Category Archives: DYMC

Surgery at Birth

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By Maria Sichel

With the Svaroopa® Sciences practices, miracles happen reliably.  Encouraged by his wife, my client Marc took an introductory class last September.  With two partial knee replacements, he described himself as “stiff” and said he had back and knee pain.  After this introduction, Marc felt so good he enrolled in weekly classes.

Marc’s Svaroopa® yoga class became a highlight of his week.  He often reported with wonder that he felt so much better at the end of class.  Early on, he remarked, “I wasn’t expecting the added benefit of mental relief!  I am astounded to be calmer with less pain, more mobility and an overall good feeling.  My body has opened in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”

In February, he decided to try yoga therapy.  He described, “I was born with a double hernia.  Correction at birth created scar tissue that affected my psoas muscles.  At 26, I developed a slight herniation on the right side of the L4–L5 vertebrae.  On-and-off debilitating pain resulted.”

Marc got some relief from massage therapy and chiropractic treatments.  However, the extreme tightness on his right side from his neck down to his hip continued.  Arriving for his first yoga therapy session, Marc reported pain spreading through his neck, entire right side, sacrum and both knees.  Afterward, he reported no pain!  Being persuaded by the miracle of 20 minutes of Ujjayi Pranayama, Marc became a daily “breather” at home.

At his fifth session, Marc reports enjoying his consistent daily Ujjayi breathing.  When he fills out the initial pain scale, he now targets only two small spots.  He leaves the session with zeros. 

Marc says, “I am amazed at the breathing practice.  I have been able to stop visiting the chiropractor every week.  This weekend I overdid it and was in quite a negative state.  I did my breathing, poses and some meditation, and I was transformed.”

I say that Marc is in the “midst of a miracle.”  I don’t know how “good” good can get for Marc.  And neither does he.  But he continues to be curious and run the experiment.

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Receiving More Intense Shaktipat

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By Margie (Maitreyi) Wilsman

Year after year, I take Gurudevi’s Shaktipat Retreats.  I know she has awakened Kundalini within me.  In every human being, Kundalini is the cosmic, mystical, meditative energy lying dormant at the base of our spines.  When awakened, she does our inner work for us.  

Burning karmic seeds stored in the spine, she dissolves blockages to Capital-S Self within.  I now experience Kundalini arising within me, the process of enlightenment unfolding.

In my last Shaktipat Retreat, we chanted to honor Kundalini as always.  We also chanted Chidananda Rupah.  Its refrain “Shivo’ham, Shivo’ham” honors the one who chants.  It offers you the revelation “I am Shiva, I am Shiva,” that Light of Conscious, the One Self Being All.  My chanting was much more purposeful, even though I didn’t will it to be so.

In each retreat, Gurudevi gives Shaktipat two or three times.  Each time, Gurudevi reminds us that what we receive from her depends on our capacity to receive.  This time I decided to open my capacity for receiving to the fullest.

Now, even months later, I notice my spiritual process has been transformed.  Kundalini continues to clear obstacles to the experiential knowing of my Capital-S Self.  Kundalini opens me to Divine sight and heartfelt feelings.  

My inner eyes allow me to see and to feel the cosmos and world alive with the energy of Kundalini and my own Self.  Within my spiritual heart, I feel the throbbing of Pure Love, Divine Love.  I am propelled to chant twice daily.  Kundalini also propels me to meditate twice daily.  With resolve greater than ever before, I continue what Kundalini is propelling me to do.

Whether online or in person, Gurudevi’s Shaktipat Retreats transform me in unexpected ways.  Kundalini and Gurudevi know what I need in my spiritual process.  Now I have more and more capacity to receive.  Her gift of Shaktipat is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

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A Yoga Warrior

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By Julia (Chintamani) Wallis

Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney

Late last year, Yulia came to me in a lot of pain.  Since childhood, every day has brought her hip, shoulder, wrist and knee pain.  Persistent headaches and head pressure were part of it too.  She didn’t remember ever not having headaches.  Even her vision kept getting worse.  

I gave Yulia three private sessions.  She experienced mental peace and calmness immediately.  Soon physical changes started, and her pain began to subside. 

Then Swami Satrupananda came to teach some yoga programs.  Yulia enrolled in the four-hour workshop, though this was before she had done any yoga classes.  Towards the end of the yoga poses part, Yulia came to me, looking very frightened.  She said she didn’t think she could do it.  Her physical discomfort was very high.  I told her, “If you can stay with it, it will change.”  Like a yoga warrior, she stayed with it, and it did change.

Then, after two months of weekly private sessions and only one class, I noticed that the shape of Yulia’s eyes was changing.  She posted this review on my Facebook page: 

I’m amazed at my progress in the short two months I’ve been practicing with Julia.  My mind is quieter; the thoughts are not swirling around non-stop.  I catch myself being grateful more often.  The severe hip pain I’ve had for 10 years is not as bad.  My headaches are completely gone, and even my eyesight has improved.

In February, I went to Lokananda for a Teacher Training: Treating Pain TuneUp.  Upon returning to Seattle, I began doing the poses with Yulia in her sessions.  After the first one, she sent me a text.  She said it was the first time in her life that she spent a day without pain.  She said, “It’s hard to find any pain.  In the past, I’d sneeze and feel like I’m falling into little pieces.  I’m forever grateful I found Svaroopa® yoga.”

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Exuberance!

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By Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast, Yogaratna

At first, I valued this pose for its efficiency.  Your sacrum, waist and ribcage area of your spine all get a deep release at the same time.  Now I’ve learned to savor the true power of Virasana (Hero Pose) with Seated Side Stretch (SSS).

Virasana SSS opens me inward to exuberance!  On my upper arm side, the whole side of my torso lengthens and expands.  While extending my straight-elbow arm diagonally, I ease my navel inward.  Then my torso extends on both sides.  The sense of lengthening and expansion is delicious.

Moving in gradually gives me a sweet transition from computer work — from “busy mind” to minding my body.  Sitting in the middle of my blanket stack, I soften both legs.  One at a time, I lift them into the crossed-leg alignment.  Relaxing my legs, I can more easily line my knees up.  Pausing with my hands resting on my knees, I settle into easy breathing and inner awareness.  I drop down from a hectic day into the eternal peace of my own Self.

Then I silently coach myself with tips.  “Use elbow muscles” to keep your upraised arm straight.  “Align your upper arm parallel to your spine line.”  I feel both sides of my torso as well as my upraised arm lengthen more.

After moving out of the first side, I pause to sit, resting with my stacked hands again on my knees.  My mind settles down and inward.  I sink into noticing my body inside more deeply.  I feel the ongoing changes.  

The feeling of warm upliftment continues.  A sense of renewal spreads all the way up to the side of my face.  It’s a delicious interval.

For my other side, I repeat the step-by-step process of moving in, staying in and moving out.  The luxurious openings unfold on my second side.  Yumm…

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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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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.

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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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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! 

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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! 

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