By Lori (Priya) Kenney

Chemotherapy and radiation left my client Julie R feeling progressively weaker.  

She barely walked, and struggled to bend and pick things up from the floor. Embodyment^® Yoga Therapy helped both her mind and body.

She says, “These Embodyment^® sessions gave me hope.  You don’t know what is going to be permanent.  What if this is just how things are now? Getting Embodyment^® sessions gave me confidence that I would get better and heal.”

I first talked with Julie in September 2022, a year after she had a two-day open-heart surgery.  Originally from Boise ID, Julie was taking online Svaroopa^® yoga classes with Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast. Matrikaa suggested Julie see me for Embodyment^® sessions. Julie came twice. 

A year and a half later I heard from Julie again when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She was concerned I wouldn’t want to touch her because she was so full of chemicals.  I reassured her that wasn’t a problem. We began weekly sessions.  

She credits yoga for getting her through chemo without a crisis. She also has a liver disorder which can cause reactions to medication. Yet after only one reaction, at the beginning of chemo, all went well.  

She did have headaches, nausea and intense joint pain. She felt that her body was being trashed during treatment. Though she often arrived looking pale, with muscle tensions and fatigue. After her sessions she left with color and light in her eyes.  

She reported a quieter, calmer mind with less stress, deeper breaths, and less pain. She says, “It was really good to have time designated just for me to focus on my healing.  It was the one place where healing efforts felt soothing and nurturing.”  

Because Julie had stopped her online classes, Matrikaa suggested that I start offering Foundations-level classes in small groups. She was confident Julie would benefit from in-person adjustments. I knew this to be true, but I’d never planned to teach. I had only wanted the deep bliss and Grace that comes with retreats.

Fortunately, Gurudevi had talked about embracing tapas (doing the hard stuff) a few days before. I knew this was it for me and that it was my dharma (responsibility). Matrikaa’s suggestion landed so solidly that my resistance gave way nearly immediately. It was as if Gurudevi herself told me to teach. 

That was Thursday March 6. I gave Julie an Embodyment^® on Saturday, and she enthusiastically said she would come to my classes. The following Friday, March 14, I taught my first ever asana class — 17 years after taking the Foundations of Svaroopa^® Yoga training. 

Right away, my husband and I expanded my basement Embodyment^® room to accommodate students. I added another photo of Gurudevi to the space and played mantras through the process. The room felt different. 

I realized I didn’t need to take retreats to be in the flow of Grace. Grace propelling me, I experienced another yoga miracle. I felt Consciousness pouring through my classes.  

After Julie attended two classes, I noticed big changes during her next Embodyment^® session. She was more limber, her sit bones realigned more, and her sacrum actually rippled! Her back was more pliable, and both shoulders opened.  

Equally amazing, Julie says yoga has helped with some neurocognitive issues from chemo and from  being on a heart/lung machine during her heart surgery. She says, “I’m clearer now and more who I was as a person.”  Her lower back pain has completely resolved since taking classes. So much healing. Julie is another Svaroopa^® yoga miracle.

By Barbara (Bharati) Badia

Interviewed by Matrikaa (Matrikaa) Gast, Yogaratna

As an 84-year-old retired RN, I’ve been diagnosed with extreme sciatica and spinal stenosis as well as three bulging discs.

Physical therapy helped some.  Chiropractic treatments with magnetic cell stimulation gave me more pain relief.  But after a pacemaker implant to regulate heart rhythms, I’m no longer a candidate for this treatment.

Finding Svaroopa^® yoga a decade ago, I’ve been able to manage back pain very effectively. I’ve found that Svaroopa^® yoga is so important to do when you are older! 

Yet a couple of months ago, my hamstring muscles were cramping all the way into my ankles. I couldn’t stand up straight.  Walking any distance was impossible. So I turned to Ashram offerings and have experienced a series of sweet miracles!

In late winter, I took Swami Shrutananda’s “Freedom from Pain” Sutra Studies. In this online Enlightenment Studies series, she teaches sutras explaining that it’s the mind that causes most of the problem. 

If we can look at the sensation of pain differently, we can let go of identification with it.  Letting go of identification with pain diminishes it. Using the word “sensation” instead of “my pain” shifts the severity to a tolerable feeling.

Next, I enrolled in the online Therapeutic Yoga Series.  For six weeks, I took part in a three-student group therapeutics class that met twice weekly online.  Our Svaroopa^® Yoga Therapist, Cayla (Mangala) Allen, has an exemplary knowledge and understanding of anatomy and what happens in Svaroopa^® yoga poses. As a nurse, I greatly appreciated the way she explained spinal decompression with such clarity.  

Mangala vividly delineated how Svaroopa^® yoga pose angles target spinal compression to release the deep tensions in spinal muscles.  Her knowledge of how superficial abdominal muscles affect the psoas gave me a clear mental picture.  This increases my trust in the Svaroopa^® yoga practices, which supports my consistency in doing the poses daily. 

In the class, Mangala coached us to “lean into your bones, soften and allow the release of tensions.”  Now I remind myself of this process when doing my Svaroopa^® yoga poses for pain relief. All Svaroopa^® yoga practices move us into and through this process of spinal decompression. 

As the course description promised, I’ve learned how to take care of myself in quick, yet profound ways.  My severe pain has gone away. This is truly a miracle. With confidence, I can say the Svaroopa^® yoga decompression of the spine is miraculous.  Now I know I must do these spinal release poses consistently.

I am also practicing Ujjayi Pranayama more consistently with greater focus.  Thus, I have an increased flow of prana, the energy of aliveness.  This has caused another shift: my appetite for indulging in TV news has decreased.

Instead, I chant with one of Gurudevi’s recordings or listen to one of her talks. I do this especially in the evening before going to bed, and it has made a wonderful difference.  My miracle includes reinforcement of a spiritual perspective.  Even when difficult things come, if we look closely enough, often we can find the gift in them.