Interviewed by Lissa (Yogyananda) Fountain, Yogaratna
I am at every online Swami Sunday and Wednesday satsang as well as the daily Meditation Club.
Gurudevi inspires me with her thoughtful and entertaining discourses and articles. She makes the process of enlightenment so accessible, if you just put in the effort.
I thank Gurudevi for her endless patience in guiding and encouraging me through this process. I appreciate that she sees the Divine light in me, even when I can’t.
My experience reminds me of Sally Fields 1985 Academy Awards acceptance speech: “You like me, you really, really like me!” Better yet, I like me. In fact, I am loving myself more.
Gurudevi helps me become more resilient as l age. I look for purpose and connections in my life.
I started Svaroopa®yoga classes 25 years ago. The poses release spinal tension and strengthen my bones, joints and muscles. A recent bone density exam confirmed I’m in better shape than the average seventy-year-old!
And there’s more! I’ve dedicated my time and resources towards online Ashram participation these past five years. The more yoga I do, the more benefits I reap. I now feel a whole new level of awareness and deepening. And by Guru’s Grace, knowing my capital “S” Self has become my life’s purpose.
My resilience from Gurudevi’s practices and programs takes many forms. I’m able to let go of things that challenge me more quickly. My self-talk is more positive. I am able to be more engaged in what’s happening in the present moment.
When issues with my family come up, I accept the reality, even if I can’t repair it. I allow them time to sort it out for themselves. Gurudevi has helped me shift from a state of fear and anxiety to clarity. My daily meditation calms my mind, and I feel more blissful and focused.
I wish I lived closer to the Ashram so I could attend the satsangs in person. I’d hang around to chat and eat goodies, and pitch in to help.
Instead, I arrive early at my local Monday morning yoga class. I set up the room for my teacher. This feels like an Ashram seva that I can do, and it’s meaningful to me. I’m looking forward to my first visit to the Ashram for a Shaktipat retreat in July!
Take a breath. And another one, slower. Now, one more…
This simple stress reduction technique comes from yoga. Along with the “Relaxation Response,” these methodologies were mainstreamed in the 1950’s to 1970’s.
Yoga poses were first taught in America by Swami Vivekananda in the 1890’s. While his focus was meditation and yoga philosophy, he taught poses in some of his week-long retreats. Most of the participants were wealthy women who had servants who could take care of their household while they were gone.
In the 1930’s, the cosmetics mogul Elizabeth Arden opened a women’s spa in Maine. Along with beauty techniques, the guests learned yoga poses from teachers that Arden brought from India. They took yoga home with them, along with their new creams and cosmetics.
Theos Bernard made his first trip to India in 1936. On his return, he taught yoga to New York socialites. Many years later, I met one of Theos’ students. In her 70s by then, she shared a 16mm movie of her doing extreme yoga poses from her studies with him. It was impressive, but not user-friendly.
Indra Devi began teaching yoga in Los Angeles in 1948, where she relocated from India. She repackaged yoga as a relaxing health and beauty routine, which attracted Hollywood elite. She had been a famous actress in India, so she understood that world very well.
By the time I got interested, Richard Hittleman was teaching on television, with women demonstrating the poses as he gave instruction. He included tidbits of yoga philosophy in his shows. His books included meditation. His shows were on daytime TV in the USA, so the viewers were mainly women.
Lilias Folan’s TV classes began in 1970, again showing on daytime TV. She demonstrated the poses herself while teaching, making them seem very accessible. Every women’s magazine featured yoga poses — for decades.
My first in-person yoga class was in 1975, with a teacher trained by Indra Devi. She taught at my local Parks & Recreation Department as well as in her own home. By then, every California suburb had a yoga teacher offering classes in her home. Soon I was one of them.
While meditation was an undercurrent in all these classes, it got lost as yoga moved into the athletic clubs in the 1990’s. It began to attract more men, though it is still over 70% women in America. Athletic and aerobic yoga styles grew exponentially, overshadowing the slower and meditative approach originated by the ancient sages.
From 1997-2002, I helped with the founding of Yoga Alliance, setting Teacher Training standards that included the historic roots and philosophy.
The therapeutic approach was pioneered by Michael Lee with Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Within Svaroopa® yoga, I introduced yoga therapeutics in 2000, with a growing concentration of classes in this area since then.
In 2014, the United Nations established International Day of Yoga by a rare unanimous vote. The resolution notes “the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following lifestyle patterns that foster good health.”
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, spoke to the cosmic perspective of the ancient sages. “Yoga is an invaluable gift from our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action… Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature.”
We are the beneficiaries of many generations of Western yoga teachers, making this time-honored tradition accessible today. The rich diversity of yoga styles means you can find your niche, whether it is therapeutics or a gymnastic approach. At Downingtown Yoga, we focus on therapeutics as well as the meditative practices.
Please join us for this 12th International Day of Yoga. We will honor the occasion at our Sunday meditation program:
Swami Sunday (On-Site or Online) Led by Gurudevi Nirmalananda June 21 from 10:00 – 11:30 am
And you can do more yoga on Yoga Day by coming to our afternoon class:
Yoga & Meditation Class (Online) With Swami Prajñananda June 21 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (Eastern Time)
I feel fortunate to have watched yoga’s seeds bloom in America. Many of the events and teachers I have described are significant parts of my life story, for which I am very grateful.
Yoga keeps me healthy and happy, even as I complete my 80th year of life. Beyond mere happiness, I delight in yoga’s deep roots and spiritual heritage, which can be accessed by turning inward. One way to begin is by taking a slow deep breath…
However, there is a danger in the relationship with a Siddha. In this yoga of relationship, you can get so wonderfully overwhelmed with the Guru’s light that you forget to look for your own. You have to listen and learn. You have to watch closely for the Guru honors you, as much as they…
Go with Gurudevi to Ganeshpuri for profound spiritual upliftment.
Ganeshpuri is the home of Gurudevi’s Guru, Baba Muktananda, and his Guru, Bhagawan Nityananda. This sacred place is Gurudevi’s spiritual hometown.
Accept her invitation to join her there for her Golden Jubilee, the celebration of her 50 years of teaching and 80th birthday.
Our newly discounted rates come from an adjustment in the foreign exchange rate as well as the improved planning by our new Tour Manager. Click for more information.
At Fire Mountain Retreat Center, right across the river from Nityananda’s temple, you will join Gurudevi for meals, classes and satsangs. The traditional ceremonies of the Nityananda temple begin and end our days.
Two special events are happening. On the day before her birthday, Gurudevi will have a fire ceremony only for 80-year-olds. Sahasrara Chandra Darshanam honors that she has lived through 1,000 full moons. It expresses gratitude, longevity and spiritual maturity.
On her birth anniversary, Gurudevi will participate in the morning ceremonies for Nityananda in his temple. She has done this several times before, and says:
I am grateful to be able to honor Nityananda in such an intimate and personal way. This ceremony always gives me the feeling I had when sitting with my Baba. What a glorious way to honor my Baba — by honoring his Baba.
You are invited to join her for the transformative effects of immersion in this sacred place, where her teachings and practices will be generously amplified.
The travel information package is now available; email our Enrollment Advisor at programs@svaroopayoga.org or call 610.806.2119.
Previous travelers to Ganeshpuri with Gurudevi describe their transformative experiences:
After the early morning ceremony in the temple, I experienced a sweet bhav — a quiet bliss inside and outside. Even the dust along the road glimmered with shakti. I would meditate in Nityananda’s house or in his Mahasamadhi Shrine. I can still hear the village waking up, birds chirping and sacred-building caretakers going about their early morning chores. Now, eleven years later, remembering this experience of Ganeshpuri, I’m filled full, from the inside, with ecstatic bliss!
To get enlightened you have to cooperate with the process. So you may have to revamp your diet. And your mental diet. What thoughts do you feed yourself? And you may have to work on how you show up in relationships. Meditating in solitude won’t make you a master of relationships. A yoga master is a master of the world, as well as a master of…
Reflecting on giving, I realize I usually give when I am in a place of fullness. My heart opens and I want to serve more, give more. My inner fulfillment spills into the world.
This is my experience of “unmilana,” blossoming forth or spiritual transformation. I recognize how this aligns with what Gurudevi says about the power of yoga:
Your yoga melts the tensions and dissolves the fears so that the inner Source can arise inside to fill you and to bloom into the world. Yoga doesn’t make you yogic, it makes you become more You.
I am grateful to you for having chosen to “do more yoga” by practicing dakshina, selfless financial giving. You have shared your heart and wallet in this way; you are making a difference in the world.
Your gift allows us to send more Grace and light into the world. Thank you for your selfless financial support of our Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram.
I am grateful for your blossoming forth as well as for all that you enable SVA to give by your financial support. I bow to the light in you.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to participate, there’s still time. Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555. Or send your check to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335. You may also email us at donate@svaroopayoga.org.
There is nothing sweeter than the blossoming forth of the Self.
There is nothing more exquisite than the bliss of the Self.
There is nothing more priceless than the experience of the knowing of the Self.
Grace allows this to happen. Gurudevi opens us to that Grace. That opening is the blossoming forth itself. What a gift we have received in our Gurudevi Nirmalananda.
Supporting that gift financially is essential to sustaining it. It is like providing water, sunshine and soil for a blossoming plant. This is a sacred practice called dakshina. Our seasonal fundraiser is the perfect opportunity to practice it.
I once had the opportunity to visit an exclusive perfumery. Every scent was hand-crafted in micro batches by leading masters from the perfume world. Prices were in the $600/oz range and up. The sensual experience of the perfumes was unlike anything I could describe. It was overwhelming yet grounding; heady and heart-opening; deeply inspiring and fulfilling, both at once.
Hmm… sounds like the experience of the Self. Yet the experience of the Self is worth far, far more than $600/oz. The experience of the Self is priceless. And it is given to us freely by our Guru.
When we receive Shaktipat, we begin to wear that experience like a perfume. It wafts into the world wherever we go. It spreads through our lives like an exquisite scent. When we support the Ashram financially, it spreads beyond our own lives and spheres. It blossoms forth into the greater world. It sweetens everyone and everything it touches.
Please help us spread this rare and exquisite gift. Please share in this sacred practice and give to our fundraiser this season.
Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555. Or send your check to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335. You may also email us at donate@svaroopayoga.org.
In the Upanishads there is a question, “What do human beings want?” The answer is that we want happiness. Everything we do, we do for the sake of happiness. We seek that happiness through our work, through our friends and family, through art and science, through food, drink and entertainment. For happiness we perform all the…
— Gurudevi Nirmalananda
From Gurudevi’s full discourse “I Gave My Life to God“
Like an iceberg in the ocean, you have a clear and distinct sense of individuality, yet you are made of the same substance you are melting into. Iceberg and sea are like time and timelessness interwoven together. This is our world.
I found timelessness by listening to the clocks ticking in my elementary classrooms. I stopped hearing the teacher as I listened to the silence between the ticks. Looking back, I think I was meditating. The teacher didn’t appreciate me tuning her out.
Right/wrong, good/bad, pleasure/pain — yoga calls these “the pairs of opposites.” We see the world this way, though it is much more complicated. The sages of India explained that the world is not merely black and white. Finite reality is manifesting in bold living color, yet it is all made of the infinite. It’s all Divine, even when you’re not getting your way.
You have probably invested time and energy in doing things right. The theory says if you do everything right, you will get what you want. It works most of the time. But some days give you different results. Also, it works differently for other people. Trying to calibrate all the differences can spin your mind out of control.
Yoga says you don’t have to track it all. You don’t have to map where all the individual icebergs are headed. Find the water in which they rest, that substance of which they are made. When you find your own essence, you find Essence-Itself, flowing in a Divine choreography. While each dancer hears a different song and creates their own moves, it all lives and breathes in timeless time.
Na shivam vidyate kvachit. — Svacchanda Tantra
There is nothing that is not-Shiva.
What exists that is made of something other than Shiva? There is nothing that is not-Shiva. This is true because “that which exists” is called Shiva. Thus, if something exists, it is made of Shiva. Even that which does not exist is made of Shiva! The texts explain that…
Our current fundraising is themed “Unmilana,” a Sanskrit word which means to blossom forth.
“Bloom where you are planted” is popular advice. You make the best of your circumstances, even thrive and find joy.
I am so grateful to be planted firmly at Gurudevi’s feet. For all that the Svaroopa® Sciences have given me, I am grateful. So as each biannual fundraiser rolls around, I donate from an open heart and wallet. Won’t you join me?
Through your practices, you discover your inner light and bring it forth into the world. Gurudevi says, “As you are emerging into the world, you have an opportunity to focus on what you can give.”
I am emerging back into the world after some serious injuries. They left me wondering if I would ever teach Svaroopa® yoga again. Gurudevi says yoga “melts the tensions and dissolves the fears so that the inner Source can arise inside to fill you and to bloom into the world.” This has been so true for me.
With dedication to the practices and Guru’s Grace, I am blooming where I am planted. My inner light is shining brightly once again. I am teaching and even giving yoga therapy sessions. I owe it all to Gurudevi and the fire she has lit within me.
Will your blossoming forth lead you to share with others, and with the Ashram? Please consider a generous donation to our spring fundraiser: “Unmilana — Blossoming Forth.” Let your bighearted inner light overflow. Share freely. It comes back to you, again and again.
Our fundraiser is ending soon. But the sun never sets on your opportunity to give. Please donate today! Thank you.
Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555. Or send your check to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, PO Box 143, Downingtown PA 19335. Thank you again and again!
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