Author Archives: Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram

Healing on Every Level

By Lynn (Gurupremananda) Cattafi

The January Healing Retreat was the perfect way to start my New Year. The format created is powerful. The brilliantly designed practices reached me on all levels of my being.

Doing the full-immersion online retreat in my own home was a sacred experience. I could weave the healing into every part of my life, while simultaneously being in my life.

I went into the retreat looking for relief from foot pain that was affecting my mobility. I knew I needed the personalized help that I would receive at the Healing Retreat. And I received so much more than just pain relief!

I was deeply healed in body, mind and heart. I started each day with the online Meditation Club.

Then came my personalized one-on-one online yoga therapy session with one of the Ashram’s amazing Yoga Therapists. I received poses that target and heal my specific pain.

Daily vichara (guided self-inquiry) freed me from mental tensions and blocks. As I got freer, I realized that those blocks had been adversely affecting my body.

Our Yoga Therapists’ daily discourses on pain and healing enhanced my healing process. Plus, in Gurudevi’s group Q&A, I received her enlightened insight into my healing.

This multi-level opening and clearing prepared me for a huge inner breakthrough. It came a few days after the retreat concluded.

I am grateful to Gurudevi as well as to my therapists, Swami Shrutananda and Swami Prajnananda. Their loving and expert guidance is priceless. I highly recommend the Healing Retreat. I am looking forward to taking it again and again. It’s that powerful.

Sutra Study with Gurudevi Nirmalananda

Exuberance!

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By Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast, Yogaratna

At first, I valued this pose for its efficiency. Your sacrum, waist and ribcage area of your spine all get a deep release at the same time. Now I’ve learned to savor the true power of Virasana (Hero Pose) with Seated Side Stretch (SSS).

Virasana SSS opens me inward to exuberance! On my upper arm side, the whole side of my torso lengthens and expands. While extending my straight-elbow arm diagonally, I ease my navel inward. Then my torso extends on both sides. The sense of lengthening and expansion is delicious.

Moving in gradually gives me a sweet transition from computer work — from “busy mind” to minding my body. Sitting in the middle of my blanket stack, I soften both legs. One at a time, I lift them into the crossed-leg alignment. Relaxing my legs, I can more easily line my knees up. Pausing with my hands resting on my knees, I settle into easy breathing and inner awareness. I drop down from a hectic day into the eternal peace of my own Self.

Then I silently coach myself with tips. “Use elbow muscles” to keep your upraised arm straight. “Align your upper arm parallel to your spine line.” I feel both sides of my torso as well as my upraised arm lengthen more.

After moving out of the first side, I pause to sit, resting with my stacked hands again on my knees. My mind settles down and inward. I sink into noticing my body inside more deeply. I feel the ongoing changes.

The feeling of warm upliftment continues. A sense of renewal spreads all the way up to the side of my face. It’s a delicious interval.

For my other side, I repeat the step-by-step process of moving in, staying in and moving out. The luxurious openings unfold on my second side. Yumm…

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My Shaktipat Retreat

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By Madelyn (Maanasaa) Jablon

There were two reasons why I hesitated to sign up for the New Year’s Shaktipat Retreat. First, I was feeling “out of practice.” I had attended the autumn Shaktipat for many years. When the pandemic upset this routine, I felt unanchored.

Second, I wondered if it was necessary to receive Shaktipat more than once. I knew that Shaktipat initiated the awakening of Kundalini. If she was awakened at my first Shaktipat retreat, did she need to be awakened again? Had life’s experiences hit the snooze button? The New Year’s Retreat provided answers.

Although I have a daily practice, I am curious when other yogis describe their Shaktipat experiences. They speak of inner lights, spine-tingling energy and love unrivaled. I hoped to have these experiences and prepared for the retreat with a week of intensive practices — meditation, asana and Ujjayi.

When Gurudevi, giving Shaktipat by touch, hovers near me, my feverish repetition of mantra crescendos. I pray, “please let me feel SOMETHING!” The moment arrives. Gurudevi places her hand on my forehead. Nothing.

In our sharing session, Swami Samvidaananda’s voice echoed off the walls of my bottomless hole of despair. “We have time for one more yogi to describe their Shaktipat experience. Maanasaa, please come up.”

I said, “I experienced the undulating rhythmic vibrations of the universe”.

This time, I lost my old skepticism about Shaktipat. I gained the ability to hear the percussion band of the universe: da-dum-da-dum; da-dum-da-dum.

Gurudevi says it is always resounding.

1000-Fold Return on Investment

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By Karen (Kumuda) Schaub

Interviewed by Agnes (Aikyaa) Hetherington

Winter of 2022 was a challenging time for me. My stress level was through the roof. I was a first-year public school teacher, commuting more than two hours daily. In icy conditions, I nearly fell three times, which strained my already “crunchy” left hip.

In March I had a more serious fall. I went headfirst down the steps outside my condo. I had very intense and painful bruising on my shins and knees. It also aggravated my hip pain.

In acute pain, I went to school as usual the next day. After a week of homeopathy, herbs and acupuncture, I realized more help was needed. My old hip problem had already impaired my ability to bend forward. Now my knees were stiff and swollen.

I worried about regaining my mobility. I was scared about the amount of pain and concerned about blood clots with the intense bruising. So I began weekly Embodyment^® therapy sessions with my Svaroopa^® yoga teacher, Kris Curran.

The weekly sessions helped start my healing process. Most of the swelling and bruising subsided over the next three months. Attending a retreat at Lokananda in July however, I had to use the stairlift to get to the second floor. I was not yet back to normal movement.

I remembered Kris had mentioned Overlap Healing. This Embodyment^® modality “overlaps” sessions to allow for staying open and deep healing. It was a large commitment of time and money, but I decided to make that commitment.

For three weeks in August, I immersed in nine Overlap Embodyment^® sessions. The healing was profound and so was the opening in my body. It was a miracle. My pain and mobility issues diminished by 95 percent!

I marvel at being able to walk my dog outside and not be in pain now. Equally important was the effect on my mind. Embodyment^® allowed me to turn off my mind and settle in. It stopped all that fear process — nipped it in the bud!

I will do it again, on summer break from teaching, no questions asked. It’s a big commitment, but the return on investment is one thousand-fold!

Yoga Healing Retreats Work Miracles!

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By Swami Praj~nananda

Doing more yoga works.I see it every time we offer a Yoga Healing Retreat.As a therapist, I love to support students in these retreats.Everyone’s process is different, but the profound changes in your body, mind and heart are guaranteed.

Each day you receive a yoga therapy session, a vichara session and a group yoga class.You hear a discourse on Consciousness.You chant and mediate, then meditate some more.You are filled up from the inside!And it works every time.

Yet I noticed the retreat this past January raised the healing bar even higher.This is because Gurudevi updated the format by adding an extra day.You may think, “Oh, what can one extra day do?A lot!”

Now you get another day of immersive practices, each day building on the last.And what’s more, you get a newly established Q&A session with Gurudevi.The Q&A is expertly positioned the second-to-last day.With days of healing behind you, your pump is primed for a breakthrough.You’ve gone as far as you could on your own, and you need an extra push.You need a Guru boost!

In the Q&A session, Gurudevi meets you where you’re at.She provides the teachings, presence and support to move you to the next level.I saw this happen with each and every student.Truly incredible.Yet, not surprising.This stuff really works!

Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver shares:

Swami Prajnananda is right.That extra day was more than a day.It had the effect of integrating and consolidating all the deep practices I’d done.I was more prepared to take these new openings home with me.Gurudevi’s generous responses during our Q&A opened new possibilities and helped me choose my next steps.

Since returning home I’ve maintained the physical openings by doing the customized yoga set given to me.I’ve added vichara sessions to my other regular practices.It keeps my mind moving in the right direction.I’m looking at my life with a new yogic lens.

Celina (Chinmayi) Sochaczewska reports from Europe:

When I saw it in the SVA Calendar, I knew I needed this retreat.Living in France, knowing I’d finish every morning at 3 am local time was a bit scary.So I created a plan for preparing myself.A few days beforehand, I went to bed later each night.I did plenty of yoga.I even organized my provisions to avoid the need to shop during the retreat.My life over the six days was a total immersion.I was surprised that I did not need my daily fresh air outings.

In the online retreat, I experienced delicious inner joy and could not stop smiling.It was like a dream come true.Of course, the individual yoga and vichara sessions brought things to the surface (and they are still coming).Yet Gurudevi’s presence, chanting and meditation made the healing faster.

As a result, I have joined the online Meditation Club, and I’m loving it.My daily personal practice of prescribed poses enables me to sit through in my meditation nest without bodily discomforts.My meditation experience is much smoother and deeper.My heart is filled with gratitude to Gurudevi, Swami Shrutananda and Swami P. for their incredible support and guidance.

Lynn (Gurupremananda) Cattafi feels the changes continuing:

I was a little skeptical at first, but I signed up anyway.My feet have been in a lot of pain, and I knew I needed the personalized help.I received so much more than just pain relief.The Healing Retreat format is so powerful.I was deeply healed in body, mind and heart.The practices are brilliantly designed to reach you on all levels of your being.

I took the online, full immersion option.Doing the retreat from my own home felt very sacred; I was able to weave the healing into every part of my life, while being in my life.I can report that this retreat made me ready to receive a huge inner breakthrough that came a few days later.I am grateful for Gurudevi, and Swami Shrutananda and Swami Praj~nananda for their loving and expert guidance.My feet are doing much better too!The personalized pose set is reaching in exactly where it needs to, so the healing continues!

Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast adds her update:

I returned home from the January Healing Retreat relieved of acid reflux and hip crease discomfort.The head of my left thigh bone slipped into its hip socket for the first time ever.My customized home pose set gives me continuing breakthroughs.More improvement than I could ever have imagined motivates my daily practice of challenging poses.

I feel my arms, legs and abs strengthening significantly day by day.In Meditation Club, which starts at 4:30 am my time, I sit in steady ease with an upright spine.Kriyas feel more deeply effective in clearing mental and emotional blockages.As I enter my 77^th journey around the sun, I feel younger!

Abundance of Benefits from YTT 3

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By Kim (K.rtakarii) Lodge

Interviewed by Margie (Maitreyi) Wilsman

On arriving at Level 3 of my Yoga Teacher Training, I was aware that something was quite different. My mind was telling me that the Teacher Trainers were treating us differently. From the beginning, everyone noticed the more relaxed feeling. As a group, we conversed easily with Swami Shrutananda and Sahajananda.

We expressed how our experience of the training had changed. They helped us to understand that we ourselves had shifted. They explained our shift inside made our training experience different. That really stood out for me. It helped me to see how much I had grown and changed. Gurudevi says it’s from receiving Shaktipat in Level 2.

After completing YTT 3, I could bring so much more to my students. Level 3 includes a great set of poses. Students were very excited about the new poses. But even more important, from a steadier place inside I could bring myself to my students in a whole new way. That has made the deep and abiding difference in the thriving of my yoga business, even during pandemic restrictions.

Before each training, I convince myself I am not ready. I now recognize that small-s self voice in my head as fear. Over the years, I have learned to trust this recognition. I know that, even though I hear this little voice sometimes, I am enough. I am ready. I am completely taken care of.

I am endlessly grateful to Gurudevi for showing me the way forward. Guru’s Grace is that steady hand at my back guiding me on my path.

Yoga Teacher Training

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Tadasana

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By Nirooshita Sethuram, Yogaratna

I was born into a Hindu family in Sri Lanka. Standing is a most important posture for our family, especially for cultural and religious events. Often, we stand barefoot on the floor or on a mat. It depends on what is required and the ceremony that we are attending. And we must stand for hours at times!

So, naturally, I thought I was very comfortable standing anywhere at any place. This was until I found Svaroopa^® yoga and learned how to stand. That’s when Tadasana became my favorite pose. Tadasana taught me how to stand with ease settling into my own Self deeply while standing.

Most of us tighten our spine when we stand. How long can you stand without tightening your spine? In Svaroopa^® yoga, I found the answer to this question. Yes, in Tadasana I accomplished standing without tightening my spine for however long is needed.

Tadasana also helped me develop the correct standing posture to stand in my daily life. I learned to improve the way I use my legs and feet. I learned how to lean into my bones. Learning how to lean weight into bone. Now I stand using my bones. This strengthens my legs, because as you lean weight into a bone, it gets thicker and stronger. When you hold yourself up with muscles, especially spinal muscles, you are not leaning into your bones.

Standing in Tadasana allows my weight to lean through my leg bones, into the bones of my feet, and through my feet into the floor. This activates my arches. In this way, leaning into my bones not only preserves and increases their strength. This also gives me a feeling of being grounded. It makes me able to apply that to everything else I do.

I’ve also learned to distribute my weight evenly on both of my feet. This helps my balance (physical, mental and emotional) as well as stamina. In this way, I’m able to take yoga into the midst of my life.

Oh! I must also mention getting taller and lighter by standing in Tadasana. When I carefully align myself, I truly experience Tadasana as the “standing version” of Shavasana. The name says it all: Tadasana = Tat + asana = Pose of “That” (the Supreme Reality). Standing in Tadasana and settling with ease gives me the experience of the Self! I stand in the deeper dimensions of my own Beingness, which is who I really am.

As always, I grateful to my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati. We lovingly call her Gurudevi for giving us the practices and poses. They reliably give us the experiences they describe. How blessed am I to learn and experience these ancient methodologies by a modern living Guru such as Gurudevi Ji!

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It Went Away Miraculously

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By TC (Tattvananda) Richards

Interviewed by Lissa (Yogyananda) Fountain, Yogaratna

It says online, “You cannot get rid of plantar fasciitis without medical intervention.” For my work, I stand on my feet all day long. The pain in my heel got worse and worse. And everyone had advice: “Roll your foot on a ball” or ”you’ll need an injection.” Yet because of my Svaroopa® yoga practices, the pain went away miraculously ― amazingly, never to return.

When I mentioned my condition to one of the Ashram swamis, she recommended I try Embodyment® Yoga Therapy sessions or at least one hour a day of Ujjayi Pranayama. Because of my schedule, I chose to commit myself to my Ujjayi breathing practice. To stay conscious the whole hour, I set a timer for every 20 minutes. It worked! The pain started to lesson.

The real turnaround happened when I changed my daily yoga routine. I learned I had not been sequencing my spine effectively. Swamiji gave me a more therapeutic pose practice. This released my tailbone tensions and reached into all the tight spots I’d been missing.

I also gave myself more time in the poses. By slowing down, I felt my body relaxing. In the pauses between poses, I could perceive the inner shifts. To feel complete, I always included a beginning and closing Shavasana.

Now I get up in the morning with no pain. And I know I have to keep up with the practices. I think of it as cooperating with the flow of Grace!

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