Category Archives: DYMC

What Are Ashrams?

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By Gurudevi Nirmalananda 

An Ashram is a spiritual center where people dedicated to spiritual development live and practice under the direction of an Enlightened Being. The key is the Guru’s generosity, who is willing to share their life with others. This sweet and intimate gift makes the students’ spiritual process move more deeply and quickly.

I first benefitted from Ashram living in the 1970s. I already had figured out that I didn’t get much out of television and other media. I preferred yoga and meditative practices over the social scenes I had tried. It was a big relief to me that there was live music in the evening’s chant and meditation. Better yet, the teacher gave discourses several times weekly. I still love this lifestyle!

There are variations on the main theme. An Ashram might be headed up by an accomplished yogi who is not yet Self-Realized but is working on it. Most often, they have been authorized by their own Guru and are directed and supported in the process. Other Ashrams were founded by a great Master, even decades or hundreds of years ago, with yogis continuing to live the lifestyle as well as to offer the teachings they have learned. 

Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram is my home, which I share with other dedicated seekers. We offer several retreats and trainings each year, with participants staying in our retreat center. Our yoga classes are offered online as well as locally in Downingtown PA. I set up our online Freebies almost ten years ago, then the pandemic opened up new possibilities. Thus you will find many online offerings on our program calendar, including twice-weekly meditation satsangs.

Like ours, the Ashrams you hear about and find in online searches generally offer retreats and trainings. Other Ashrams are closed to the public, allowing few visitors or none. 

I have visited and lived in many Ashrams in North America, Europe and India, both Yoga Ashrams and Buddhist ashrams. In spite of the different practices, different dress codes, and different meals, they share many commonalities. They usually follow a set schedule, with group meditations and other practices as well as group meals. The household tasks are shared by residents, who do the cooking, cleaning, gardening and errand running, just like you do for your own home. 

In my years of residency with my Guru, we began the day at 3:30 with a morning chant followed by meditation. At 5:15 am, we got chai, a sweet-spicy milk tea. Then we chanted until 7 am. Breakfast was optional. Our day alternated between work periods, more chanting and meals, ending with a long chant at night and bedtime by 9 pm. I felt that I was living in heaven on earth!

Some Ashram residents are swamis, yoga monks, while others are in various stages of learning and commitment. Ashrams offering public retreats and trainings welcome guests during those programs but, like us, are closed at other times. Or you may have to meet prerequisites in order to visit. In other words, there’s lots of variations on the theme. There is no central governing body like the Vatican. Each Ashram can set up its own rules and systems, based on the lineage they embody as well as the practicalities for their locale.

One thing is consistent. Wherever a person or group of people do dedicated spiritual practices, that place becomes special. Thus most Ashrams are pilgrimage centers, with people coming to soak up the spiritual vibe that emanates out. That vibe is called Grace.  My life is filled with Grace!

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Program Calendar

Sukhasana: Settling into Stillness

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By Melissa (Yogyananda) Fountain, Yogaratna

My favorite Svaroopa® Yoga pose is Sukhasana, the sweet and easy pose.  While sitting in this level and stable seat, I teach as well as meditate.  When I get propped just right, I experience both sublime comfort and inner stillness.  Inner stillness offers me everything I’ve ever longed for.  I become physically still, and my mind is quiet.  It’s guaranteed.  And then I experience Self: the still center of my own Beingness.

The more I practice Sukhasana, the more I learn about myself.  Its subtle refinements and power have been growing within me for 26 years.  It’s not always been easy.  In chasing down my Deceptive Flexibility, I’ve raised and lowered my blanket stack for my seat many times.  I’ve squirmed my way into what feels comfortable, finding comfort to be elusive. 

To meditate, I’ve even sometimes chosen to sit in a chair instead. But the effects are not the same.  Sukhasana grounds me inside.  I can attune myself to the inner energies that are balancing and flowing up my spine.  It’s reliable, blissful and always informative.

Sukhasana is ever new, never static.  I roll my knee blankets into just the right support my body needs, at that moment.  I alternate my front foot placement, so my muscular patterns stay more fluid.  With my knees’ condyle bones propped, I feel a direct line to my sitbones and into my tailbone.

These small adjustments bring profound results.  It’s like my brain is being rewired, my mind expanded.  The best part is, I feel supported by my spine’s verticality.  I can let go of my internal tensions.  Then like magic, my base is stable; I’m ready to settle into my own Self.  I have found my “Dream Sukhasana.”

Two Yoga Miracles

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By Katharine Raczkowski

My yoga student Kris and I are both aircraft mechanics, building planes for an aerospace company.  I am also a Svaroopa® yoga teacher.

Spring 2020, I noticed Kris wasn’t breathing.  That is, he was hunched over his workbench, and his belly didn’t move. One day, I lightheartedly asked, “Are you breathing?  Do you have room for your lungs?”  Later he responded, “You asked me if I was breathing.  So I sort of wondered about that.”

Kris had noticed that when work required standing, I stood with my feet side by side and parallel.  When he asked me generally what I did, I asked, “Can I show you something?” I taught him Slow Motion Dive and Crook’t Leg in the Chair and later showed him Tadasana.  I was amazed at how quickly Kris’s spine elongated.  Right away, he had to adjust his car seat as well as rearview and side mirrors.

In September 2020, a fall down a flight of stairs seriously injured my hips.  I had to use two hiking sticks to walk.  Fortunately, my Embodyment® therapist is close to my work.  So I could conveniently have sessions before starting the second-shift.  When I would arrive for work, Kris noticed I was no longer using the hiking sticks nor limping.  “You don’t look at all like you’ve fallen!”  This was the big kick for Kris to schedule a class at his home for himself and his wife.  Plus, since Embodyment® healed my hips, I canceled the hip surgery my doctor had recommended.

Early 2021, Kris had another class.  He learned some Foundations poses and Ujjayi Pranayama to do at home.  In October 2021, I enrolled in Foundations Review, YTT 1 and Embodyment® training.  After that Ashram immersion, I returned home in a whole different place.  Kris scheduled a private class in December.

Now he is working through YTT 1 poses in his home practice.  Before Svaroopa® yoga, Kris couldn’t raise his shoulders much and one arm only 30 degrees.  He no longer protects that arm now, and his joints move together fluidly.  Last week he asked to review Seated Side Stretch.  He explained, “I just love the movement.  It feels great.  But there are a lot of steps.”

Early on, I measured his height at 5’8”; it’s now 6’1”.  His blood pressure came down 20 points in 6 months; medication is no longer needed.  He gave up snacks and went from 220 to 175 pounds.

In a session, he released traumatic memories.  His level of worry and “spinning” has decreased, a change evident to his wife and daughter.  He used to write about his spinning.  Now he’s writing a children’s book about dragons learning how to use their fire appropriately.  He is excited about moving forward and dropping his past.

Yoga Classes – Online & On-Site
Foundations of Svaroopa® Yoga

Online Therapeutic Yoga

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By Swami Nirmalananda 

You’ve got choices. Do you want private yoga therapy sessions online? Each one-hour session is dedicated to your needs and gives you immediate improvement in your condition.

Would a semi-private class work better for you? You join in with one or two others who are also in need of healing. You share the teacher’s attention, which means there is less focus on your needs, while you have the support of others who are in the process. Also, it is less expensive because there are more of you sharing the cost.

You may find that our regular online classes work well for you, as Svaroopa® yoga is a therapeutically oriented yoga. Everything we do is about healing and upliftment. 

How do you choose? The best approach is to talk with one of our yoga therapists. She will do an informal assessment of your needs and steer you toward your best option.

If you want to make the choice on your own, use this easy guideline:

If you have a medical diagnosis, start with a private yoga therapy session.

If you don’t have a diagnosis, try out a class.

I used to think that yoga therapy couldn’t be done online, but then doctors started using TeleHealth. It was very empowering. Now we have done hundreds of yoga therapy sessions online, throughout the pandemic and continuing onward.

Many of the therapeutic tools we use are easy to implement over Zoom. You must have your video and audio on as we need to see you in order to help you.

If you are able to come in-person, we are able to do more. Being able to physically align you in your pose, even adding customized props and adjustments makes a big difference.  In addition to our yoga studio in Downingtown PA, we have many trained therapists around the country, even multiple countries. Check out our Teacher Directory.

The only way you’ll find out if Svaroopa® yoga therapy will help you is to give it a try. 

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Connect with a Therapist

Gentle Yoga Classes 

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Your body needs help or you know someone who needs yoga; that’s why you’re here.  When you’ve got aches and pains, perhaps even impaired movement due to injury or illness, you need a yoga that meets you where you’re at.  Svaroopa® Yoga is your answer.   

This is a slower-paced yoga, using chairs and other props to customize every pose to your needs.  You can even sign up for private sessions or semi-private therapeutics classes.  All this is available Online or On-Site.  You can come to us in Downingtown PA or we can Zoom into your home through your phone or other device. 

While we meet you where you’re at, you don’t stay there.  Your condition improves quickly.  You feel better after your first class.  Within a few sessions, you have less pain.  You have more stamina and are stronger.  Best of all, you are happier and have more to share.  Everyone who knows you celebrates your improvement and enjoys your new condition. 

Our methodology is spine-centric.  Every pose decompresses specific spinal vertebrae.  With precise alignments and compassionate propping, we lead you through a full spinal series in every class.  Your spine lengthens, your breath opens up and your smile gets wider.  It’s mechanical.  It’s reliable.  It’s predictable.  And it’s fun. 

If you’ve been slowed down by illness, injury or age, we recommend you start with a private yoga therapy session.  We begin with an assessment and intake, then move you through an easy introductory yoga practice.  At the end of the hour, another assessment follows, to see if you’re getting any improvement.  We’re happy to report that 99.5% of our clients get improvement in their first hour! 

We will also give you a treatment plan.  It may include 3-8 weeks of yoga sessions, usually 2-3 times weekly.  By then, you’re usually ready for our regular yoga classes, which will continue to expand your knowledge as well as improve your condition. 

If you don’t have a specific diagnosis or limitation, you may be able to begin in regular classes.  We offer 10 or more per week, On-Site as well as Online.   

If you don’t know what your best pathway is, simply sign up for one private session to get your assessment and treatment plan.  We delight in helping you find your way to health and vitality through yoga! 

Private Session

Yoga Class Schedule

Svaroopa® Yoga

Mantra Meditation

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By Satguru Swami Nirmalananda 

Meet your mind where it’s at.  Having a crazy-busy mind is normal these days, unfortunately.  You aspire to a better state, a deeper inner center, a quality of being that fills your life with light.  Mantra meditation lassoes your mind and brings it back home, to your core essence, called “your own Self.” 

You need the right mantra, of course.  And you need to get it from someone who knows it fully, inside and out.  An authorized teacher within an authentic tradition can open the inner doorway for you in amazing ways.  That’s what happened for me, an inner awakening that transformed my life from the inside-out.   

I got the mantra from a local meditation teacher.  She had been authorized by her teacher in India.  It gave me deep meditation immediately. 

It was only later that I understood the greatness of the gift I had been given – the enlivened mantra, full of blessings and grace. 

It infused me with a sense of wholeness and purpose that I had never known before.  And all I had to do was meditate daily, which renewed and deepened it. 

Now, almost 50 years later, I offer the same to those who aspire higher.  In free online programs as well as course and retreats, you can get this mantra and instruction in how to use it.  Let those who have done their spiritual work give you a head start on yours! 

Mantra Card

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About Swami Nirmalananda

On-Site Yoga at Downingtown Yoga

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Your Svaroopa® yoga class begins with you lying on your back in the yoga pose named Shavasana.  After your guided relaxation, each additional pose targets a specific part of your spine, unraveling deep tensions.  

Your internal organs get more interior space for optimal functioning.  After you end with another Shavasana, you can tell that this stuff works.  Every class welcomes new students while supporting experienced yogis.

Working at home, I find getting to my weekly Saturday morning class is a great remedy for isolation.  Taught by a swami, the class has a special vibe that resonates through us students. I get a lot of relaxation and benefits including relief from a herniated disc.  Plus, I learn tools for self-healing at home. — Beth S.

Yoga Class Schedule

New Building for Downingtown Yoga & Meditation Center

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downingtown yoga bannerWe’re almost there!  Our Board of Directors has been working for almost a year to select a building, negotiate a contract, complete the property inspections and arrange financing.  We are in the final steps to get to the settlement table. Of course, nothing in real estate is final until it’s final, but we wanted you to know that we’re almost there.

Why do we need a new building, you ask? Well, for you, of course!

In our 2012 Board Retreat, we developed a 10 year plan for expanding the Ashram, as well as a succession plan for after Swamiji is gone. We announced our plans in an article, including:

[Swamiji] along with the Board, is focusing on the sustainability of her teachings… We have the house in Downingtown, plus we will likely purchase an additional building to house our public programs and provide resident housing… and guest accommodations for visiting yogis.

Our plan is to create teachers rather than to accumulate assets; it is about the sustainability of the teachings, not of the buildings. Yet we need a building in which to base the next level of meditation teachings. We had planned to accomplish this by 2014 and we are realizing that dream on time.  Especially with the tasks of the Reawakening and the Consolidation, this is a major accomplishment.

We have looked at many buildings that didn’t have the right mix of space for DYMC (Downingtown Yoga & Meditation) along with apartments for residents and guests, and this one does. The ground floor is very large, for satsangs, events and yoga classes, which we need because our current DYMC location, right next door, is bursting at the seams. The upstairs apartments in the new building are currently rented, which helps to support the building while we grow into it.  We will be renovating and moving into the building in stages, and will keep you informed every step of the way.

Teacher Trainings will not be held in this location, as the Desmond offers a better experience for groups needing full service for YTT, retreats, etc. This building is intended for setting the Shakti, in a location that Swamiji feels very strongly about, and will be dedicated to creating community in the form of residents and guests, drawing from local community and Shishyas worldwide. Our local community is growing, as is our online following both nationally and internationally. There is a hunger for the deeper teachings, which is the way Swamiji serves both you and the greater yoga community, who thirst for that “something more” that we Svaroopis experience and understand.

In order for us to carry out Swamiji’s vision, and the vision of the organization going forward, we need this additional space. A space of our own that can hold the Shakti she pours into it. We are so thrilled to be able to provide our community with this space to grow. It is YOU who is making this possible, and it is for YOU that Swamiji, your Board of Directors, and all of the Trainers, staff and sevites serve.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo nama.h

Downingtown Yoga & Meditation Center – Upcoming FREE Events & More

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downingtownSaturday Nov 23, Free Newcomer Classes
Choose to come at 1:30 or 3:30 pm (or you can even take both classes)

Enjoy a free class while you help us train our new teachers!  They’ve been studying for over a year and are now teaching under the supervision of one of our grads – come and let them show you their stuff.  Come and let them show you how easy it is to change your body, calm your mind and open your heart.  Click here to reserve or call us at  610.644.7555.

Sunday November 24, Swami Sunday (FREE)

Join us for our last meditation program in 2013, led by Swami Nirmalananda just before she leaves for her annual India retreat.  A morning full of chanting, chai, great conversation and profound teachings – culminating in a sweet and deep meditation.

8:30-10:00 am – “Srii Guru Gita
10:30 am – 12:15 pm — Satsang with Swami Nirmalananda

Private Yoga Therapy

A great way to fit your yoga into a busy holiday schedule, pick your time and reap the benefits of many yoga classes in just one hour.  Devaraja, Kanchan and Sarvataa will work with you to make immediate changes in the way you feel, as well as to give you easy things you can do at home for yourself.

Holiday Special
$55.00 per session through December 12 2013

Jan 24-26, Shaktipat Retreat with Swami Nirmalananda

“An experience of my Self at a depth I didn’t even know was possible. I feel truly blessed to have had that time with Swamiji and my fellow yogis.” – Theresa Reynolds

Receive the initiation that Swami Nirmalananda is known for:  the awakening of your own potential to know your own Divinity.  A Kundalini master, Swamiji has been empowered to give you this boost into cosmic consciousness, a tangible experience of the Reality Within.  Let her open you up to you.