By Bindu Shortt

Aaahhh, spring — bulbs push through the thawing soil, trees and bushes bud, and the sun shines longer each day. Seeking to refresh and renew, all of nature is awakening from winter’s hibernation. In Ayurveda, spring season is called “kapha.” It derives from two Sanskrit words that mean “water” and “flourish” or “nourish.” Qualities of water increase, both in nature outside us and in nature inside us, to nourish new growth.

Our yoga-buddies in the southern hemisphere are enjoying the beginning of fall, explained in a recent blog.   In the northern hemisphere, we are coming out of winter, which is vata season. Inside, we have accumulated vata energies of dryness, cold or feeling vapid-and spacey. In reaction to these excesses, your body may be producing more mucous, in the form of colds, flu or allergies now. You may be holding extra weight from the winter or find that your digestion is really sluggish. As we switch to kapha season, your body-mind wants to clear out the excess qualities from winter to be able to live harmoniously with those of spring. This means a nurturing time of renewed energy, vitality and cleansing.

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Ayurveda offers some ways to clean and nourish in springtime. These simple lifestyle practices support your body’s innate capabilities to do both. First, eat your biggest meal midday. At this time the fire of digestion burns hottest. It will also maximize cleansing at a cellular level. Keep breakfast and dinner lighter. For example, eat cooked fruits and grains for breakfast, and soups and light breads for dinner.  Favor the bitter, pungent and astringent tastes. Americans are more familiar with the other three tastes — sweet, sour and salty — which pacify vata during winter. In spring, however, we need the other tastes for cleansing.

All leafy greens are bitter, and are best cooked. Asparagus, beets and fennel are also considered bitter. For herbs and spices, bitter turmeric, cumin, and fenugreek all help the body to cleanse from within. Pungent includes the tastes of onions and garlic as well as black pepper, cloves, mustard seeds, and ginger. Along with these pungent ingredients, include the astringent taste. It is found in pomegranates, lentils and beans, quinoa, spinach, apples and pears, avocadoes, and sesame seeds as well as the spices fennel, coriander, and parsley. These foods help to dry up excessive mucous. Throughout spring, use these foods liberally, still keeping most of your meals cooked (not raw).

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Begin to rise earlier, just as the sun is doing. Being up by 6 am will help you ride the 6 to 10 am kapha waves of energy, rather than sink into them, accumulating sluggishness and lethargy. Resist the temptation to nap during the day. If you do need to nap, do so sitting propped up, which will keep your body from going into a false sense of nighttime cleansing. Lying down to nap during the day will only leave you more toxic when you wake up.

Keep your daily self-massage going. Even add a second layer to it. Do dry massage first, to deeply stimulate your lymph system to move toxins on through. You can buy a pair of dry massage gloves at the pharmacy. Then you will be ready for the oil massage.

In Ayurveda wisdom, spring is a season of both cleansing and nourishing. Spring Asparagus Kitchari will give you both, helping to release any spring fluid buildup in your tissues and joints.  It’s nice with papadum or homemade chapatti, and serves 4:

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Ingredients:

1 pound fresh asparagus, rinsed and cut into ½ inch pieces

½ cup rice

½ cup split mung dal

Pinch of saffron

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons ghee

Directions:

Rinse together the ½ cup rice and the ½ cup split mung dal, soak for at least 30 minutes and then drain.

Dry-roast a good pinch of saffron.

To the roasted saffron, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, and 2 tablespoons of ghee. Sauté until the cumin gives off an aroma.

Add 1/4 cup chopped onion to the spices and ghee, and sauté until soft.

Add the soaked, drained rice and dal plus 6 cups of water or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium, and cook for about 45 minutes.

Add 1 pound of rinsed fresh asparagus, cut into ½ inch pieces. Stir gently. Cook another 15 minutes.

By Swami Nirmalananda

I love when new students come in with pain!  Whether it’s physical, mental or emotional pain, and even most medical diagnoses, Svaroopa^® yoga helps.  A recent group of Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) students reported that Svaroopa^® yoga has helped them with numerous conditions:

• Sciatica
• Swayback
• Mental Clarity
• Low Energy
• Overall Wellbeing!
• Carpal Tunnel
• Left Knee
• Energy Level Increase
• Arthritis In Lower Back
• Sciatica
• TMJ Disorder

Do we give each student different poses for their different conditions?  No.  Of course, we have therapeutic protocols, which we can apply one-on-one to speed the healing process, but in classes we work with the basics:  breath, spinal decompression and the inner immersion into Source.  It’s both simple and profound at the same time.

This same group added in their personal stories:

“I have a great deal of anxiety which svaroopa has helped me with a great deal.”

“I had trouble with pre-rheumatoid arthritis which stays in control with turmeric, diet, yoga, and rest.”

“Svaroopa has helped me with many conditions but mostly chronic pain and anxiety.”

“it has helped with severe back pain significantly and prevented a major surgery.”

“Gosh, I got hooked on Svaroopa yoga because it helped with back pain and anxiety.”

“It continues to change every aspect of my being in a positive way.”

How does it change all these conditions at the same time?  Simply by working on their common cause.  When you decompress your spine, everything in your body, mind and heart responds — positively, quickly, powerfully.  Every chiropractor and osteopath will agree and loves to help you with it.  In Svaroopa^® yoga classes, we teach you how to do it for yourself.

But you have to do it!  If you know how, and you don’t do it, it doesn’t help you.  Why are the YTT students reporting such amazing results?  The reason is that they do more yoga than most of their students.

Do more yoga.

Reported by Varadananda King

“The Year-Long Programme gave me so much more than I had hoped for,” says Dana Clark. “It has helped me to understand all the changes I have been experiencing are a result of my practices.  They are the unfolding of who I really am. I’ve learned to not be fearful when those changes are sometimes difficult.

“I find now a different sort of peace — deeper and more lasting. I rest in the knowledge that I am OK. That allows me to express who I am as I follow my dharma. I am excited and look forward to discovering the more that Swamiji shows us is there.”

Frances Amery notes, “In last year’s Year-Long Programme (YLP), Swamiji’s teachings helped me to understand some of the events that had been happening in my meditations as well as in my day-to-day life. The tools Swamiji gave, such as the litany, were most helpful in sorting through the inevitable ups and downs. Having taken several YLPs previously, I find that the flow of Grace is tangible from the very moment I register. Each year, I find the YLP profoundly nourishing on so many levels that I would hate to miss one. Deep gratitude to my dear Guru and fellow yogis who travel this path with me!”

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“How to vocalize OM was one of the many powerful takeaways,” says Antaraj~na (Deborah) Mandel. “Swamiji taught us how to properly form the word.  In a meditation with Muktananda’s OM Namah Shivaya playing in the background, I was with Muktananda and singing with him. His mouth opened as he formed OM and a perfect bindu came forth. Once released, it became the Universe. I was One with Muktananda and with the creation of the Universe.”

Describing her profound experiences as a Year-Long Programme student, Brenda Benna recalls, “Each time has been a revelation of the mysteries of things, not explained anywhere else, neither in my education nor in my Christian upbringing. I begin to get a taste of my true nature. It is the Self, I’m told. Regardless of what it is called, it sustains me through the good and the bad of life. It anchors me and supports my journey. When the programme is over, I begin to feel a sense of loss and can’t wait for the next program. The articles and recordings from Swamiji keep me in the flow.

“Because I am not able to be with Swamiji in person, the distance learning approach serves me well. I read her articles, listen to her recordings and participate in the conference call discussions with other yogis. This gives me access to the teachings that are the gift Swamiji gives of her Self. The vastness of her knowledge and the truth that she shares so freely is amazing. She opens the portal to the mysteries of life, and allows me access to my true nature. I see the bigger picture. Because she is so thoroughly knowledgeable of the ancient teachings, I don’t need to look anywhere else. She educates me and opens doors that I can easily walk through to uncover what is just a breath away.”

Enlightenment in the Midst of Life, Swamiji’s 2018 Year-Long Programme, begins soon.  Click here to register for the Free Intro Call on February 28^th.

By Aanandi Ross

“Just Don’t,” our February Teachings from Swami Nirmalananda and Rukmini Abbruzzi, inspires me to rededicate myself to practicing yoga’s yamas — uplifting lifestyle practices.  I feel the richness of these five practices.  They offer huge possibilities for me; for every human being.  Some have been more up front in my life at different times.  Some have evolved through different stages.  What shall I return to first?

Ahimsa, first on the list, means do no harm to others.  I think of the many spiders I’ve encountered in my life.  I’ve slipped a cup over them, slid a card underneath and carried it all out the door.  It’s never really bothered me too much, except for one time when there was a very big spider, large and thick.  It stopped me right in my tracks.  For a moment I stood in the middle of the kitchen, before remembering to breathe.

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Finding my inner warrior, I mustered up the courage to help him or her get back outside.  It felt good to have helped the spider.  Of course, I continue to work on my aggressive impulses when they arise.  My driving habits, however, still offer me something to work on.  Sometimes I still speed, which could be harmful.  Maybe after publicly disclosing this, I won’t anymore.

Practicing satya requires that you speak only truth.  I find speaking only truth so much easier.  Have you noticed this?  It is a practice, and it takes practice.  Yet it is freeing as it simplifies life.  The words flow out so much more easily, even when it’s challenging to tell a truth.  It feels “right” in my gut.

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Asteya means don’t steal.  The article reminded me that I caught myself stealing a while back.  At the dentist’s tea table, I had just poured myself a cup of spice tea when I saw another choice — an organic, chocolate mint tea — a flavor I had not seen before.  Oh, how delightful to try later, I thought.  It is not my habit to take extra free goodies.  Doing so on this occasion obviously bothered me on some level because I remembered the incident.  Next time I go to the dentist, I will bring a teabag to leave there.  It’s in my calendar.

Regarding brahmacharya, celibacy, I recall a time in my early twenties when this practice was in the forefront of my life.  I had already discovered that using the vehicle of a persona with a sexual flair was only causing pain and suffering.  I cut my hair short and gained more than a few pounds.  I had a yearning to know who I was beneath and beyond the needs and identities entangled in sexuality.  A quote from Swamiji comes to mind,  ”Work with your strengths and work on your weaknesses.”

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Currently, I’m enjoying the practice of aparigraha, no more greediness.  With a shift in my financial situation, I am practicing much more earnestly restraining myself from “grasping for things I don’t need.”  It feels wonderful, putting things in perspective, helping me to re-organize my life.

Practicing yoga’s yamas, offers so much.  They give you great ways to uplift yourself and keep your mind from pulling you out of Consciousness.  In every moment there is choice.  The yamas make this very clear.  Practice the yamas.  Just do.

By Swami Nirmalananda

Will Enlightenment Improve My Life?

Yes, enlightenment will improve your life, but you’re going to get more than that.  Enlightenment will improve the “you” that is living “your” life.  In Kashmiri Shaivism, enlightenment is called “Self-Realization,” meaning it is about you being more you while you are in your life.  In other words, your life is about you — not about who you know, where you go or what you do.

Will I Have a Life After I Am Enlightened?

Yes, probably the same life you have now, unless (of course) you want to make changes.  It’s easier to identify what changes you want as well as how to make them when you’re enlightened.  But it is also easier to live in the real world, share your life with imperfect people and do things that matter to you.  Why?  You’re less confused, more loving and accepting, better able to speak up for yourself and overall happier (regardless of what is happening).  In other words, enlightenment will improve your life?:

Do I Have to Leave My Life to Get Enlightened?

No.  in fact, everything and everyone in your life is working on you.  They’ll all be much happier when you’re enlightened.  To get there, you do have to prioritize it, which means you cultivate a different perspective, even in the midst of the same things.  As you deepen into your own inner center, your perspective gives you a new way to live as well as a new way to make choices.  Even though there are hard parts along the way, life gets easer and easier.  Of course, there are hard parts in life even when you’re not working on enlightenment, so you may as well go for the gold.

How Do I Learn More? 

Join my 2018 multi-media study programme, Enlightenment in the Midst of Life, which begins in March.  Find out more in my FREE Intro Phone Call on February 28.

By Matrika Gast

“It was really special — we even danced during the night,” says Rijumati (Ursula) Myslinski, recalling last year’s Ashram Shivaratri Retreat in Florida. Shivaratri is always celebrated in February at the dark of the moon. It happens tonight, February 13^th. Let Rijumati’s experience, below, give you ideas for a Shivaratri celebration in your own home, even inviting other yogis to join you. This spiritual challenge is for the ultimate purpose of human life: to know your own Self.

Remembering last year’s Shivaratri Retreat. Rijumati says, “Swami Nirmalananda’s sequencing of everything was superb. Our night included so much: meditation, chanting and sacred stories. We chanted with fervor. It built up slowly, as Swamiji is a master at leading this. Some meditations were short, and she told wonderful stories. The dancing was a surprise she was building up to! If you’re doing it at home, you can even dance if you want to.

“A key ingredient in our ecstasy was the amount of time for our practices and the total focus on what we were doing. We had snacks to fortify us. Swamiji thought of everything. She warned us there would be two obstacles to making it through the night: the mind and the body. The mind was the stronger foe!

Even with the ecstasy in the dancing, Rijumati was ultimately moved into a “state of peace and quiet”. She says, “It was an uplifting experience. Yogis aged 70 (and over) are cautioned not to stay awake all night. So I did have rest periods, including a two-hour nap. Yet I got up again at 3 am, and engaged fully in the ongoing festivities. With Swamiji’s guidance it was easy. The next day I felt pretty darn good. When I opened my eyes, I realized I could take the state of peace and calm with me, and started my day at the usual time.

“When I returned home, my Shivaratri experience had a lasting effect. As Swami says, the more you do japa, it helps you stay in the state. I do have to make an effort to turn off the radio, to create basic peace and quiet and then access the deeper kind. After the Shivaratri Retreat it was easier to make that decision.”

This Night of Shiva offers you the chance of a lifetime. You can become enlightened in this one night. Simply stay up all night for extended meditation practices and don’t fall asleep. It’s not too late to plan. In a cold climate, hunker down in your yoga cave; if your weather is warm, you may want to be outside. Plan for your all-night practices. Include recesses with healthy treats during the night. (If you’re 70 or over, plan naps, too.) Chant, meditate, read the ancient teaching stories about Shiva. Do poses, both to keep awake as well as to make your sitting for meditation better.  Then meditate again. Repeat until sunup — or until as long as you have planned. Decide in advance and apply yourself.

Rijumati recalls, “What was remarkable was a real bonding experience with the other yogis. It happened because of our shared ritual. One always gets closer to yogis in programs. This was a special night together.” Even if you are practicing solo, however, you will be in good company. In India and around the world, Ashrams and Temples will be open all night. This includes our Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram, with an all-night celebration at Downingtown Yoga & Meditation Center.

by Rudrani Nogue, CSYT

“I never thought I would hear that sound come out of your mouth,” exclaimed a regular participant at our yoga philosophy discussion group to another regular. It was a sound of ease and joy. Leola had realized that, though her life had not changed, her reaction to it was gone. Leola repeated the sound several times. Then several in our circle had fun repeating the sound. Group laughter bubbled up at Leola’s wonderful transformation. “Small-s self” melted away in that moment. Clearly coming from the Truth, Leola glowed.

In April 2016, at her granddaughter’s pre-school, Leola had seen an announcement that Swami Nirmalananda would be leading a satsang (meditation program) in the same building. Leola attended. Swami Nirmalananda awoke Leola at a level that she did not yet recognize. Yet a decision arose in the back of her head. She would follow up with yoga classes “down the road.”

In September 2016, Leola phoned me to ask about yoga classes. I could hear deep stress in her voice. She was helping her daughters by taking care of grandkids daily, a one-year-old and a five-year-old. This was overwhelming, tiring work for Leola, with overactive young children. She had sleep apnea, tight muscles and aching knees. She wanted more flexibility and peace. She cried as I suggested in yoga class she would learn ways to care for herself. Finding time to come, however, was a roadblock. She said she would think about it and get back to me. A few days later she phoned to say “yes.” She registered for an upcoming session to claim an evening when she could get away.

This first step set Leola on a life changing pattern of “doing more yoga.” Leola consistently attends yoga class and has committed to taking care of herself. She is consistent in every yoga practice she has taken up in the 18 months since beginning. This is even changing her reaction to life as she abides more and more in Self.

Leola began with spinal release poses at home in the morning before starting her day. In class, she reported on her progress. After about five months, her early morning home practice included all the poses she’d learned in class. Her body — particularly her knees — and her mind were opening.

Because she liked how yoga was helping her, she also joined my yoga philosophy discussion groups and satsangs. In these discussion groups, yogis bond deeply. In this safe community, they share the personal meaning they get from Swami Nirmalananda’s monthly contemplation articles. Leola learned principles of yoga philosophy, applied them in her life and connected with other yogis. Along the way, she often shared her yogic progress as well as her continuing, mostly frustrating, daily challenge with childcare. From attending the satsangs, she added meditation to her daily morning practice.

In June 2017, Leola attended my three-class “Learn to Mediate” series. She went even deeper into “capital-S Self,” and understood even more about the “More” that Svaroopa^® yoga provides. She understood that she was in the concentrated flow of Grace that comes from Swami Nirmalananda. Now knowing that Grace was supporting her, Leola added japa to her practices. When the time is right, she plans to add chanting before she meditates.

Another Svaroopa^® yoga teacher suggested Leola start Ujjayi Pranayama. Leola started waking earlier so she could do 20 minutes of Ujjayi Pranayama, as well as her meditation and poses before the kids would wake. She started noticing her days were getting easier with the kids. She has progressed to doing Ujjayi breathing for 20 minutes both morning and night. She prioritizes her weekly yoga class, going to another teacher when I am away or not teaching. Leola takes advantage of any “extras” that are available, so she is registered for our upcoming Weekend Workshop with an Ashram faculty member.

Recently, Leola reported that her yearly medical visit to monitor the sleep apnea revealed positive changes. The amount of air needed from her machine reduced from 11 to 7. This was big news. She is heading toward getting off the machine.

At our last satsang, Leola clearly blossomed forth in a big way. All group members gladly shared in her audible expression of ease and joy in her life. Even though the challenges of her family and babysitting have not changed, Leola is in joy when caring for her grandkids rather than being overwhelmed. The wonderful acknowledgement of Leola’s many positive changes from our group was heartwarming and fun! Clearly, Leola keeps expanding into Self through her yoga practices and into the flow of Grace day by day. It is a beautiful opening I am privileged to witness. I cherish the big smile on her face.

By Matrika Gast

In college I hated to talk in classes.  Preferring to take notes in a lecture or write essays, I felt discussion was a barrier to my learning.  Back then, I didn’t learn the importance of speaking up and listening in community.  Decades later, our Ashram community has changed me.  I am transformed from a lone-wolf yogi into a grateful member of the pack!

Karuna Beaver, our Boise Meditation Group Leader, always invites us to describe our experience.  She gently encourages us with a question, “Who else can you share this stuff with?” For me, this triggers another question, ‘Why would I want to share my experience?’ Now I know the answer: because communicating in community is a major component of true learning.

A community is comprised of individuals who share common interests, values and goals — and who talk with each other.  Each speaks the same language.  Our Svaroopa^® Vidya Ashram community is a virtual assembly of seekers who engage in the Svaroopa^® Sciences practices.  There are many practices, so many of us have entered through different doors.  Yet we all speak the same language, communicating our experiences of the Svaroopa^® Sciences practices.

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You’re not asked to believe anything.  You are given practices, and the practices give you experiences.  You come to knowledge from articulating your own experience, and from listening to what others say about theirs.  Yoga is experiential learning.

In Svaroopa^® Yoga Teacher Training (YTT), a partner-pairing process teaches us how to apply what we have seen in demonstrations and have on our pose handouts.  But it’s in the communication between a pair of partners that experiential learning happens.  Receiving a pose alignment from our partner, we describe our own experience of it, complimenting and coaching as appropriate.  We team-teach our practicum classes, giving compliments and coaching to each other, while receiving both from our supervisor as well.

Swami Nirmalananda shares, “When I served as the President of the San Diego yoga teachers association, I was surprised to hear a comment from a teacher of another style.  She said, ‘The teachers you train know how to work together, in a classroom and outside.  None of the rest of us do.’”

Returning home from Teacher Training, many of us keep in touch with each other and reconnect in future trainings.  We ask questions, compare notes and encourage, continuing to learn and evolve together.  Thus we form relationships that continue across distance and through time, creating community.  The conversation revolves around the teachings of Swami Nirmalananda, delivered by her as well as by our Teacher Trainers whom she has taught and certified.

Swamiji’s Yoga of Food phone course gave me an even deeper learning in community.  She didn’t tell us what to eat.  On each phone call, she gave us practices.  One was simply to sit before your food, look at it, smell it and get to know it.  On the next call, she asked us to describe our experience.  I felt timid.  Yet I went ahead and said, “I felt a sense of love flowing from my meal.”

Swamiji replied that ancient yogic texts talk about flowers blooming and plants producing fruits and vegetables out of love for humanity.  When I remember this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Swamiji’s response to my description gave me a sense of the Love of God outside and inside.

Some Shishyas (disciples of Swami Nirmalananda) joined the Ashram community by coming into relationship with Swamiji directly.  They immediately recognized her as a revered teacher on their spiritual path.  Some resonated with an Ashram ad in a yoga magazine, and found Swamiji’s online Freebies (writings and recorded satsangs).  Others became Shishyas gradually over time and others are in the process of deciding how much they want.

No matter the entry door, all of us community members come into relationship with Swamiji as well as with each other.  We talk, formally in programs and casually anywhere, anytime.  Many of us take on seva (selfless service).  In serving others, and serving with others in our particular seva, we talk.  We communicate about our experiences and develop enduring relationships.  These connections weave the tapestry of community.  It is a container in which together we deepen and expand our experiences of opening more and more to Self.

I have learned that communication in community is transformative.  I must speak out loud about my experience to those who are really listening.  And I as I listen to them, I hear of something I never imagined and am inspired.  Or I hear my own experience in their words and am affirmed.  Only then do I grasp what I am coming to know.  Being listened to by my Guru and my fellow Svaroopis makes it Real.

I sense their presence — their Presence — as Consciousness-ItSelf.  The verbal interchange in the context of Conscious communication is transformative.  It gives a glimpse of Self-Realization, the goal of the practices, even before the mind can understand it.

By Deena Rotches

It just works! While I meditate every morning, I am not a person who can wake up at 4 am and immediately sit for meditation. Without first doing my asana practice, including Lunge, I would just be meditating on my aches and pains. Doing my asana practice settles me into my Self, with a quieter mind. Then I can effectively meditate on my Self, the focus of Svaroopa^® Vidya Meditation.

My dedication to daily yoga and meditation practice comes from having herniated three spinal discs 20 years ago. I never want to do that again. It’s either continue my daily asana practice or be in pain. So I start my day by at least releasing lower spine tension and compression. That means I do a tailbone pose, a sacrum pose and Lunge, which opens my spine through the waist area. But if I could do only one pose, I would do Lunge.

I discovered that Lunge was “the one” a decade ago, returning home from a long drive to visit my mother. My total drive time was about four hours. If I went to bed without doing a Lunge, I wouldn’t get any sleep. If I did a Lunge, I was OK. I learned to release my tailbone, sacrum and spinal waist area all at once by doing Lunge very slowly.

In Deeper Classes, I learned to go into the Lunge, come back all the way and then go in halfway to get a more thorough spinal release. And I learned other Deeper self-adjustments from my teacher who had gone to ATT. For these powerful, advanced self-adjustments, you have to have a teacher trained in them. I have also been fortunate to receive such adjustments from Swami Nirmalananda herself in immersions at Lokananda in Downingtown.

After my recent Shaktipat Retreat with Swamiji, another student remarked on how faithfully I adhere to daily, 4 am yoga routine. I explained to her that it prepares me for the Sri Guru Gita chant and opens me to my Self. Consequently, I now experience a sense of my Self, beyond thought, that I never expected. This has been the blessing of my life, as I sense the Light expanding. Even in the midst of constant news about crises in our country and worldwide, I feel profound expansion within our Grace-full community. The world needs our presence, as we clear and cultivate it through our practices.

By Yogeshwari Fountain

As 2018 unfolds, each teachings article will explore one of yoga’s eight limbs as described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.  In “Self-Effort & Grace,” Swamiji and Vidyadevi Stillman describe the “self-effort”  practices as the limbs of a great tree.  Each branch supports you on your journey, beginning with external practices and evolving into ever more inward expansion.  The eight limbs include:

• yamas and niyamas (restraints and observances)
• asana (poses)
• pranayama (breathing practices as in Ujjayi Pranayama)
• pratyahara (turning your attention inward)
• dharana (focusing inward)
• dhyana (meditation)
• samadhi (deep inner absorption).

I recently re-read my 1998 notes on Sutra 2.29.  It was clear that I had my work cut out for me even then.  Scribbled on the page’s margin was encouragement like “Just say no!”  or “You must restrain yourself from these things.”  I struggled with the question “How do you live a yogic life 24 hours a day?”  It all seemed beyond my grasp.  My mind was so busy, I had no idea where to begin.  You see, I didn’t understand Grace, the wind that has always been beneath my wings, even before I knew it.

I was surprised to find all the ways yoga started to change my life from the inside out.  Old habits no longer had the same hold.  An “untruth” fell less easily off my tongue, and I stayed in awareness instead of obsession.  Now I would rather meditate than watch TV!  Self-Effort & Grace tells us that these are signs of spiritual progress, “cleaning up your act.”

Swamiji and Vidyadevi assure us that no matter where you start your climb, you’re going to experience all eight limbs: “It’s like climbing a tree: you can skip some limbs and still get to the top.”  When I started on this path, I loved doing Svaroopa^® yoga poses.  Little did I know that starting with the asana branch would develop into a love of chanting, meditating and writing blogs on the ancient sutras.  Swami reassures us, “You don’t have to do the limbs in order.”

Some of my students don’t want the lifestyle change yoga’s limbs provide.  Thus, they do actually do less yoga in order to stay in their “comfort zone.”  I understand their choice and honor the limb they want to hang out on.  Yet yoga is not about happiness or comfort.  It is about Self-Realization, the knowing of your inherent Divinity.  If you’re yearning for this, you have to still your mind.  The eight limbs of yoga specialize in this.

Guru’s Grace is the shortcut to the knowing of your Divinity, your own Self.  Swami Nirmalananda awakens the arising of your own inner spiritual energy.  She describes it this way, “Patanjali teaches you how to dissolve the clouds.  By contrast, my Guru simply gave me the sky.”  She is comparing the practices you learn from Patanjali with Guru’s Grace.

Still, you need Self-Effort.  You have to do the hard stuff.  Whatever limb you choose to begin with, know that the whole tree is rooted in the Grace of our Svaroopa^® Vidya lineage.  Baba Muktananda said, “The Self is already attained.”  You get to choose how to apply yourself to the process.  I started with asana, but I now focus on mantra.  What will your focus be in 2018?