Author Archives: Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram

Three Yoga Miracles 

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By Barbara (Girijananda) Hess, Yogaratna 

Interviewed by Agnes (Aikya) Hetherington 

I supported three students in profound healing through their Svaroopa® yoga practices as well as their receiving Embodyment® Yoga Therapy sessions.  

The first was a colleague in her twenties. Our job setting was new to her.

Overwhelmed by stress, she cried everyday.  When she learned that I teach yoga, she soon started attending my Svaroopa® yoga classes.   

Before long, she enrolled in my three-week series “Ease into Meditation.” Then she enrolled in the Mandali Travels “Deepen Your Meditation,” a program taught by an Ashram Swami. She has continued deepening inward with Sutra Studies as well as a daily home practice. She has learned how to access inner peace and bliss.  

All this has transformed her. “I no longer worry about stuff. I know I can keep my mind on a short leash,” she says. “I feel different around my friends. I don’t complain all the time.”  

I was honored to be invited to her wedding a few months ago. From her new husband, I heard that she said, “I need to meditate and repeat mantra,” when she was agitated before the ceremony. Throughout the whole wedding, she was glowing and calm.  

The second miracle is a client with two replacements of the same hip and neuropathy in her feet. She has returned to normal activity including walking without an assistive device!  

I gave her weekly Embodyment® sessions, taught her Ujjayi Pranayama, and recommended a pose sequence for home practice. Besides the dramatic improvement in her surgical hip, she also gained sensation in her feet.

She had had neuropathy for two years. At a recent appointment, the neurologist said, “If this is working, keep doing it.” 

Another of my co-workers is my third Miracle Story. She was having panic attacks in the course of supporting her mother, who was in hospice. In private sessions, I taught her Ujjayi breathing in Shavasana. With weekly private sessions, she anchored securely into her twice daily Ujjayi practices. The panic attacks ended.  

Our Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation guides us in opening to our Divine Essence within. Encountering these teachings, she could see herself being a strong divine daughter. She felt much more present with her mom during her transition.   

Now this colleague continues coming to my yoga classes. While staying loyal to her Christian beliefs, she embraces the experience of her own Divinity. 

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Your Mind’s Job

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Your own Self is always manifest, always present, always accessible, always easy to find.  You just have to look in the right direction — inward.  But your mind is constructed to look the other way.  Your mind is a concentrated form of Consciousness with…

—  Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Jiva Becomes Shiva“

Watch Full Discourse Here

Living in Ease

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By Swami Satrupananda 

More reps. Heavier weights. Longer distances. This is what we’ve been taught will give us physical health. 

You get more by doing more. You push your body further and harder. You push through the pain. Grit your teeth and bear it.

And then once you’ve pushed your body as much as you can, you rest. You’re exhausted and maybe even in pain. You rest so that your body can heal from what you’ve done to it. 

Is there another way? 

Yes! Svaroopa® yoga starts with the resting. We begin every class with Shavasana, yoga’s relaxation pose. Lying on the floor, you prop your legs up, which supports your lower back. You put a blanket under your head. You rest and settle.

Your teacher then offers you a Guided Awareness: “Become aware of your toes, all ten toes, all at the same time . . .”

In this relaxation pose, your physical tensions melt away. As you are guided through being aware of your own body, your mind settles. Your mind slows down. You clear away the physical and mental fatigue of life. 

Your class continues with an ease-full breathing practice that builds your reservoir of energy. The yoga poses target muscular tension in your spine. For this release, you move your body into easy angles. You prop your body with blankets and blocks. And then you soften into the pose. 

Even in the standing poses, you soften into it. The goal is not pushing further and trying harder. Instead, the purpose is to open up to an ease of being in your own body, which is health-full, bliss-full and powerful.

Our classes end with Shavasana, and you experience the Guided Awareness again. This practice is so important that we do it twice. And you need the practice! You need the practice in resting, in settling into an easy state of being. 

At the end of Shavasana, students sit up.  As their teacher, I ask for comments. Their most common feedback is feeling peaceful, relaxed and full of energy all at the same time. 

Yes, that is the way to live — all the time! You can feel that way too, by practicing Svaroopa® Yoga.

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Meditate with a Master Everyday

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You are invited to a FREE informal online discussion about our Meditation Club.

Gurudevi Nirmalananda, along with Swami Shrutananda, will explain how it works and give you a taste of it.

Our Meditation Club meets online daily — 365 days in the year (Leap Year, it’s 366!).  While this introductory program is free, Meditation Club is by subscription, with a three-month minimum. 

In this free program, ask your questions and see if our Meditation Club will give you what you’re looking for.  

FREE Join Our Meditation Club
ONLINE Tuesday September 16
4:00-5:00 pm (EDT)

When you meditate with a master, you dive deeper within — easily. The specialty of Gurudevi’s tradition is to open you up to the deeper dimensionality of your own being. She was taught by a master, who was taught by a master . . . back through the generations.

Sign up for this free introduction to gather valuable information. It can help you decide whether it  feels right for you.  

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Grieving While Based in Beingness

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By JoAnn (Chaya) Gibson

In early June, my adult son was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic cancer.  The prognosis for recovery is extremely poor. The shock of it felt overwhelming and unreal.  

He had gone to the emergency room with stomach pain. Something simple, I thought, maybe an ulcer.  He is 62 years old, engaged to be married and looking forward to retirement.  

I expected to spend my remaining years with him as part of my family and life.  As the reality of his diagnosis sank in, I experienced the first waves of grief.  

These waves came with a kind of fury. They reminded me of being a child at the seashore.  A wave would pick me up, spin me around and pull me under. Then it spit me out on the shore.  

Now, however, I am not pulled under. I have a buoyancy that comes from the practice of exploring Beingness.

In my yoga class, during the Guided Awareness in Shavasana, I feel my toes.  Feeling all ten toes, I know that I have toes. Feeling openings from poses lets me know I am more than my body and personality.  

When I meditate, I connect to an energy that supports me through the day. I am supported while I go through this grief.

When I’m in a program with my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda, I feel a presence, peace and a power.  Her gift of Shaktipat gave me the experiential knowing of my Self.  

When we chant, the problems of the world sink into the background. Then I am in the now. By staying based in Beingness, my heart can stay open. I can go on this journey with my son without fear.  

As a therapist, I worked with people coping with present trauma or recovering from past trauma. We would explore together whether there was a “gift” in the event.  Did the pain provide an experience that changed how they lived their life? Was there a lesson that needed to be learned?  Was the pain a doorway into a new way of being in life ? 

Now I say yes when answering this question for myself. As the waves of grief continue, I am aware that I am more based in my heart’s energy.  

Music affects me more deeply. I feel more connected to people, plants and animals.  I am aware of feeling more empathy and compassion for my fellow travelers on Earth’s plane.  

My heart feels broken, yet also more open.  I am grateful for my Guru and the Svaroopa® Vidya spiritual path. 

Meditate with Gurudevi

Always Amazes Me

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By Phil (Krishna) Milgrom

Over the years, many of my students and clients have testified to the healing power of Svaroopa® Yoga and Embodyment® Yoga Therapy. It’s magical. It always amazes me.

A new yoga student wrote:

After two weeks, I can now get out of bed without my back killing me. I had been intent on buying a new mattress. You saved me plenty!

Another new student also reported that after a few classes her back pain had vanished. It had been nagging her almost constantly. She was finally able to sleep “wonderfully well.”

Hearing testimonies like these after classes, I have sometimes responded with a joke. I say our yoga studio’s closet is full of crutches — left behind by other students. But it’s really no joke: these wonderful practices really work.

Recently, a student asked us for help. She hadn’t attended classes for a year or so. She read about Embodyment® Yoga Therapy on our website. There we explain how Overlap Healing through Embodyment® Yoga Therapy sessions works. 

This series is recommended when you’re feeling “stuck” physically, emotionally or even spiritually. She said her dad died several months back and this was exactly how she’d been feeling since.

She was definitely stuck. She had been suffering from severe joint pain. Her right hip was especially bothersome. She was losing hope. She said she needed help getting back to her Self. 

For her first Embodyment® session, she could barely walk into our studio. Yet, immediately after, she felt tremendous improvement. She was smiling again. She was able to walk back to her car comfortably. By the third session, she had absolutely no pain. She said, “This was nothing short of a miracle!”

Since her Overlap Healing series, she has been practicing the Magic 4 regularly and remains pain free. She has found her “old Self” again. 

This miracle is simply the Svaroopa® Sciences at work. They constitute a systematic methodology validated and based on evidence. As one of my t-shirts says, “Science: Because you can’t just make it up!”  

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Krishna’s Embodyment Webpage

Our Grace-full Pendant from Ganeshpuri

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By Amanda (Purna) Schmidt

Guru’s Grace, infused into this beautiful pendant, is always with you. The Sanskrit syllables Guru OM are crafted in sterling silver, framed in a simple oval shape. 

Simple and elegant, it is the result of months of collaboration. Gurudevi and Sunil, her Ganeshpuri jeweler, worked closely to bring this piece to you. Created with yogis in mind, this pendant is more than just beautiful jewelry. 

Guru OM is a mantra, one that Muktananda freely gave. This pendant captures that shakti and keeps it close to your heart. Adorn yourself in the Grace of the lineage. Feel the sacred mystery.

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FREE Join Our Meditation Club

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Online Thursday July 24

Meditation is the most important of yoga’s practices. Sign up for this FREE online informational program to ask your questions.

In informal discussion with Gurudevi Nirmalananda and Swami Prajñananda, you’ll find out if joining our online Meditation Club will give you what you’re looking for. We want to help you find it.

Getting started is much easier when you meditate with others, especially when they are experienced meditators. Your meditations become easier, deeper and more fulfilling.

Meditation Club has made a big shift for me. Meditation had always been a struggle. Yet now I am regularly committed to my early morning wakeup call. I know I am making progress.

— Annette Z.

It is a commitment. While this introductory program is free, Meditation Club is by subscription, with a three-month minimum. That’s to get you over the hump. Life gets easier, deeper and more fulfilling as well.

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Guru Purnima — The Full Moon of the Guru

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By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

Shining in the dark, the moon reflects the light of the sun. It is cooling, luminous light showing your way through the mounded shapes in the night.

Your mind shines with the reflected light of your own Self, your Divine Essence, found within. When your mind is clear, the light is cooling and luminous.

But the dark you are trying to find your way through is created by the mounds and masses in your mind. They block the very light that you need so greatly.

The Guru’s mind has been cleared, so their light shines through. Yet their purpose is not to merely shine light on your pathway, but to illumine you from the inside out. July’s full moon is dedicated to the Guru — Guru Purnima.

The ancient sages dedicated each purnima to a different purpose. Some of them are seasonal, like the fall moon dedicated to the Goddess Lakshmi. She is the giver of earthly blessings including an abundant harvest. Dattatreya and Hanuman have their full moons, along with other deities.

On Vata Purnima, falling in May-June, married women do practices to insure the health and longevity of their husbands. One is to tie a string around the trunk of a banyan tree, in honor of Savitri, the wife who saved her husband by confronting the Lord of Death. Personally, I have seen many banyan trees circled with hundreds of strings, as I have often traveled to India for the July Purnima.

In India, it is rare to see the moon on Guru Purnima because the sky is covered with monsoon clouds. Many times I have sat under a shelter, seeing the light behind the clouds and waiting for the moon to peek out.

Perhaps this is why the ancients dedicated the moon to the Guru, since a true Guru is hard to find and even harder to follow.

Yet dedication does pay off. Every time I waited for the clouds to clear on Guru Purnima, my heart’s wish was fulfilled.

My Guru explained there are many false Gurus. Some of them lead you into worldliness. This is clearly described in today’s terminology: investment guru, fashion guru, advertising Guru and there is even a basement guru in my local area.

Other types of false gurus give spiritual teachings but without the depth of tradition that supports them and you. Baba said that zircons only exist because there are diamonds. In your spiritual search, you must find a diamond.

How can you tell? You measure the value of a Guru by the change in you. Do what the Guru recommends for six months and see if you like the changes in yourself. If so, plan on another six months. I did this with my Guru for six years, reevaluating twice a year, until I realized I was in the right place.

On Guru Purnima, the disciple makes every effort to spend time with their Guru. Traditionally, this is the day they give gifts to support the Guru and their mission. For me, back in the day, having time with my Guru on this auspicious day involved a trip to India. It is easier these days with internet programs zooming through.

If you cannot be with your Guru and are not able to zoom in, then do some extra practices on this day. For those studying with me, you can watch a discourse video, read a book or blog, or one of my monthly Teachings Article.

Chant the mantra, using one of my recordings. Do arati, the candle flame ceremony, to honor the Guru, including my Guru and his Guru.

And get darshan of the full moon, even a glimpse. In 2025, it is on July 10, peaking at 4:37 pm EDT, while it appears to be full on the nights before and after.

What’s so special about the Guru that they get a full moon? The book J~nanasindhu describes the Goddess Parvati telling her son:

Kartikeya, the Guru is without beginning or end, even though you can see him in a physical form.

While we can get caught up in appreciating the Guru’s physical presence as well as their unique qualities, it is their deeper essence that matters. As I described above, Divine light shines through their mind without obstruction, giving them the radiance that is so captivating.

I was definitely captivated by my Baba. I loved to watch him. Even now I watch videos of his discourses online, many English translations. I love to watch his expressions, his hand gestures, his eyes and his smile.

You can liken it to sunlight shining through a window in your home. While the same light shines through every window, you may have a favorite. You and the cat love to bask in the sun in that special spot.

In this way, you get to appreciate the unique qualities of your own Guru, while recognizing that it’s the Divine light shining through that matters.

Yet this is true of you as well. The same Divine light is full and intact within you, shining from deeper within than where you usually look. Yet your ability to access these deeper dimensions is limited until the Guru unlocks the door. Jaya Gurudev! Hail to the Divine Guru.

Guru Purnima Satsang
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A Series of Yoga Miracles

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By Kelly (Kushala) Sharp

A recent client has experienced a series of miracles. When they came to me, extreme sciatica pain was making it hard to walk. Plus, they were facing surgery because of a severe carpal tunnel flare-up. Their pain management required Advil three times daily, and they felt desperate.

In less than a month, they were scheduled for a three-week “trip of a lifetime.” So we created a custom Overlap Healing series and got busy. Overlap Healing is a sequence of daily Svaroopa® Yoga Therapy sessions, followed by sessions at wider intervals.

Within a three-week period, this client had 12 sessions. In their third — a mere two days after the first — they could walk without pain. They said it was a miracle. A week later, they reduced the amount of daily Advil. By the 12th session, they had stopped taking it.

And that carpal tunnel flare-up? By practicing Hastasana (Hand Thing) three times a day, my client recovered feeling in their hands. Taking only a minute, this pose offered immediate relief.

The client cancelled their upcoming surgery. They left on their trip armed with a Svaroopa® yoga practice to do every day (maybe twice a day). Yoga therapy supported change from the inside out.

To be honest, they exceeded my expectations. For their return, I had planned some Overlap Healing sessions to help them regain any lost ground. But much to my surprise they didn’t lose a lot of ground.

On their trip they had done their yoga and maintained the powerful openings received through yoga therapy. This worked even while doing lots of tourist activities that required exertion.

My client came home feeling great and returned to weekly yoga therapy sessions. When they noticed a little decline in how they were feeling, we scheduled a few sessions within one week.

My takeaway from this is that it doesn’t take a lot extra to make powerful and permanent changes. Sometimes a little extra is all you need!

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