another teacher.
From the beginning, she has been supportive and encouraging about my teaching. Her awareness of the teaching and class process goes beyond that of being a student. She’s like a silent cheerleader for me and the other students.
She’s patient with those new to Svaroopa® yoga. I see her quietly giving suggestions to nearby students working to get into a pose when I’m assisting others. She brought her partner to class, who is now a dedicated student too.
Her original teacher subbed for me when I went to Lokananda for YTT1. That teacher also noticed a difference in this student — her greater mobility, her spot-on Lunge alignments and more ease in her poses overall.
While this student has a reserved nature, she’s a steady presence in our yoga class community. She is engaged and spontaneous with other students. Sometimes she chimes in about how she feels different the second time we do a marker pose. Or she will joke with another student.
I especially appreciate this student’s tenacity and determination while going through several very difficult life passages. She has leaned into yoga through all of it and talks about how it has steadied her.
She has experience turning within and settling. She knows the power of an open body and quiet mind. She is a miracle in progress. I see her deepening and blossoming, all at the same time.
Such transformation is due to the power of this yoga. Gurudevi Nirmalananda, our Master Teacher, created this yoga in order to bring asana practice back to its original purpose. The goal is to open us to our deep, expansive and timeless inner essence.
By Gurudevi Nirmalananda
I remember when Walt Disney invented the moving sidewalk, which he called the “PeopleMover.” He installed it at Disneyland, near my childhood home.
I loved that each stride carried me farther than walking alone. Getting Shaktipat is like this, boosting the results you get from your spiritual practices.
In Sanskrit, your practices are called “sadhana,” the means you use to attain your spiritual goal. One who does sadhana is called a “sadhaka.” The root word is “sat,” meaning Truth, indicating that the practices are taking you to the Truth of your own Beingness.
Research has proven that any approach to spiritual development grants you many benefits. Spiritual practitioners have a better quality of life. They experience less depression and live longer. They have better health outcomes. This means both that they are healthier and, when they do need medical care, they get better results.
Yet spirituality is not merely about improved quality of life. It’s about “spirit.” While different systems define spirit differently, yoga has a clear definition: your own spirit is your inherent Divinity. Finding your own essence is finding the One Divine Reality within, oh Shiva. Shaktipat makes it findable.
Personally I experienced the difference that Shaktipat makes. My first attempt at meditation was following the instructions in a yoga book. I sat with my spine upright and closed my eyes. I didn’t last even a minute. My racing mind repeated my to-do list many times, each time more urgently, until I bolted and began sprinting through my day.
Still, I really wanted to meditate. I didn’t understand what made it so important to me, but it was a recurrent inner impulse. I found a local group who offered a free meditation program every week. My first experience there gave me a profound and deep meditative immersion. Yes, it was one of my Baba’s meditation centers. His Grace propelled me deep within — deep and easy.
This is why the sages of India say you must have a Shaktipat Guru. While anyone can sit for meditation and repeat mantras, they reap many worldly benefits. But it is only with Divine Grace that your efforts bring true spiritual advancement.
Udyamo bhairava. — Shiva Sutras 1.5
The inner arising of transcendental Consciousness shatters your not-knowingness to set you free.
The inner arising is the meditative energy that climbs your spine, Kundalini. In this sutra, this energy is called Bhairava, naming Shiva in the act of destruction. Here, he is destroying your not-knowingness, the energetic binding that makes you feel small, inadequate, lost, alone and afraid. I had found that inner binding the first time I tried to meditate…
By Swami Prajñananda
Twenty minutes twice a day — Ujjayi Pranayama is the first step in your healing.
Your yoga therapist will give you Ujjayi Pranayama to do right away.
They will teach you the practice in your session and make sure you know how to do it for yourself at home. In the beginning, you might think it doesn’t sound like a lot, but this practice gives you so much.
Recently, a woman came in for her first yoga therapy session. She was in a lot of pain. On her intake form, she marked areas of her body at a pain level of 8 or 9 out of 10. It was hard for her to get down on the floor to lay in Shavasana.
By the time she went through the 20 minutes of guided Ujjayi Pranayama with me, she was transformed. She got up easier. Her face was wider and her eyes clear and bright. She reported with surprise that all her pain had gone down and the chronic pain in her shoulder was much less.
What was the most significant was she sounded hopeful that she could actually get better. Amazing!
She was ready to take the practice home with her. That is the key. For the benefits of Ujjayi Pranayama are not only profound, but they are also cumulative. And yet, getting a steady home practice can be a challenge.
I even see longtime yogis who neglect this. When they come in for a session, I’ll ask them, “Have you been doing your Ujjayi Pranayama twice a day?” Often times, they haven’t. So that’s always where we begin. Once they get consistent with their Ujjayi, their healing really takes off.
It works because Ujjayi Pranayama works with your prana, your vital energy. Any tight or painful areas of your body are areas that are low on prana. They are shut down or even dying on the vine. When you do your Ujjayi, you not only move your breath, but you move your prana as well.
Lying on the floor in Shavasana is best so your spine is fully supported. Then as your breath moves, your muscles also release and your slow breath seeps through your body, enlivening even the shutdown areas.
Your mind too is soothed by the sound of your breath, quieting and turning it inward. When you settle deeper inside, you settle into the source of healing itself. Then healing happens from the inside out. It all starts with 20 minutes twice a day.
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
By Amanda (Purna) Schmidt
Now is the time to get your “Living Mysticism” calendar journal for 2026.
This year is extra-special, marking Gurudevi’s Golden Jubilee. More than a mere notebook or planner, this calendar journal gives you plenty of space for sketching, writing and noting appointments.
However you choose to use “Living Mysticism,” you bring Gurudevi into your daily life. Each page offers a sutra-like excerpt from her teachings over five decades.
Return to this quote throughout the day for inspiration and guidance. Or follow the thread deeper by reading the associated Teaching Article. On each page, you get the title, month and year of publication.
And there’s more: at the start of our Meditation Club each morning, Gurudevi reads the daily quote and adds even more depth in her commentary. Let this calendar journal weave the mystical into every day. Be inspired to do more yoga!
The process of Self-discovery is a process. Sometimes it’s bliss-filled, sometimes not. Consider how many years have you invested in being unenlightened? How many days have you done your unenlightenment practices? How many…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Dharma, Karma, Moksha“
By Ellen (Lajja) Mitchell, Ashram Board President
Our fundraiser, “The Gift of Grace,” is ending. I thank everyone who participated in giving.
Thank you for choosing to support Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram. Your financial support helps us to continue to shine light into the world as well as support you in uncovering your light. I am grateful for you and for our Ashram’s support over the years.
Our Ashram has helped me through physical and mental stuff (oh, mind!). This has helped me to see myself. I am so grateful for our Ashram and for all its offerings. I am more myself and I navigate through life more fluidly. What a gift it is to receive support from Gurudevi and the Swamis.
I opened the Gurudevi App today, and this quote was displayed:
The high points in life are when you’re shining with light, loving, generous, joyful and peaceful. You want to be that way all the time. Of course you do — because it’s who you really are, deep down inside.
– Gurudevi Nirmalananda & Swami Samvidaananda
Yes, that is what our Ashram does. It helps you to see yourself as you truly are and be yourself. What a gift it is to support you in this process. What a gift it is to have your financial support. Yes, a gift of Grace.
While our campaign is coming to an end, we still welcome and appreciate your financial gifts. They make a real difference in what we do!
Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555. Or send your check to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, 116 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, PA 19335. Thank you again and again!
practice & grace: giving you your Self
revealing the mystery
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