Category Archives: Yoga in Life

Golden Jubilee in Ganeshpuri

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November 2026

Join Gurudevi in celebrating her 50th anniversary of teaching as well as her 80th birthday in Ganeshpuri, India. She is generously inviting you to join her in her Golden Jubilee, explaining,

I had been planning a personal retreat for my 80th birthday, marking off tentative dates in my calendar. Then I realized it is also the 50th anniversary of my teaching. That means you are part of the reason I’m going. You are the reason why I do what I do. So you are invited!

This retreat focuses on diving deep. Daily practices begin at 4:20 am in Nityananda’s temple, followed by breakfast, chanting and a yoga class.  A leisurely lunch and recess follows.

The afternoon includes a sutra discourse, more chanting and meditation. After dinner, Nityananda’s temple has a special closing ceremony every night. Day by day, hour by hour, you will join Gurudevi in marinating in Consciousness.

Yogis who have previously traveled with her to Ganeshpuri describe their powerful experiences:

The practices are intensified by being performed on these sacred lands. Each
time I come to India, my starting point is where I left off last time. — Bob (Rudra) Nogue

Ganeshpuri puts me physically in the riverbed of Grace that flows through this lineage. Doing practices with Gurudevi in the dusty village that was built around Nityananda is a magical combination. Being submerged in a village culture that is full of love for Guru and God opens my heart. I blossom as I spend immersive time with Gurudevi and like-minded yogis. — Rosemary (Rudrani) Nogue

I have traveled to Ganeshpuri three times to be with Gurudevi in the place where she was with her teacher. Early morning, meditations in Nityananda’s mahasamadhi room propelled me deeper and deeper inside. When I visited Muktananda’s mahasamadhi shrine and laid my head on his silver-casted sandals, a wave of Shakti shot through me and unlocked access to my Self. I saw my future. — Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver

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A Continuing Miracle

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By Lori (Priya) Kenney

One of my students has been taking yoga classes for 20 years, most recently online. She has been an Embodyment® client of mine for almost two years. Her online asana teacher suggested she would benefit from in-person classes to reduce pain and become calmer. She is the reason I started teaching!   

During her weekly Embodyment® sessions, I see and feel the benefits from her years of asana classes.  Muscle tension releases much more quickly, and she has greater range of motion.  Likewise, I see her flexibility and range of motion increasing dramatically in classes due to her Embodyment® sessions.  

She is leaning into all the poses more deeply. Her Lunges are more extended. She’s taller and more lengthened through her rib cage in Seated Side Stretch. She has more ease in doing poses that were challenging before. And she’s a stellar example of coming to class, getting settled in Shavasana and immediately turning inside. The combination of Embodyment® Yoga Therapy and asana classes is very effective.

I feel connected to this student in a very human way.  We have an easy and trusting relationship. I noticed this again upon returning from YTT1 when I began teaching new poses. She has taken Foundations at least twice and used to occasionally substitute teach for another teacher.  

From the beginning, she has been supportive and encouraging about my teaching. Her awareness of the teaching and class process goes beyond that of being a student. She’s like a silent cheerleader for me and the other students.  

She’s patient with those new to Svaroopa® yoga.  I see her quietly giving suggestions to nearby students working to get into a pose when I’m assisting others. She brought her partner to class, who is now a dedicated student too.   

Her original teacher subbed for me when I went to Lokananda for YTT1.  That teacher also noticed a difference in this student — her greater mobility, her spot-on Lunge alignments and more ease in her poses overall. 

While this student has a reserved nature, she’s a steady presence in our yoga class community.  She is engaged and spontaneous with other students. Sometimes she chimes in about how she feels different the second time we do a marker pose.  Or she will joke with another student.   

I especially appreciate this student’s tenacity and determination while going through several very difficult life passages. She has leaned into yoga through all of it and talks about how it has steadied her.   

She has experience turning within and settling.  She knows the power of an open body and quiet mind.  She is a miracle in progress.  I see her deepening and blossoming, all at the same time.  

Such transformation is due to the power of this yoga. Gurudevi Nirmalananda, our Master Teacher, created this yoga in order to bring asana practice back to its original purpose. The goal is to open us to our deep, expansive and timeless inner essence. 

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The Source of Happiness

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Inner happiness is ever-arising, independent of any external circumstances. This is what yoga calls your own Self. Well, not the happiness. Your own Self is not merely happiness; it is the source of happiness within. When you’re based in your own Beingness, you live in…

— Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “When You Grow Up“

Watch Full Discourse Here

20 Minutes Twice a Day

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By Swami Prajñananda

Twenty minutes twice a day — Ujjayi Pranayama is the first step in your healing. 

Your yoga therapist will give you Ujjayi Pranayama to do right away.

They will teach you the practice in your session and make sure you know how to do it for yourself at home. In the beginning, you might think it doesn’t sound like a lot, but this practice gives you so much. 

Recently, a woman came in for her first yoga therapy session. She was in a lot of pain. On her intake form, she marked areas of her body at a pain level of 8 or 9 out of 10. It was hard for her to get down on the floor to lay in Shavasana.

By the time she went through the 20 minutes of guided Ujjayi Pranayama with me, she was transformed. She got up easier. Her face was wider and her eyes clear and bright. She reported with surprise that all her pain had gone down and the chronic pain in her shoulder was much less. 

What was the most significant was she sounded hopeful that she could actually get better. Amazing! 

She was ready to take the practice home with her. That is the key. For the benefits of Ujjayi Pranayama are not only profound, but they are also cumulative. And yet, getting a steady home practice can be a challenge. 

I even see longtime yogis who neglect this. When they come in for a session, I’ll ask them, “Have you been doing your Ujjayi Pranayama twice a day?” Often times, they haven’t. So that’s always where we begin. Once they get consistent with their Ujjayi, their healing really takes off.

It works because Ujjayi Pranayama works with your prana, your vital energy. Any tight or painful areas of your body are areas that are low on prana. They are shut down or even dying on the vine. When you do your Ujjayi, you not only move your breath, but you move your prana as well.

Lying on the floor in Shavasana is best so your spine is fully supported. Then as your breath moves, your muscles also release and your slow breath seeps through your body, enlivening even the shutdown areas. 

Your mind too is soothed by the sound of your breath, quieting and turning it inward. When you settle deeper inside, you settle into the source of healing itself. Then healing happens from the inside out. It all starts with 20 minutes twice a day.

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Prepare for the New Year

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By Amanda (Purna) Schmidt

Now is the time to get your “Living Mysticism” calendar journal for 2026. 

This year is extra-special, marking Gurudevi’s Golden Jubilee. More than a mere notebook or planner, this calendar journal gives you plenty of space for sketching, writing and noting appointments.

However you choose to use “Living Mysticism,” you bring Gurudevi into your daily life. Each page offers a sutra-like excerpt from her teachings over five decades.

Return to this quote throughout the day for inspiration and guidance. Or follow the thread deeper by reading the associated Teaching Article. On each page, you get the title, month and year of publication. 

And there’s more: at the start of our Meditation Club each morning, Gurudevi reads the daily quote and adds even more depth in her commentary. Let this calendar journal weave the mystical into every day. Be inspired to do more yoga!

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Process of Self-Discovery

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The process of Self-discovery is a process.  Sometimes it’s bliss-filled, sometimes not.  Consider how many years have you invested in being unenlightened? How many days have you done your unenlightenment practices? How many…

—  Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Dharma, Karma, Moksha“

Watch Full Discourse Here

The Gift of Grace

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By Ellen (Lajja) Mitchell, Ashram Board President

Our fundraiser, “The Gift of Grace,” is ending. I thank everyone who participated in giving. 

Thank you for choosing to support Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram. Your financial support helps us to continue to shine light into the world as well as support you in uncovering your light.  I am grateful for you and for our Ashram’s support over the years.  

Our Ashram has helped me through physical and mental stuff (oh, mind!). This has helped me to see myself. I am so grateful for our Ashram and for all its offerings. I am more myself and I navigate through life more fluidly. What a gift it is to receive support from Gurudevi and the Swamis.

I opened the Gurudevi App today, and this quote was displayed:

The high points in life are when you’re shining with light, loving, generous, joyful and peaceful. You want to be that way all the time. Of course you do — because it’s who you really are, deep down inside.

– Gurudevi Nirmalananda & Swami Samvidaananda

Yes, that is what our Ashram does. It helps you to see yourself as you truly are and be yourself. What a gift it is to support you in this process. What a gift it is to have your financial support. Yes, a gift of Grace.

While our campaign is coming to an end, we still welcome and appreciate your financial gifts. They make a real difference in what we do!

Donate online or call us at (610) 644-7555.  Or send your check to Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, 116 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, PA 19335.  Thank you again and again! 

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Gurudevi’s Satsangs Move Me

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By Cayla (Mangala) Allen

The chanting, teachings and meditation with Gurudevi uplift my soul. Shifted into a sense of ease, I settle into my own Self.

Every week, I attend Gurudevi’s satsangs online: Swami Sunday and Wednesday Chant and Meditation. She delivers the full package from chanting, through teachings and on to deep meditation.

She brings this maha (great) yoga to life by making the ancient teachings accessible and relevant to our modern day lives.

Gurudevi’s Teachings Article comes out at the beginning of each month. It’s like a two-page sutra.  Reading it, I receive mini aha moments.

At Swami Sundays, Gurudevi unpacks what she wrote making the article even easier to understand. I receive huge aha moments. This makes it easy to apply the teachings to my life.

Each satsang offers layers of understanding. While sitting at her feet, whether in person or online, I receive this by simply being aware. The effect on me, and on who I feel myself to be, is awesome. 

Then sweet, deep meditation sets in as she offers her guidance. I settle in deeper as the meditation arises.

What I experience in these moments is beyond words. Sometimes unconscious, sometimes conscious, in Consciousness, I am somewhere beyond my mind. 

The gong sounds. Gurudevi brings us through the sweet pause that closes meditation. I practice bringing my deep experience into my life.

I used to think the key to life was to live passionately. I now know it is to live fully enlivened from within, living in Self in every moment. 

Passionate for me was living on the edge, riding the roller coaster of life with all its ups and downs. Now I live from center, blissfully observing the multi-diversity of the universe.

I revel in amazement of all that exists, knowing there is more than I can imagine. I am grateful for all. On some level I know there is only One and I am That. 

I am grateful for a true Guru who reveals all and leads me to greater understanding. This readies me to receive more as I move toward Enlightenment.

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