By Annette (Annapurna) Zucco, Interviewed by Lissa (Yogeshwari) Fountain

“Teaching Svaroopa® yoga is my path to the Self.  How I teach now may be different from a year ago.  I’m always evolving, changing and going deeper,” shares Annapurna Zucco.  She has been teaching Svaroopa® yoga in MA for 10 years.

Like so many teachers, Annapurna began as a yoga student in another hatha yoga style. However, she felt that her experience was incomplete: “I was not able to do any spinal twists, because the pain between my shoulder blades was so intense.”  A mother of two young boys, her full-time job required she change her schedule.  So she tried Marjorie Crockett’s Svaroopa® yoga class at a local Parks & Recreation.  Annapurna recalls, “The marker pose was JP (Rotated Stomach Pose)!  Right at the start I was in that painful spot again.  Yet, by the end of class, I relaxed into this reclining twist, completely pain-free.  It was a magic moment.  I was hooked!”

Taking regular classes with Varadananda King since 2004, Annapurna says, “For me it was an organic process.  From the moment I lay on the floor, I was able to track what was happening in my body.  I could follow what was unraveling, maybe because of my background in physiology and anatomy.”  Although Annapurna felt she was “too shy” to actually teach, her curiosity got the best of her, and she took Foundations in 2007.  “This training propelled me into the depths of my Self, and I gained confidence as the other participants were encouraging me to teach.  It set the groundwork for where I wanted to go.”  Even while she was still raising her family and working, she was able to complete YTT by 2011, and has been teaching ever since.

“Asana spoke to me.  I worked at a greenhouse, which is physically demanding; you’re moving all the time. And I process my experiences through my body.  So I continued to take one to two classes per week.”  She feels this has given her a unique perspective.  “Attending class has focused me on my path.  Learning and getting support from other teachers kept me centered and more aware of what was happening within: the flow of Grace and unfolding of Kundalini.  Because I was still a student myself, I could then understand what was happening for my students as well.  I am more sensitive to them and respectful of their needs.”

“When I teach, and I’m well prepared and present to my students, it all flows from a place of Grace.  It comes from my heart.  There’s an ease to it.  I teach because it is who I am.”  Part of Annapurna’s preparation is to re-read the pink sheets, write clear lesson plans, practice the poses and do her own daily practice.  She says, “It’s all coming from Swamiji — every word in the pink sheets is imbued with her Grace.  Annapurna also meditates and studies with Swamiji’s Year-Long Programme: “I need all these different pieces to reach inside myself; this is my way to The Self. The Grace is always there, but you do have to put yourself into it.”

After Marjorie Crockett’s death and Varadananda King’s relocation to Downingtown, Annapurna’s classes are an interesting blend of her own students with theirs.  “Today, it feels like coming full circle when I can serve my own teachers’ students,” reflects Annapurna. Because she wants to be able to give her classes more, Annapurna has signed up for her first ATT course in March 2019: “Heart Openers.”  She wants to keep personally evolving and growing and enhancing her classes.  “Students teach me so much.  I love supporting them.  I am so blessed that this is how I can be in the world.”

By Gurupremananda Cattafi, SVA Board President

As a Svaroopa® yoga and meditation community, we enter the New Year ready for divine experiences.  What Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda has planned will propel us to “Breakthrough!” and move forward in “Leaps and Bounds.” 

Certainly, 2018 prepared Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram for expansion, with the installation of Nataraja and a crystal Lingam (Mallikarjuna) in our gardens. These ceremonies, conducted by Santosh Mudgal, reverberated throughout the worldwide Svaroopa® community.  They prompted the new name for one of our buildings, ShivaLoka, meaning the abode of Shiva.   Extensive renovations in both buildings have upgraded our interior space as well.  Most importantly, Swamiji stepped into the role of Sadguru, honored with this title by the Brahmins of Ganeshpuri.  Shaktipat masters are honored with this title, with only a handful of such Gurus worldwide.

Wow! We are prepared for a great New Year!   Many Svaroopis are immersed in the Ashram retreat with Sadguru Nirmalananda on this New Year’s Day.  What you do on New Year’s Day sets the tone of your whole year.  

Swamiji is setting the tone for the year with the titles she’s given us:

• Breakthrough! is our January Conference in Boston with both a meditation and an asana (poses) track.  Post-conference workshops are available as well.  We hope to see you there.

• Leaps and Bounds is Swamiji’s promise for 2019,especially if you join in her Year Long Programme this year.  Choose your level or participation in her articles, audio discourses, group phone calls and an autumn retreat.  Whatever your choice, it is always deep and always essential, providing lots of growth. Check it out with the Free Intro Call on February 24.

Breakthrough, with leaps and bounds — I have no doubt! With love and gratitude, I wish you an Enlightened New Year.

By Janet (Janaki) Murray

“I much prefer to consciously work on myself by choosing to do the practices that help transform my mind.  Getting tossed about by outer situations and people is a much harder and more painful process,” writes Vidyadevi in Instant Enlightenment, our December Contemplation Article.  I agree!  I am so grateful to Swamiji and the Svaroopa® Sciences for the practices that yield this kind of transformation.

I have not forgotten what it used to be like, being constantly dragged around by my emotions, wading through the quagmire that was my mind.  It is not that I am no longer affected or have no feelings about the things that happen in my life.  I even feel my emotions more fully now.  It is just that they no longer define me.  My thoughts and emotions are not who I am.

I am not enlightened – yet.  Still, there is an ever-growing freedom and peace from the inner turmoil that comes from life’s curve balls.  Phew, thank goodness!

This “parinama” — the gradual transformation of my mind — has also changed the way I think about things.  One way is found in how I deal with life’s challenging situations.  I accept, even embrace them.  I see challenges as experiences for my growth even if they are painful at times.  My “edges are getting knocked off and smoothed out.”

I would even go so far as to say bliss is to be found in life’s curve balls.  When I really just sit with the issue in hand and see it all as Consciousness at play, even when it is painful, bliss arises.  The Self arises within me; peace and clarity ensue.  What better way to tackle a challenging situation?

There might have been a time when I wanted to “escape the rock tumbler of life.”  Not any longer.  Bring it on I say, I’m ready!

As it says in Instant Enlightenment, “The goal is to be in the tumbler, knowing who you really are while you engage in life fully, based in the ever arising flow of joy, happiness and love.”  So, I’ll just “do more yoga.”

By Gurupremananda (Lynn) Cattafi SVA Board President

As important as they are, you don’t get to choose your relatives. Yet you have made a great choice in being a member of the Svaroopa^® yoga and meditation family!

Today, I was honored to be calling yogis to thank them for Making a Promise to support their yoga and their Ashram. It was so sweet to hear their reasons for choosing to do so. They also described what Svaroopa® yoga and meditation does for them. They were overflowing with love and gratitude for the changes in their lives and for the love and support they feel being part of this amazing family.

And you have seen that, when your life changes because of your yoga practices, you are not the only one affected. Your relationships with your family, your friends and even strangers shift their lives. I wish that I and the other Board Members could call each and every one of you, but that’s not possible. So many have been touched by the Svaroopa® Sciences!

I also spent time calling yogis we haven’t seen for a while. I thanked them as well, and reminded them that they always have the Ashram as a pillar of support to rely on. There is nothing like it. Again, it was so sweet to hear what is going on for them, and how their yoga is making changes for their students and their families.

This is a grassroots transformation. It is due to yogis like you who are making the world a better place by how you live. It is a wonderful life because you make it so.

Your pledges to make or increase monthly donations along with year-end gifts supported us in reaching our goal: $30,000. Your generosity touches my heart deeply.

On behalf of Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati, your dedicated Board of Directors and I thank you for Making a Promise. This campaign is complete and we are very grateful to all who have given so generously.

If you were not able to participate until now, you can still conveniently set up a monthly gift, increase your current monthly donation amount, or make a one-time donation by clicking here.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava namo namah

By Carolyn (Karuna) Beaver

Ardha Chandrasana at the Wall became my favorite pose at the 2018 New Year’s Retreat in Atlanta.  It was part of a short, sweet and deeply effective asana sequence.  Swami Nirmalananda had created it, and I was privileged to teach it. 

I loved seeing yogis evolve in their approach and ability to work through all poses.  One pose was blissful, another was energetic, another was more difficult and yet so transformative.  All were beautiful pieces of the whole.  Yet Ardha Chandrasana at the Wall clearly moved the group through the challenges, changes and contemplation that accompany New Year’s resolutions.  Its benefits, besides opening the rib cage,include improvement to shoulders, neck and breathing.  It also lengthens abdominal muscles and helps to prepare for meditation.

Our group went into Ardha Chandrasana at the Wall after deep spinal release through tailbone, sacrum and waist area.  At first, several yogis had difficult extending their arm close to their ear, then over their head and all the way to the wall.  Even more difficult was pressing both hands into the wall to arc their torso and create movement in their spine.  Then after several repetitions,and some assistance, most difficulty was gone. 

Repeating the whole lesson plan several times daily, they integrated the Ardha Chandrasana alignment details.  With more flexible torsos, the yogis could reach the wall with both hands.  They had more arc and movement in their spines.  They could actually soften into the pose and use the strength of their arms to move them in deeper. 

We love poses that are immediately blissful.  The purpose of Svaroopa^® yoga, however, is to  expand your inner bliss, both to dive inside as well as to take your bliss into the world. This means using your abs, legs and arms to support your spine, even to release your spinal tensions.  This gives you the experience of your Self.  From this inner depth, you live your life fully, joyfully. 

Our New Year’s sequence ended in a seated pose, to integrate and absorb the changes.  Sitting allowed contemplation of where we were and where we were going.  What a way to start a New Year!

By Peter Gallagher, Ashram Board Member

Twice yearly, I reach out to you to ask for a contribution. Your donation supports the many needs of your nonprofit yoga organization.  It supports the profound work of our founder and spiritual head, Sadguru Swami Nirmalananda. 

Our modern-day sage, our Guru, does not take any payment for her teachings.  While you pay fees to take courses with Swami Nirmalananda, these monies go directly to support the organization.  She is not compensated for her teaching time or the background support she provides.  Our fees apply only toward the costs of offering the courses and other services we provide. 

Our course and program fees unfortunately do not cover the costs of supporting the Ashram’s whole infrastructure.  This essential substructure enables dissemination of our Guru’s free teachings to you and seekers everywhere.  Physical buildings need improvements and maintenance.  We pay property taxes, insurance, utilities, faculty and the support staff that are needed to run programs.

Many of you make a monthly donation.  In making his pledge, you make a solemn promise.  It is a commitment, a sweet promise that you uphold month-by-month.  Your monthly gifts allow the Ashram to budget confidently, providing security for our organization.  We are grateful to you beyond measure.

Providing important support for Swamiji’s work in the world, your monthly gift gives even more.  You ensure the continued stream of teachings from Swamiji.  You provide her with the faculty, staff, supplies and facility that make her service to the community possible.  Through these conduits, her Grace is unwaveringly available to you, to your whole Svaroopa^® community and to seekers beyond.  Guru’s Grace empowers you to do more and to be more than you think you are.

Consider seeing your monthly pledge as a necessity, not as an extra.  Reflect on the ways that your yoga deepens your inner experience.  Remember the Ashram programs, retreats and courses that have opened you to ease and peace within, freeing your mind from need, greed and fear. What is more important than your progress on your yogic/spiritual path?  Is it worth $25, $50, $100 or more a month?  You decide.

Whether your response is a new pledge, to increase you current pledge or to offer a one-time donation, give from your heart.  Give because it fills you up from the inside out. Give and be filled with the Grace of our yogic tradition.  In this season of gratitude and Grace, you can have it all, because you ARE all of THAT. 

Click here to donate.

By Deepa Maria Mazzi, Kelly Sullivan & Soraya Pereira
Interviewed by Matrikaa Gast

“Three of us local Svaroopis were invited to teach early morning classes at the San Diego Svaroopa® Yoga Conference in 2015.  Before it, we had a planning call with Swami Nirmalananda. Swamiji asked, ‘Well, what do you want to teach?’  I said, ‘People will just be leaving their beds, so I’m thinking sweet floor poses.’ To which Swamiji replied, ‘I’m thinking poses to wake them up for meditation.  I’m thinking Yoga Sit-ups!’”

Looking back, Soraya says, “At the Conference, I felt that each and everyone one of us participating was 100% present — ‘there’.  I was drinking in every moment, and I could tell that was true for everyone.  Our time with Swamiji, in her Keynote Address and Satsangs, was beautiful.  Her presence with us wove an extended, joyful intimacy among us San Diegans and all who came from across the US and Australia.  Personally, I remember the power of a profound deep vichara (self-guided inquiry) led by Vidyadevi Stillman.

“The hotel venue was not an Ashram environment.  In fact, motorcyclists had also convened there.  Yet they were not a distraction.  Crossing paths with them affirmed the strength of our inner state as well as reciprocal adaptation.  At the end, sharing elevator rides with us,they would cordially ask ‘How was your meditation?’”

Kelly Sullivan’s word for her experience is “heartwarming.”  She says that connecting and talking with the Aussies was “a kick.”  She enjoyed being able to assist Vidyadevi in one of her asana sessions and to help fine-tune alignments.  She describes, “The Conference overall gave me a sense of coming home, immersing in the same kind of familiarity that you experience in Shavasana. It loops back to being in the moment, being in your Self.  In a way it reminded me of the ‘good old days’ in La Jolla when we San Diego Svaroopis had classes together in one location.  Yet this feeling was not a nostalgia tinged with sadness.  The energy was bubbly.  Everyone was happy to see each other.  This reunion was truly a bliss trigger.  It reminded me of the bliss that Vij~nana Bhairava:

Anytime a great delight arises, like the delight of reunion with someone after a long time,meditate on the delight and become absorbed in it, so your mind will become identified with that delight.  — verse 71

Months before the Conference, Deepa Mazzi had had surgery to repair a broken kneecap.  At the Conference, she was aware of the flow of Grace from our lineage as she taught in one of the sessions.  Teaching teachers — her peers— was daunting at first.  Yet she says,“It became fun after a while.  As always,I felt the Grace of our lineage supporting my teaching.”

Given the condition of her knee, Deepa was surprised at being able to do so much asana, and to teach. She adapted some alignments to protect her knee, and remembers Teacher Trainer Kusuma Sachs commenting “interesting modification.”  Overall, she experienced the Conference as a reunion of extended family.  She says,“It was like meeting third-cousins for the first time, and you discover a deep basis for relationship.  In this case, it was our mutual love of Svaroopa®yoga.  There was great camaraderie.”A Conference immersion is relatively short.  Yet Deepa found that the experience still“stays with you.”  She explains, “I took a deep dive and felt that I floated home on a cloud.”

By Barbara (Bharati) Badia, interviewed by Marlene (Matrika) Gast

“This pain that’s been bothering me all week, it was a gift,” asserted Barbara Badia.  She had just finished a Neck & Shoulders workshop at Downingtown Yoga.  “My experience made me realize how much this yoga can do.  While it focused on improving my neck and shoulders, we started by releasing tailbone tension.  Subsequent poses systematically carried the release through the sacrum, waist and rib cage areas of my spine.  My lower spine opened, and the sciatica I’ve had for weeks evaporated.  Svaroopa® yoga’s principle that ‘it all begins at the tailbone’ held true.  Even pain can be a gift.  It took me to a deeper understanding of Svaroopa® yoga’s therapeutic power.

She describes the spiritual experience that the poses opened up for her.  “When I walked outside afterward, I felt re birthed onto the earth.  A new inner awakening uplifted me, and I felt again the wonder of life.  On my drive home, I stopped for an errand.  My exuberance was heightened by sunlight splashing on the deep red-orange of autumn maple leaves.  Even though I may not feel like this every day, I can remember this day!”

For 30 years Barbara has been on the Siddha Yoga path, a student of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.  Gurumayi was installed by her Guru, Swami Muktananda, as one of his successors.  In February 2018, Barbara discovered Downingtown Yoga, which is a branch of Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram, founded by Swami Nirmalananda.  Muktananda was her Guru as well.

Last May, Barbara took Downingtown Yoga’s “Deepen It Yourself” (DIY) immersion.  On her first day, she saw photos of Muktananda and his Guru, Nityananda.  Thus, Barbara knew she was in the right place. In her own words, she “fell in love” with Swami Nirmalananda.  Barbara continues, “I so appreciate the clarity with which she speaks of these high teachings.  She carries them forward from her Guru, Muktananda.  Her teaching gives me a deeper understanding of the path I’ve been on for three decades.”

Recalling DIY’s therapeutic benefits, Barbara says, “Vichara [self-guided inquiry] focused and cleared my mind.  It enabled me to commit to consistent early morning meditation.  I now look forward to getting up between 4:30 and 5:00 am.  An hour of asana practice prepares me for an hour of meditation.  The vichara shifted me to positive excitement around these practices.  I am also doing more japa (mantra repetition) during the day.  Going from one activity to another, I’ll get in my car and pause.  Then my mind just goes to a sweet place, and I drop into my Self.  My connection with my deeper Self is palpable, I can taste it.  And it tastes so good.

“I drive an hour from Philadelphia to chant Shree Guru Gita with Swamiji.  I also offer seva at her Ashram.  I am inspired by other Svaroopa^® yogis in this community and their deep personal sadhana — three hours of practice daily.  With such dedication, these people are serious.  “I’ve found that everything in life is preparing you for the next thing.  Not one iota of effort goes unrewarded.  Certainly, the longing, intention and practice on my path has produced fruit beyond my imagination.  I am grateful to have received the opportunity to have such a close connection with Swami Nirmalananda.  She is a Sadguru, yet you can talk with her directly and so easily.  I feel that Swami Nirmalananda is Gurumayi’s gift to me.  How grateful I am for this lineage.  Through it, Grace flows, opening us deeply inward to the One Self Being All.”

By Karuna Beaver

I love leading Yoga Philosophy Discussion Groups.  When I trained as a Discussion Group Leader several years ago, I learned valuable listening skills and more.  I learned how these discussions bring my students together.  They deepen their relationships as well as their understanding of yoga’s teachings.

Leading the group is like conducting an orchestra.  While the conductor stands in front of the group, his or her job is to set the pace and bring out the highlights of the music.  Conducting requires a good ear, a great sense of timing and an ability to let the various players shine.

When you lead a Discussion Group, a keen ear is essential.  Listening is at the heart of this group process.  Listening, deeply listening, is a skill that can’t be overestimated.  It’s important to put your own agenda aside and hear what people are saying.  By doing so, you allow the group to hear other’s comments and respond. The discussion begins to roll.

Discussion groups are just that — discussions.  They’re about inspiring participants to participate!  The training taught me how to serve as moderator, how to handle any controversy or even long silences.  Swamiji says, “You put your ears on your heart.”  Now you listen differently, making space for people to reflect on what they’ve said and share meaningfully with others.  You give them an opportunity to give voice to the light of Consciousness arising within.

With that participation comes insight.  Discussions center around Swami Nirmalananda’s contemplation articles, with 25 years of monthly articles available online.  Participants in discussion groups dive into the teachings, to learn and grow.  I’ve seen people be amazed at the level of their understanding.  I’ve been amazed, too.  I have learned so much from them, as they have listened deeply to their own inner knowing.  As the discussions have taken my students to a whole new level, the process has taken me deeper into my Self at the same time.

By Devananda (David) King
Ashram Vice President

Those words from childhood ring in my ears.  In those days I was asked to make a promise when, it was presumed, I would not do something of my own accord.  I was told, “If you promise to clean your room, I will take you for ice cream.”  Or it was said, “If you promise to do your homework, you can watch TV.”  Thus, I understood that a promise is a binding contract.  I felt a promise was coercion.  It meant doing something I didn’t want to do, just to get a payoff (usually of lesser pain).  I resisted such pressure and did not make promises.

This has all changed since I’ve been participating in the Svaroopa^® yoga community.  For me, here and now, the meaning of “promise” has transformed into the acknowledgement of the “pure potential” that exists when you set an intention.  My own intention to do my practice, meditate, repeat mantra and follow yogic precepts results in gaining the benefit of the promise of the Svaroopa^® Sciences.  This promise is not coercion or manipulation.  This promise is a guarantee of what can be achieved:  finding and experiencing the Divine within myself and every individual human being.

When you make a promise to support the Ashram and the teachings of our Sadguru, you set the intention to improve the world.  You step forward on your path as you engage in the ancient yogic practice of dakshina, beautifully defined on our donation webpage:

Unconditional giving, motivated by a pure inner impulse and dedicated to a higher purpose.  You give from gratitude and love for your yoga, whatever the size or type of your donation.  Nothing is gained, except your own Self.  Through dakshina, you weave your yoga into your wallet!

Your dakshina has an impact on us all.  Monthly pledges are the backbone of the Ashram’s ability to offer all the Svaroopa^® Sciences.  This includes our freebies, retreats, teacher trainings — and more.  Monthly pledges are essential in supporting Swami Nirmalananda’s work as she shares the ancient teachings with all in our community and with seekers beyond.

Our beloved Guru’s birthday, November 15^th, is a most auspicious start to the upcoming holiday season of gratitude and gift-giving.  I would like to make this birthday special.  I invite you to join me in supporting the Ashram in any way that fits your budget.  Can you increase your monthly donation by $10?  If each current monthly donor does so, our Ashram support increases by $18,000.  Or perhaps it is time to commit to a monthly pledge.  Or you may want to make a one-time donation.

Whatever your choice, give from your heart.  Give because your act of generosity fills you up, from the inside out.  Give and be filled with the Grace of our yogic tradition.  This promise carries the divine guarantee.  Click here to donate.