By Elena (Lila) Perri

I took my first Shaktipat Retreat in May 2022.  That retreat and the two following opened me more and more to the power of mantra and meditation.  My fourth Shaktipat Retreat was last September. 

After we chanted the Guru Gita, I felt Kundalini moving upward promptly in meditation.  I felt her hitting blocks and triggering thoughts related to difficult relationships.  I sent forgiveness to all.  This allowed Kundalini to fly up more powerfully and expansively. It was an intensely strong realization of the power of forgiveness. 

When our Swami Nirmalananda gave the first Shaktipat, I felt Kundalini rising into my heart.  She began to meet some resistance.  I experienced physical movements, spontaneous bucking as Kundalini continued her upward journey.  

Suddenly, I began to sob uncontrollably.  Tears followed as I cried silently for no apparent reason. I was in a timeless space. Then as quickly as the sobbing and tears started, they abated.  I felt an enormous rush of heat moving up from the base of my spine.  Then a vision of pure white light also rushed up my spine.   I melted into a supreme state of bliss. 

Gurudevi gave Shaktipat again in the afternoon.  Again, Shaktipat opening blessed me with the same state of bliss.  I received profound knowing and realization.  No material pursuit, activity or endeavor renders bliss.  I have experienced bliss only through Shaktipat openings.  

A Shaktipat Retreat is a deep dive into blissful communion with Self.  Time stands still.  All worldly experiences pale in comparison.   I am grateful to Gurudevi for her service, Grace and the most precious gift of Shaktipat. 

This gift has changed my life.  I am now grounded in what I have always yearned for.   The more I sit in Self, the more Self is being one with Self.  I feel the freedom to be there and allow Kundalini to move through me.  After the meditation, I feel unburdened of the distractions of life that I hadn’t realized I carried.

Getting ready for a new year?

For a fresh start and a chance for renewal and recommitment, enter 2024 in retreat with Gurudevi. From a deep place inside springs the newness of life. That source is your own Self.

In this retreat, savor the profound practices of Svaroopa^® yoga. It includes asana (yoga poses), chanting, meditation, teaching talks and more.

Gurudevi leads you through deep inner experiences that transform your sense of self. Discover your eternal expansiveness. This retreat propels you into your highest potential for the year ahead and beyond.

I’m astonished at the impact of Gurudev’s 2023 New Year’s Retreat on my life. Guru’s Grace propelled me into action.  Within a few months I was teaching Svaroopa^® yoga again after a seven-year hiatus.

I also increased my community seva, lovingly performing mundane tasks at our local Hospice.  My energy and zest for life returned. It was the Grace flowing from Gurudevi during the New Year’s Retreat that made it possible. — Agnes H.

Consistent mealtimes. Delicious food in measured quantities.  Your burp means you ate enough.  

Vegetarian food, but of the highest quality, including being protein rich – which is why yogis in India include dairy in their diet.

I have been healthier since I began eating this way than I ever had been. Raised as an omnivore, when I ate meat, I was consistently anemic.  

It disappeared when I became vegetarian.  I attribute it to a more efficient digestion process.  Meat is incredibly hard on the human digestive system.  Better yet, I can tell that my innards work more efficiently – smooth and easy.  It’s wonderful!

When I was a child, my mom fed us meatless meals one or two days weekly, just like she ate when growing up on the farm.  They couldn’t afford to kill off all their farm animals.  They needed them for producing eggs and milk, as well as pulling the plow, etc.  Tractors came along later.  I remember riding on my uncle’s brand-new tractor when I was 10 years old.  It was very exciting.

Good news!  The FDA and American Heart Association approve of vegetarian eating.  But that’s not why yogis do it.  Yoga’s first ethical principle is ahimsa, non-harming.  It is clearly harmful to the animal to eat it.  George Bernard Shaw was more graphic about it, saying:

I choose not to make a graveyard of my body with the rotting corpses of dead animals…

A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses.

Yes, spiritual intensity goes along with vegetarianism.  Spiritual depth is the purpose of yoga, as described by the ancient sages who created it.  You may have to get beyond the hard breathing and sweat before you discover the inner spaciousness that is found only in stillness.  This is yoga’s specialty.

In the beginning of my vegetarian process, I thought tofu was a little scary.  I knew about beans from my mom’s cooking and from Mexican food, one of my lifelong favorites.  Then I discovered Indian food, later Egyptian and Ethiopian cooking.  All of these feature bean-and-grain combos, the cornerstone of vegetarian nutrition.

Wheat is a big boon to humankind!  I recognize that a current food fad is gluten-free, but I’m hoping it will pass soon.  Every person I’ve met who is proudly gluten-free is also unfortunately protein deficient. 

Wheat is a high protein grain, readily available in many forms.  It was the cultivation of wheat that made civilization possible.  When the early humans found they could grow their protein instead of following the herds on their seasonal migrations, they were able to settle into villages.  Later came cities.

I had a profound and ecstatic meditation experience where I found the whole universe within my own being. I realized I could never eat meat again, as it would be like eating my own body.  Yes, spiritual intensity.  Blissful, life-changing spiritual intensity, for which I am ever grateful.

I had to learn how to cook all over again.  I went to school back in the day where we had “Home Ec” classes.  We were taught about nutrition as well as cost-conscious meal preparation.  I knew how to make the cheapest cuts of meat both tender and tasty, though now I confess that the idea turns my stomach.

I am still responsible for feeding groups of people every day.  In addition to the Ashram residents, we often host yogis on retreat.  Making sure they have delicious food is not enough. It must also be nutritious, so they can do the deep practices we enjoy.  We get 20 grams of protein in every meal, working with variations on four themes:

1. Beans and Grains together (including wheat)
2. Nuts
3. Tofu (a cheese made from soybeans, another bean)
4. Dairy (including cheese)

It is easy to create a variety of palate pleasing meals, especially with the many online recipes now available.  We also include all six tastes in every meal, as described by Ayurveda, the medical system aligned with yoga.  The combination of the six tastes along with sufficient protein does away with all cravings.

It also makes it easy to give your belly a rest between meals.  Yoga recommends 4-6 hours between meals, so your digestive organs can process your food and then rest before their next task.  A heathy belly is the key to overall health, according to Ayurveda.  Beyond that, it makes you happy.

Consistent meals, this is where I started above.  It was when I moved into my Guru’s Ashram that I began eating at the same time every day.  I was amazed at how anxiety fell away, both from my mind as well as my body.  Food anxiety is a real problem for many people, even if they have the money to feed themselves.

Creating a food discipline is a beautiful yogic discipline.  It supports early-to-bed, early-to-rise, as recommended by Ben Franklin, another famous Westerner.  Yogis love the pre-dawn hours, where meditation is so easily accessible.  The sweet quiet time, on the cusp of sunrise, and the ecstatic energy of the rising sun are the best way to start your day.

When you’ve begun your yoga at 3 or 4 in the morning, maybe as late as 5 am, you’re ready for a real meal soon after.  The rest of your meals follow the sun – midday and sunset, or maybe dinner will be a little later in the winter hours or regions near the earth’s poles.

Food!  What a glorious punctuation point in the day!  However, choosing food that supports your spiritual upliftment may require some retraining.  Even your taste buds change.  You start to like things you never imagined.  It was quite a shock to my mind to discover that my body likes cilantro.  I now sprinkle it on lavishly.

Nutrition can be quite complicated.  Well, the science of it is fairly simple, whether you’re looking at modern medicine or the ancient medical system of Ayurveda.  But we get it all mixed up with family and worse – with need, greed and fear. Fortunately, yoga frees you from these limiting emotions, thus contributing to yogic nutrition and even a yogic family life.  Can you imagine?

Resources:

• Search online for “Converting to Vegetarianism” or invest in one of the many books on this important topic.
• The six tastes of Ayurveda are detailed in many online sites, easy to find and to implement in your food choices.
• Swami Nirmalananda teaches a “Yogic Nutrition” course, which covers these many topics in detail.  It also features in-kitchen cooking lessons in each class.  Check our Program Calendar for dates. Or email us at programs@svaroopayoga.org

Online beginning November 7

What does a yogi eat?  To achieve health as well as pleasure and (most importantly) spiritual development, yogis feed themselves consciously.  

Drawing on yoga, Ayurveda and scientific nutritional guidelines, Gurudevi gives you easy ways to improve your nutritional profile.  

As these principles begin working for you, you’ll notice a change in your digestion, assimilation and elimination. 

Taste is also important, especially as it contributes to your nutrition as well as your quality of life.  Each class includes a tasting session with discussion.

Enrollment is limited, so everyone can participate in the discussions as well as get personalized support and recommendations from Gurudevi.

By Lloyd (Dharma) Apirian

Interviewed by Lissa (Yogyananda) Fountain

By attending Swami Sundays with Gurudevi, I’d already made profound inner shifts.  Yet I was looking for something even deeper.  Feeling a little down and flat, I wanted renewal: a deeper knowing of my own Self.  

An immersion with my Guru guarantees this!  I also know Shaktipat is a powerful way to boost my personal growth and transformation.  So I signed up for my first online Shaktipat Retreat.  

Doing a Shaktipat Retreat weekend at home has its advantages.  I was in my yoga room and everything was so familiar.  Yet I went just as deep in meditation as when I am in Gurudevi’s presence.  After Gurudevi gave Shaktipat-diksha, the spiritual energy climbed my spine more than ever.  It was freeing, opening and releasing.  I was surrendering to the Self. 

During a longer meditation, I experienced an auditory kriya.  I heard OM Namah Shivaya singing in my left ear!  In a short time, the sinus congestion I’d been feeling cleared away.  This was all Grace, pure Grace.  The Shakti moving through the Guru transcends limitations of space, time and energy.

To keep the Grace flowing, it’s recommended you increase your meditation time and be consistent.  After the retreat, I did notice the effects were fading.  I hadn’t been doing enough meditation.  Before my next Shaktipat, I’m signing up for Meditation Club!  To support carrying these effects into my life, I need the structure.

The Shaktipat experiences that Gurudevi describes with her Guru, Baba Muktananda, inspire me.  They once seemed unattainable and remote.  Now I know they are possible for me.  Shaktipat is a life changing opportunity to experience the Truth of my own Beingness.  I am forever grateful.