By Matrika Gast, SVA Board Member
When I happened onto this path, I already thought I was a yogi. But it was all in my head, though I practiced yoga poses and was a teacher in another yoga style. I felt my body only when it was in pain. My mind rarely stopped or even slowed. I am grateful, of course, for the transformative Svaroopa® yoga and meditation practices that are now dissolving tensions in my body and reining in my mind. Yet my gratitude for the guidance I’ve received from Swamiji and our Teacher Trainers is uppermost in my awareness.
In Foundations, Swamiji (then Rama) served as our primary teacher. She introduced me to Consciousness, then a new concept. For the 12 years since, her teachings in programs, trainings and a wealth of online Freebies have daily guided me to the tangible, mystical experience of Self, Pure Consciousness.
A decade ago, I learned to meditate in Vidyadevi’s “Meditation Made Easy” weekend. Later in YTT Level 3 with Kusuma and Vidyadevi, I heard that mantra was “scrubby bubbles” for the mind. How grateful I was to clarify a mind often cluttered with reactivity.
Yet I’ve received something more, for which it is hard to find words. Whenever I’ve brought up a professional or personal issue, Swamiji and our Trainers have listened, comprehended the problem and responded effectively. Their guidance has always been based in the ancient, authentic teachings of the Svaroopa® Sciences. Thus their guidance conveys more than information, it’s an illumined perspective. I recognize that it’s infused with Grace and I am propelled by Grace to follow their guidance.
This has empowered me to live effectively and harmoniously with life’s challenges as well as life’s joys. Consciousness is the foundation that supports my capacity to do the work I love. Of course ongoing Svaroopa® yoga and meditation teacher trainings give me the skills and knowledge to do so.
Yet the Grace-Full guidance of Swamiji and our Teacher Trainers gives me more — the palpable sense that Divine Essence is at heart of everything and everyone, myself included. Then I know experientially that I am, as everyone is, the One Self Being All. Such guidance has given me a life worth living. That’s why I delight in donating monthly as well as giving a special gift twice yearly. Giving is such a sweet celebration!
Gratitude & Grace are present in my daily life, thanks to Swami Nirmalananda, our Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, our Teacher Trainers, our Svaroopa® Sciences practices — and you, my fellow Svaroopis. There is so much to be grateful for.
What has this path given you? What are you grateful for? Please celebrate these extraordinary Grace-Full gifts by giving back to the source: click here to donate online or call the Ashram at 610.644.7555. Every gift, of any size and frequency, makes a difference. Thank you.
By Rama (Ruth) Brooke, SVA Board Member
Gratitude and Grace move you. They overwhelm in a wonderful way. They open your heart, not only to others, but to a deeper perspective. They make you able to see what you have, truly an ever-expanding inner abundance. And that creates generosity.
By Rajni (Chelsea) King
When I contemplate my journey on this path and my relationship to Swami Nirmalananda, “support” is the first word that comes up. Being in relationship with Swamiji has brought Grace-filled, Grace-fueled support to my life, on the inside and the outside. Svaroopa® yoga asana practice first gave me tangible physical support. Swamiji originated this yoga style from spontaneous Kundalini movements arising during her meditations. Her Guru, Baba Muktananda, blessed her with these openings, borne of the inner power of revelation.
The greatest blessing of my Guru is the gift of Shaktipat, the awakening of the Kundalini energy. It opens me to the tangible support of my inner Guru, my inner guide. When I stepped onto this path, I was riddled with self-doubt. I was convinced that “I wasn’t doing it right.” I felt that I didn’t really know how to meditate, that I wasn’t getting it! I felt numb mentally and physically.
Much later, I understood that I had received Guru initiation. It was a spontaneous Shaktipat. The Grace of the Gurus propelled me along the path and continues to propel me forward. Swamiji’s Grace supports me on the inside and the outside. Thus, I too can live in the ever-expanding pure joy and contentment of my own Self!
By Dhananjaya King, SVA Board Member
Because I am grateful to Guruji, I feel compelled to show my gratitude. Yet how do you show gratitude to her, when she attributes everything that she gives as coming from her own Guru? When you thank her for all she has given, Guruji says she does what Baba has empowered her to do. She offers to us what Baba offered to her. She gives to us what we are able to receive.
Or perhaps looking at this another way works better for you. A better question may be how much can you receive? Perhaps you don’t yet notice what she has planted in you. If so, pondering this question will help you notice the new you that is beginning to form, thanks to Swami Nirmalananda’s teachings and presence.
By Vibhuti King
At the end of class today, I invited each student to choose their CD. I was delighted that many already had some of Nirmalananda’s CDs. Some requested a duplicate of their “favorite.” The CD was getting worn out!
I am grateful for this time of sharing, of community, of coming together around the ancient practice of lifting our voices to that which uplifts us. We all have so much to be grateful for. Often it’s more than we know. This sharing allowed me to see my students in a deeper way. It showed me how they turn to their practice to express themselves and how personal these chants are to them.
The woman who began this chant a cappella later shared how that chant saw her through a very dark time. We have so much to be grateful for. Thank you to my students and thank you to my teacher, my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda.
By Bindu Shortt
Ayurvedically we are moving into vata season. Vata means “wind.” It is the element of nature that brings the qualities of cold, light, dry, rough and irregular. Vata comprises the energies of air and of the ether (space). Thus, vata can bring a sense of void.
First, notice the changes in nature where you live. When it is cold, dry and windy, give yourself warmth, oiliness and stability. It is natural to eat more winter squashes, and root veggies such as beets and carrots and parsnips. All of these build warmth in your body. Include them in your daily diet, rather than the melons and salads of summer, which cooled you.
Consider adding oils on the outside of your body, by doing a daily oil massage before you shower or bathe. This practice, called abhyanga, will go a long way toward keeping you warm, soothing your nervous system, and moistening your skin. An oil massage also moves your lymph, for a detox. In vata season, sesame is the oil of choice for most people, as it has the most warming qualities. Searching online using “Ayurvedic self-massage video” yields more than a hundred hits! 
Reported by Matrika Gast
“A new student came to class with so much pain in her hip that she could hardly manage stairs,” reports Kamala (Michelle) Gross, Certified Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher (CSYT) and Yoga Therapist. “She was even was in pain while she slept. Lying in Jathara Parivrttanasana (Rotated Stomach Pose) with her knees touching, one foot hung in the air due to the severe twist in her hips. I supported it on a large blanket roll. After a few classes, she began yoga therapy private sessions weekly. Just two months later, her feet rested together in Rotated Stomach Pose due to the realignment in her spine and hips. After a year of committed yoga practice and weekly sessions, she was climbing stairs nearly pain free, aware only of an occasional, minor hip ache. Her whole body was more upright and comfortable.”
A student of Jyoti (Rebecca) Yacobi, CSYT took Svaroopa® yoga classes for two years, had several Embodyment® sessions and committed to a daily Magic 4 and Ujjayi home practice. Jyoti reports that these approaches “significantly improved mobility in her lower spine. The tightness and pain in her sacrum is gone.”
For example, I bought a new phone last week. It was a desire (raga) fulfilled. However, it turned out to be quite painful as it did not work in the way I expected. It meant I had to deal with the service provider and the store I purchased the phone from. Fear (abhinivesha) and aversion (dvesha) raised their heads, as I had to somehow get to grips with the technology. This threatened my identity (asmitaa) as an intelligent, educated person. Would I be smart enough to understand what was going on? Would I be able to resolve the problem? In other words, was I going to be “good enough?”
I also find it comforting to understand that it is not my fault, because avidyaa (the not-knowing) is the human condition; it is built in existential angst. I cannot think my way out of it and I need help. For this I have so many Svaroopa® yoga and meditation practices to choose from. They support me in growing closer to vidya (the knowing of my own Self). They address my spiritual amnesia.
By Aanandi Ross
The celebration dates back to ancient India as a festival after the summer harvest. It honors the sun as the cosmic giver of light and energy to all life. Derived from the Sanskrit dipam “light, lamp” and oli “glow of light,” “diwali” comes from dipavali, which means “series of lights.” For some, the festival preparations and rituals extend over a five-day period.
As a Hindu celebration, Diwali is a holy day. Celebrations honor Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance at harvest time, who provides us with our stockpiles of food during the dormancy of nature, and who will bring forth spring’s flowering and fructification of nourishment. She is thus the Goddess of wealth. Hindus prepare by cleaning their homes and setting out lights — clay saucers of ghee with a wick, everywhere, outside and inside. New clothes are worn, pujas are decorated with flowers, prayers are offered. Sweets and dried fruits are enjoyed. The senses are employed to attune one to the presence of God.
For us yogis, Diwali is a special time to honor the light of your own Self. We also honor the one who makes you able to know your Self, the Guru. Along with festivities, rituals can include a self-oil-massage specially prepared with herbs, bathing afterwards, and dressing in new clothes. Along with lights, sparklers and fireworks, look for the experience of Lakshmi’s power inside, bursting into bloom, dispelling darkness, and invoking an inner experience of being all the throb of life.
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