volume xxi, no. 2, may 2012 the world is our projectionthe world is our projection by sri swami...

Volume XXI, No. 2, May 2012

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The World is Our ProjectionBy Sri Swami Satchidananda

The scriptures say the entire world is nothing but our own projection. Whatever we project we see. The world is like a clean silver screen. We are the projectors; our mind is the film roll. We project an image that we have recorded in the film roll onto the screen. There was a great thinker in South India who said, “People say the world is terrible, the world is bad; but I realize that it is I who looks the other way. If I have a clean eye, I will see a clean world.”

In the Mahabharata there is a story to illustrate this point. Drona was the teacher for both the cousins, Pandavas and Kauravas. Somehow, Duryodhana [of the Kauravas] and his brothers felt that Drona seemed to have a great regard for Yudhishthira, the senior Pandava. Drona noticed Duryodhana’s thoughts, and he just wanted to teach him a lesson. So, one day, he called both Yudhishthira and Duryodhana to him. “Both of you come here. I have some jobs for you to do.” And they came.

He first looked at Duryodhana and said, “Duryodhana, I have an important work to do but it could be done only by a clean, wonderful, pure, good-hearted person without any black spot, completely clean, 100 percent. I don’t have time to look for a person like that. Would you please look around and find somebody?”

Duryodhana said, “Ah! It seems to be a hard job you are giving me. I don’t know how I can find that 100 percent clean person in the world outside. But, because you say to, all right, I will try.” So he went.

InsideThe World Is Our Projection by Sri Swami Satchidananda p. 1Letter from the Editor p. 2What Life Has Taught Me by Sri Swami Sivananda p. 4Bhagavad Gita Study by Swami Asokananda p. 5Yogaville Hatha Teachers Gather as Sangha by Swami Dayananda p. 5Monkey Sutras by Swami Divyananda Ma p. 6Yogaville Hatha Yoga Teachers’ Workshops by Dijon Carew p. 7Lila by Krishna Das p. 8

Make the Entire Class a Moving Meditation by Stardust Mukta Devi Breczinski p. 10The Benefits of Meditation by Nalanie Chellaram p. 11If Not Now, When? by Bonnie Ringer p. 12Satya by Madhavan Mark Wolz p. 14Integral Yoga Teacher’s Council p. 16Two Schools of Thought by Lakshmi Sutter p. 16Teacher’s Notebook by Satya Greenstone p. 16The IYTA Column p. 17Senior Speakers’ Schedules p. 18Calendar of Upcoming Programs at Yogaville p. 19

The Goal of Integral Yoga

The goal of Integral Yoga, and the birthright of every individual is to realize the spiritual unity behind all the diversities in the entire creation and to live harmoniously as members of one universal family.

This goal is achieved by maintaining our natural condition of a body of optimum health and strength, senses under total control, a mind well-disciplined, clear and calm, an intellect as sharp as a razor, a will as strong and pliable as steel, a heart full of unconditional love and compassion, an ego as pure as a crystal, and a life filled with Supreme Peace and Joy.

Attain this through asanas, pranayama, chanting of Holy Names, self-discipline, selfless action, mantra japa, meditation, study and reflection.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Ever yours in Yoga,

Integral Yoga® Teachers Association

The Integral Yoga Teachers Association is a membership association open to all Integral Yoga teachers. Its mission is to provide mutual support and spiritual fellowship, to share information, to provide inspiration, and to conduct ongoing training and guidance.

Director: Gopal WatkinsNewsletter Editor: Bharata WinghamGraphic Design: Anand Shiva HervéPhotos: Madhavan Aubert ArchivesCopy Editors: Lilavati Eberle, Jeff Curry, Brahmi Milliman Swami SharadanandaMembership Coordinator: Brahmi Milliman

Integral Yoga Teachers AssociationSatchidananda Ashram–Yogaville108 Yogaville Way, Buckingham, VA 23921 USATel: 434.969.3121, ext. 177 Fax: 434.969.1303E-mail (Newsletter): [email protected] (Membership): [email protected] (Director): [email protected] Website: www.iyta.org

Letter From The Editor: The Master Speaks“Whatever is not you is your Guru. That is your Teacher.”

I heard these words when I walked into Sivananda Hall for lunch one afternoon. Sri Gurudev was speaking to us via the PA system.

I thought I had come for lunch, but when a statement like that hits me I lose my appetite. Not because I have a problem with it, but the impact of that statement seemed to move me from my second chakra to my 6th at least. That is one of the reasons I love Yogaville. We never know where or when the Teachings will thunder-clap within our minds.

In this issue we have several of Yogaville’s finest teachers sharing with us the unique facets of their experience of the teachings. Master Sivananda says at the beginning of his article, “It was, I should say, by a flash that I came to the conclusion early in my life that human life is not complete with its observable activities and that there is something above human perception controlling and directing all that is visible.”

Swami Asokananda reminds us that “Waves are “born” and they “die” in the ocean, but the ocean is not born with the waves, nor does it die away when the wave disappears. The ocean is unaffected.”

Yes, it helps me to be surrounded by the holy company in Yogaville and the constant reminders of Who I Am underneath all the sheaths, layers and koshas of maya. Sometimes we

speak “different languages” and practice different methods to help us realize the truths and dispel the darkness which is needed to uncover the true Self.

Yet a central teaching of Integral Yoga is, of course, Truth is One. Paths are Many. And the paths can consist of different languages, practices or techniques–all with the ultimate aim of uniting us in love, purpose and action.

Sometimes it is useful to hear another language spoken or another way of using the same language and so we offer articles from established teachers who come to Yogaville and contribute their work to us and others around the world who come to visit and learn. In this issue we have Bonnie Ringer who asks us, “If Not Now, When?” A harmonic of Master Sivananda’s, “DIN” Do It Now.

So for me, it is a constant help to have so many ways that the truth can dawn on me. A maturing community of seekers and seers to keep me pointed in the right direction–a “true north.”

And you, dear reader, are why we are here. You are why we do our best to present the teachings and teachers in this form and online every quarter-year. We send you lots of love and light from the Yogaville within each of us and hope this issue adds some light to your path.

Om Shanti, Bharata

IYTA Newsletter • May 2012 •


Then Drona turned to Yudhishthira—who was also known as Dharmaputra. “Dharma, I have an awfully terrible job to do. I don’t think any good person will do it because it’s the worst kind of thing. Someone who is even the slightest good won’t be able to do it; so I want a 100 percent bad fellow who can blindly do this. It needs to be one who has no heart, no faith, nothing, a merciless fellow. Could you go and look for a person like that and bring him to me?” Sir, I don’t know why you are asking me to do this job. I doubt whether I can find a person like that.”

“Why don’t you look, anyway.”

“Well, I hesitate; but, because you say so, all right, I will go. But I am sure I will come back empty-handed.”

“It doesn’t matter, go.” So Yudhishthira also went.

They both went around the whole city for several days, and then it happened that they both returned at the same time. They both approached Drona. Duryodhana spoke first, “Sir, it’s impossible to find a good fellow. Everybody seems to be a scoundrel. I couldn’t find anybody. Everybody has some kind of weakness, some terrible thing, something. But—come to think of it—if you really have something to be done by that kind of good person, why don’t you have me do that? It looks like I am cleaner than anybody else.”

“Okay, I’ll think of it. By the way, what did you find, Dharma?”

“I don’t really understand what it is all about. You asked him to go and find a good fellow; you asked me to go and find a bad fellow. I searched all over the town. I couldn’t find a totally bad fellow for you. Everybody has something good. If they do something wrong, maybe it is out of ignorance; but they are not really bad intrinsically. I couldn’t find a person like that. It’s impossible. But now, to think of, it looks like you have one person.”

“Ahh, who is that?”

“Me. Because I at least thought that I could find someone like that. That arrogance made me worse. And that itself is enough to have that qualification that you look for. So, please employ me for that job.”

Duryodhana asked, “Sir, what is this all about?”

Then Drona explained to both of them. “You see, I asked him to find a bad guy. I asked you to find a good guy. You couldn’t find one single good guy in the whole country. He couldn’t find even a single bad fellow in the whole town. Why? You both went to the same places. What’s wrong? Because you were projecting your own image onto everybody.”

Everybody is a mirror. They simply reflect your own quality.

Drona told Duryodhana, “You saw yourself in everybody; you are that bad fellow you saw everywhere. So how can you find a good person?” Duryodhana felt very ashamed and begged pardon for his mistakes.

So this incident proves that when people go out, they see what they want. It’s why one has to have the eyes to see, ears to hear. It’s impossible to define whether it is all good or all bad. Our job in this world is not to examine everybody and judge everybody. That’s not our business. I am here to learn what I can in this world, learn from every one of you. Likewise, you are here to learn from everybody else. We are not here to point our finger and judge others.

Take Away the Veil

“Those who are free from any kind of sin, throw the first stone.” We are always in a hurry to judge others. And we judge others with our own scale. And we are wasting our time by that. It is impossible for you to judge everybody, everything in this world. Judge yourself first. If you want to grow in the spiritual field, you have to think to yourself, “How can I clean myself. How I can learn to see the light. How I can take away the veil from my eyes. How can I learn to love unconditionally?” With that kind of self-examination, a person can grow. Only then is one called a seeker. Otherwise, he or she seeks others’ faults. That person is not a seeker; he or she is a judge. That person’s eyes are in the darkness.

That’s why in every religion we have the worship of light. What is the real meaning of Christ? The light. That is the reason why we say on Christmas Day, “May the baby Christ be born in your heart.” If it is literally a baby boy going to be born in our heart, we all have to end up in the hospital! “May the Christ be born in you,” means “May the light be in you.” It’s not that the light comes into you; it is there already. It means: May you recognize the light in you. May you tear up the veil and see the light. And, with that light, certainly you will see nothing but light everywhere.

And to see that light everywhere, unconditional love is needed. It’s very hard to have unconditional love. If you become judgmental, how can you love people? You look for certain qualities, “If this is the way he is or she is, then how can I love this person?” That’s not unconditional love. Love people for what they are. Even the people who crucified him were loved by Jesus. He prayed for them. He said, “They are ignorant people. They don’t know what they are doing.” That is unconditional love. If we want to call ourselves spiritual seekers and grow in the spiritual field, that’s what we should be doing. Stop being judges. Look to yourself. Open up your heart. See the light in you and in everything and everybody. Then you grow.

The World is Our Projection

(Continued from page 1)

It was, I should say, by a flash that I came to the conclusion early in my life that human life is not complete with its observable activities and that there is something above human perception controlling and directing all that is visible. I may boldly say that l began to perceive the realities behind what we call life on earth. The unrest and feverish anxiety that characterize man’s ordinary existence here bespeak a higher goal that he has to reach one day or the other.

When man gets entangled in selfishness, greed, hatred and lust, he naturally forgets what is beneath his own skin. Materialism and skepticism reign supreme. He gets irritated over little things and begins to fight and quarrel; in short, man becomes miserable.

The doctor’s profession gave me ample evidence of the great sufferings of this world. l was blessed with a new vision and perspective. l was deeply convinced that there must be a place—a sweet home of pristine glory, purity and divine splendor—where absolute security, perfect peace and happiness can be enjoyed eternally. Therefore, in conformity with the dictum of the Sruti, I renounced the worId—and felt that I now belonged to the whole world.

A course of severe self-discipline and penance endowed me with enough strength to move unscathed amidst the vicissitudes of the world—phenomena. And l began to feel the great good it would do to humanity if I could share this new vision with one and all. I called my instrument of work “The Divine Life Society.”

Side by side, the stirring events since the advent of the twentieth century, had their effects upon all keen-minded people. The horrors of the past and possible wars, and the

What Life Has Taught MeBy Sri Swami Sivananda

consequent suffering, touched the minds of people. lt was not difficult to see that the pains of mankind were mostly brought on by its own deeds. To awaken man to his errors and follies, and to make him mend his ways so that he may utilize his life for attaining worthier ends, was felt to be the urgent need of the time. As if in answer to this need, l saw the birth of the Divine Life Mission, with its task of rescuing man from the forces of the lower nature and raising him to the consciousness of his true relationship with the Cosmos. This is the work of rousing the religious consciousness, of bringing man to an awareness of his essential divinity.

Not by mere argument or discussion can religion be taught or understood. Not just the precepts or canons of teaching alone can you make one religious. It requires a peculiar atonement with one’s vast environment, an ability to feel the deepest as well as the vastest. lt requires a genuine sympathy with creation. Religion is living, not speaking or showing. I hold that whatever be one’s religion, whoever be the prophet one adores, whatever be one’s language or country, age or sex, one can be religious provided the true implication of that hallowed term “tapas,” which essentially means any form of self-control, is made capable of being practiced in daily life to the extent possible for one, in the environment and under the circumstances in which one is placed.

I hold that real religion is the religion of the heart. The heart must be purified first. Truth, love and purity are the basis of real religion. Control over the baser nature, conquest of the mind, cultivation of virtues, service of humanity, goodwill, fellowship and amity, constitute the fundamentals of true religion. These ideals are included in the principles of the Divine Life Society. And l try to teach them mostly by example, which l consider to be weightier than all precepts.



Yogaville Hatha Teachers Gather as SanghaBy Swami Dayananda

Loving greetings to all of the Integral Yoga Hatha Teachers here at Yogaville and around the globe! Today I would like to share with you about the recent gatherings and workshop experiences we had with those who teach Integral Yoga Hatha classes at Yogaville. There are about thirty IY Hatha teachers here, a mix of both senior long time teachers and some newly trained teachers. These teachers cover several classes daily, seven days a week, every week, throughout the whole year. They serve Yogaville guests and residents, program participants, and our community members.

We were very fortunate to have Dijon Carew, one of Integral Yoga’s accomplished senior teachers and trainers, to conduct all of the workshops. As he covered the materials, he consistently linked them to the core value of Integral Yoga teachings as given to us by Sri Swami Satchidananda. He emphasized the importance and uniqueness of what IY Hatha teachings offer to the present world. He spoke about the IY teachers’ role as “custodians of Sri Gurudev’s Integral Yoga teachings.” From this perspective, we were able to discuss and reflect deeply on what it means to be an IY teacher. We wish to express our appreciation to Dijon for a very inspirational learning experience, enriching our personal spiritual journey as IY Hatha teachers and thus helping to make us better vehicles to share the great teachings.

On a practical level, there were experiential sessions on mentoring and monitoring, opportunities to take each other’s class for feedback, discussion on how best to teach multi level classes, IY approach to adjustments, and when and how to introduce props. We also reviewed how to lead Yoga Nidra, pranayama and meditation. The importance of

keeping the last 15 minutes for pranayama and meditation as unique to Integral Yoga was unanimously voiced and affirmed. At the same time, the challenge of doing so in the asana centered Yoga world around us was shared by many.

Lively discussions were generated by differing perspectives on these topics, almost always concluding with unified understanding. We learned so much from each other’s extensive collective experience as teachers. Many expressed the joy of coming together and discovering how we can be of strong support and meaningful and rich resource for each other.

The workshops also provided an opportunity to acknowledge and thank these Yogaville Hatha teachers. We thank them again here for their dedicated service.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our love and support of the Integral Yoga teachers worldwide. Many of the topics we covered are commonly requested topics for refresher courses and review by our teachers at large. So we feel confident that the article in this issue by Dijon, discussing in depth the contents of the workshops, will be relevant and beneficial. If you have any comments or questions, please contact me: [email protected]

On behalf of the entire Yogaville family, I send our appreciation, best wishes and prayers, Jai Gurudev.

In Yoga, Om Shanti Swami Dayananda, Spiritual Life Board Member

Bhagavad Gita StudyCommentary by Swami Asokananda

everything in the universe were to suddenly disappear, the Consciousness that pervades everywhere would be untouched.

Krishna, in asking Arjuna to fight this battle, is guiding us on how to use the highest non-dual understanding (advaita) to face the challenges of our lives. A weak ego feels “I can’t do it.” A strong ego feels, “I can do it. I must do it.” A surrendered ego feels, “The Power behind the universe can do it through me.” A dissolved ego is simply aware, “The One Self is doing it.”

Swami Venkatesananda: “Krishna is teaching Arjuna the extremely delicate art of living: to play our part in this world as though it were a reality and yet never to forget the Ultimate Reality which appears, through mistaken perception, as the world.”

Book 1 Chapter 2 Verse 20: “The Conscious One is neither born nor does It ever die. Never born yet ever existing, our true and permanent “I” does not die when the body dies.“

Unlike the physical body, the Self is not born. Waves are “born” and they “die” in the ocean, but the ocean is not born with the waves, nor does it die away when the wave disappears. The ocean is unaffected. Because we believe ourselves to be the wave, when the wave dissolves back into the ocean it looks like our demise. Sri Krishna is indicating here that when something is not born (ahah), it cannot die (nitya); things that have a beginning alone can come to an end. The manifested world comes and goes, but not the underlying Awareness.

Krishna is talking to Arjuna of that state where we are aware that Consciousness alone exists. Even if everyone and


MONKEY SUTRASby Swami Divyananda Ma

II. “Attachment is the first child of maya. This whole lila of the Lord is kept up by the force of attachment.”

—Master Sivananda

Master Sivananda’s personal quarters, Ananda Kutir, are right at the banks of the Ganges River, and include a small ghat and terraced area. “Meditate Here” instructs a clear, large sign at the ghat. The rest of the Ashram is built up the steep hillside with the compounds connected by stairs.

I started counting the steps late one evening to see if there happened to be 108. On the steps themselves I saw the leaping shadows of monkeys crossing the archway behind me but I was engrossed in my count until something large and very strong grabbed my bag. It was a cloth bag with my notebooks inside but it must have looked like bananas to this fellow and he was determined to have it.

I have taught so many tour groups the monkey rule: “Give the monkey whatever it wants. They are infinitely faster than we are and they are not bound by any ethical constraints!” But what did I do? -I yelped, squeezed my eyes shut and hunkered down, holding on for dear life. “Mine!”

It only lasted a few seconds. I think the monkey got a whiff of my bag and realized that further efforts would not bear fruit. He let go. But it was long enough to thoroughly rip my robe and reveal my instincts.

The incident gave me a peek at how my instincts and attachments invisibly rule. During the Festival one of the presenters, Sadvi Bhagwati, commented on attachment from a psychological perspective. “Even if it is to our detriment, we hold on to our emotions like life rafts. The body undergoes a complete renewal every seven or eight years, yet our emotional patterns last for decades. We attach to events that occurred to a body that does not even exist anymore!” (Threatened, we hunker down and hold on!)

My bag may not have contained a banana but it gave me a lot of food for thought!

May there be some value in it for you too. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

I. An International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh, India! What an opportunity to learn and practice, at the side of the Ganges River and at the vortex of so many powerful ashrams!

The program was very professionally put together, but it was India, and that means trash in the corners of the corridors and marauding groups of monkeys on the rooftops. The plenary sessions took place in a magnificent tent but it was on the monkeys’ route across campus. At times the entire roof of the tent would undulate with their scampering. At other times they found openings in the seams of the tent and would make brief appearances: a romp across the rim of the backdrop, or a deadpan face peering at us upside down from the ceiling.

We loved them of course, but the presenters struggled with being upstaged until one coolly reminded us that we were witnessing the perfect metaphor for meditation and the monkey mind. We watched the analogy unfolding as the security officers got involved and tried to scare the monkeys with growls, roars, and banging their staffs on the tent supports. The lecturer at the time sent out a messenger to quiet the security officers, but that effort proved to be totally ineffective. Evidently a longstanding man-monkey battle was underway, and obviously roaring was a lot more fun for the security officers than, “May I see your wristband, Madam?”

Within five or ten minutes the monkeys had moved on and we regained our focus, but for those few minutes it was as if the scenario of my meditations was being played out larger than life with full cinematographic effect. God was making a point.

My mantra, which is God and Guru to me, can seem boring in comparison to the thoughts that poke their way through the loose seams of my intention. Then if my mind’s “security officers” spring into action to drive away those thoughts I have a full-scale jungle chaos. Sound familiar?

The monkey disruptions went on for a few days, and the way it was resolved was very instructive. First of all, the seams and rips in the tent were stitched and re-stitched between each of the lectures until the tent was completely secure. Secondly, the security officers underwent some sort of re-training and quieted down.

For me re-stitching the seams in the tent is analogous to strengthening my resolve and using some form of satsang to keep my motivation levels high. (I’m keeping my favorite quotes and passages right on my meditation cushion now.) The “re-training” of the mind’s security force is an on-going project, but the directions were right there on the Festival’s program schedule for the day. “Every day take the multivitamin of meditation, no reaction and introspection. Begin the day with meditation, practice no reaction all day, and end the day with introspection.” “No reaction” is my new motto!

Swami Divyananda is one of Integral Yoga’s senior monastics and foremost teachers. Over the years she has served as the director of the Integral Yoga Institutes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Coimbatore, India and as the Ashram Manager of Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville® in Virginia. In addition

to teaching at these centers, she has taught Yoga and meditation on special retreats, in corporations and universities, at the Commonweal Cancer Center and for the Dr. Dean Ornish Heart Disease Programs.


Yogaville Hatha Teachers’ Workshops, 2011/2012By Dijon Carew

In October, 2011, at Satchidananda Ashram - the Spiritual Life Board hosted a gathering for over 30 Ashram Hatha teachers. The purpose being:

1. To provide updates on recent changes to the Basic TT manuals and to go over Guiding Principles on IY Hatha I teachings created by the Spiritual Life Board.

2. To provide a forum for the teachers, multi-generational; diverse, with differing perspectives, to arrive at a unified vision and understanding of Integral Yoga teachings as taught by Sri Gurudev. And through open discussion and exploration, clarify; revitalize; and deepen the quality of approach to teaching an Integral Yoga Hatha class that reflects and maintains the essence of Integral Yoga teachings, serves the present moment needs of the students and deepens spiritual understanding within the teacher. It was a blessed gathering. There was a diversity of teachers with teaching experience spanning newly graduated TTs to those directly taught by Sri Gurudev, circa 1960’s/70’s.

The Spirit of “unity in diversity” was present throughout; with questions and sharings, and unified vision leading to workshops in October; 2011, and further workshops, in January and February, 2012.

It would be impossible to share all of the content from 30+ hours of workshops; below in synopsis form is a selection from the topics explored:

1. What it means to be an Integral Yoga teacher

2. To realize, through dedicated practice, one’s true Self. To serve from one’s true nature

3. To recognize that as a living example of Integral Yoga teachings, one transmits them through one’s presence; and through ones formal sharing of the teachings, maintaining a lineage of classical Yoga for present and future generations.

Monitoring and mentoring teachersWe both monitor and mentor, giving and receiving is an important aspect of ongoing education. We offer a reciprocal process of shared and supportive learning with a compassionate and encouraging sharing of each individual’s understanding and experience of the teachings. This raises Self-understanding in the individuals engaged in the process; It is through peaceful, harmonious communication that serves as an experiential example of how one may share the teachings with others more effectively through the IY Hatha class and beyond. When the approach and the entire process is “easeful, peaceful and useful,” it is Integral Yoga in action.

Teaching multi-level classes—All classes are multi-level.

The IY Hatha I class is comprehensive and far reaching in its capacity to serve the new IY Hatha teacher; the beginner Hatha Yoga student; the transmission of IY teachings; its reflection of as many of the eight limbs of Yoga as possible; and much more.

As a new teacher becomes more confident to move beyond the general instructions and information about the class, one begins to use more specific instructions, and variations, informed by the individual needs of the students. However, it is important to maintain the essential elements of the Hatha I class, so that the IY vibration is not lost.

The Hatha II teacher is most qualified to teach a multi-level class that addresses the needs of a spectrum of students from beginners to advanced; as one would have informed knowledge through intermediate teacher training of advanced versions of asanas (postures) from the Hatha I class, that may be offered through a progressive process. By teaching each asana (posture) progressively, each student may arrive at, and assess their comfort level, at each stage of the posture and determine whether they remain in a stage or continue to the next stage. The teacher may begin to introduce to students more subtle ways of practicing that move beyond the focus on the physical; i.e., the quality of movement into and out of a pose; the stillness within a pose; and the transition from pose to pose, breath awareness, calmness of mind, energy flow, etc.

When and how to introduce the use of props, breath awareness, asana variations, and other elements such as energy awareness.

Props, such as cushions and blankets, can be of great benefit to the student in the Hatha I class and beyond; as they can aid the student in achieving and maintaining a comfortable seated posture and more. Otherwise, it is important to keep one’s practice and teaching of Yoga as natural as possible and to remember the goal of Yoga is to quiet the mind. Integral Yoga emphasizes an inward experience of practice; if we approach the use of props with this understanding, we will be better able to intuit the best way to proceed given the immediate situation. In teaching Yoga Nidra it is important to keep the subtle practices as intact as possible; especially for the Hatha I class. Hatha II/III will need a little less detailed instruction in the beginning stages of Yoga Nidra, but from the mental scan onward all instructions should remain consistent with the Yoga Nidra format.

There are many levels of depth and subtlety that may be revealed to us as our experience of the subtle practices deepens. We are addressing every level of consciousness of the individual and guiding the student through a journey of Self-realization; according to their capacity. The deeper our understanding of the meaning and depth and subtlety of this practice, the more profound is the sharing of it with


others. As we guide the students through each section of the practice, we should endeavor to experience what we are sharing, through the stillness of our being; equilibrium of the mind; the quality and vibration of our voice, etc.; everything expressed through the teacher is a guide through the Yoga Nidra experience.

Teaching PranayamaThe Pranayama portion of the class should remain intact. If one finds one is short of time, it is advisable to shorten the gross (asana) section of the class and keep the time of subtle practices intact; this reflects the importance of the pranaya-ma practices. An important aspect of teaching a subject well is that one practices it regularly in some form; and/or is an example of its benefits. The teaching of pranayama is a clear example of this.

The pranayama section of the IY Hatha class should be as comprehensive and balanced as the asana section of the class. The moving through the Hatha class from the gross to the subtle should be a smooth journey of increased energetic concentration into meditation. The specifics of an individual pranayama practice are even more subtle than an asana; once we have addressed the purification and balance of the body (anamaya kosha), we more directly work with the energetic body (pranamaya kosha) prana; and the mental body (manomaya kosha). Teaching the pranayama effectively requires guiding the student on an experiential journey through the inward drawing effects of these breathing practices toward an experience of meditation that allows the student to understand the power and potential benefits of pranayama practice. It is an integral part of teaching the IY Hatha class.

IY approach to AdjustmentsThe Integral Yoga approach to adjustments is to guide as much as possible through verbal instruction/clarification and demonstration, before one moves to physical adjustment of a student. The entire experience of making an adjustment is a reflection of the teachings and honors the natural capacity of the student; the peaceful, sensitive approach of the teach-

er towards the student, determining the most beneficial angle for an unobtrusive approach; quietly asking whether one may assist the student in an adjustment and gently with a light hand contact directing the student’s posture toward better alignment, maintains the inward drawing effects of the Hatha yoga practice of the student.

This peaceful and yogic approach to adjustments allows the student to experience on every level the process of moving from misalignment toward better alignment; and the body memory of the student is educated as to how to make beneficial self-adjustments in other poses. The subject of assisting adjustments is very rich and full in ways that cannot be given justice to in a synopsis of the subject. This intuitive approach/experience is something that is easier to be observed and transmitted in a workshop situation or class setting.

One could write a lot and still not really fully convey the Spirit of the experience. The best one can hope to share in the form of written text (in a synopsis of the subject) is that it is an experience of Yoga in action. The above is a very small view into the workshops that took place. It is impossible to convey in words the Spirit of peace; openness; learning that permeated all of the workshops. There was always a sense of something extraordinary taking place; a sense that any truths to be learned in the workshop could come through any of the individuals present, and the truth would be recognized by unanimous agreement. It was a graced experience throughout and a blessing of what may be.

Dijon Carew has studied, practiced and taught Yoga for over twenty years. In 1987 he received his first teacher training certification and now teaches all levels of Hatha Yoga. He presently teaches and leads teacher trainings at Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville®. For four years he was the head of teachers and

the lead teacher trainer at the Integral Yoga® Institute of San Francisco. Dijon has taught workshops in the U.S. and abroad. A classically trained dancer, he performed internationally for several years. Dance was his early discipline. Yoga is his beloved.

LilaBy Krishna Das

It is very difficult for people like us, who are identified with our bodies and minds, to understand the concept of lila—the divine play. It’s called “play” because there’s no selfish motive in the action. God’s lila or the lila of a great saint, his or her action in the world, is done only for the sake of helping others. There is no personal motive. The saint’s actions come out of the awareness of the oneness of all life and compassion for all beings. It’s impossible for us to understand fully.

In a way, it’s how a really good babysitter works. He or she can play games with the kids and tell them stories and get them to bed at the right time, without the children ever realizing that

they’re being cared for by an adult who has an agenda, which is to keep them all safe. But if there’s a problem, the kids come running to the babysitter, who has the strength and wisdom to deal with it. The lilas of avatars, or enlightened beings, are like that. They accomplish all that they have to do for us by acting like one of us. In this way they protect us, inspire us, and set us on the right path. But when we’re in danger or in need, they show us a deeper aspect of themselves, or some of their miraculous siddhis (powers). They are in the world, but not of it. When they manifest their divinity, that is lila.

On the path of devotion, one can focus on the lila of the


Beloved. Ram Lila and Krishna Lila are collections of stories that tell all of the things that these divine beings did, all of the plays they enacted while they were incarnated.

Dada was one of Maharaj-ji’s great old devotees, who frequently translated for us Westerners. Although his real name was Sudhir Mukerjee, Maharaj-ji called him Dada, which means “elder brother” in Hindi. Once when Dada’s wife called him by his real name, Maharaj-ji said, “If he is my Dada, then he is your Dada.” From then on she, along with everyone else, called him Dada. Dada used to say that when we were with Maharaj-ji we were lost in a dream, playing our parts unconsciously in his lila, but when we were away from him, we could recall the many scenes and relive and relish them to our heart’s content.

Being with Maharaj-ji was like being an actor in a play, an actor who’s forgotten that he’s in a play. But the play was written by a realized Being–a fully awake, conscious writer–who was also pretending to be merely another actor in the play. Everything that he wrote was designed to wake us up and lead us to the same realization, freedom, and love.

One day we were sitting with Maharaj-ji in Brindavan. A number of Westerners had recently come from meditation courses. One of them was sitting up very straight with his eyes closed. Maharaj-ji looked at me and told me to ask him what he was doing. I did, and without opening his eyes, he answered, “I’m meditating.”

I said, “Maharaj-ji, he says that he’s meditating.”

“Oh? Ask him if he wants to see real meditation.”

When I asked the guy if he wanted to see real meditation, he opened his eyes and said yes.

Maharaj-ji called over one of his close devotees, Gurudatt Sharma, and told him to sit down and meditate. Gurudatt, a family man, sat down and crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Maharaj-ji told me to tell the Westerner to come over and touch Gurudatt. He gently touched him, but Maharaj-ji said, ”No, no. Push him.” He did, but Gurudatt was stiff and solid as a mountain. He didn’t move at all. Then Maharaj-ji told this guy to cover Gurudatt’s mouth and hold his nose closed, which he did. It was obvious that Gurudatt wasn’t breathing. Maharaj-ji looked at the Westerner and said, “That’s meditation.”

Then he asked me and another Westerner to pick Gurudatt up and carry him to one of the nearby rooms and put him on the bed, which we did, and then we went back to sit with Maharaj-ji. After a few minutes, Maharaj-ji got up and went into the room where Gurudatt was, closing the door behind him. In about 15 minutes, the two of them came out together, arm in arm, leaning on each other like two drunkards, drunk on bliss. Maharaj-ji settled himself back down on the takhat, and Gurudatt sat below him on the ground. Maharaj-ji looked at the Westerner again and asked, “Do you understand?”

The Westerner said no. Maharaj-ji said, “You want to see it

again?” Without waiting for an answer, he ordered Gurudatt to meditate again. And Gurudatt went back into meditation. Again, after a few minutes, Maharaj-ji had us carry Gurudatt into the room. I don’t know about the other Westerner, but I was very affected by this demonstration and was going to find out from Gurudatt how to meditate that way myself.

The next day, Maharaj-ji gave me my chance. He asked me to drive Gurudatt to a nearby town on some business. While we were driving, I asked him if he’d practiced meditation before. I wanted to know how to do what he did. He didn’t reply, so I figured that he wasn’t going to answer me. After a few minutes, however, he began to speak quietly. He said, “When I first came to Maharaj-ji, he showed me so much love and affection that some of the older devotees were shocked. He was always holding my hand and caressing me and looking at me with great love. It got to the point where one day one of the devotees asked Maharaj-ji, “What is it about this guy? How come you show him so much affection? I have been with you much longer and you don’t show me that kind of love. Maharaj-ji didn’t respond, so the devotee kept badgering him.

“Finally Maharaji-ji said, ‘Okay, you want to know, I’ll tell you, but I am only going to say it once.’ The devotee said, ‘So say it.’ It was only the three of us sitting in that room. Just as Maharaj-ji began to speak, someone came to the door and called this devotee. He turned his head to see who was calling him; by the time he turned back, Maharaj-ji had finished speaking. He said, ‘Maharaj-ji, what did you say? I didn’t hear you.’ But Maharaj-ji would not repeat himself.

Gurudatt looked at me for a second and continued. “Maharaj-ji said, ‘Not just this life, not just the life before, but life after life we have been together. That’s why this happens.’”

We drove the rest of the way in silence.

As Namdev, the great 13th-century poet-saint, wrote, he had perfect knowledge of the Vedas (ancient Indian scriptures) and all of the schools of Indian philosophy; he had accomplished the goal of the yogis; he had himself experienced the joy of merging in the formless God; but he’d transcended all of these experiences through the grace of the saints, to find that “the secret is the Lord’s Love.”

—excerpted from Chants of a Lifetime, Hay House Publishers

Sharing his heart through music and chanting is the basis of Krishna Das’ own spiritual work; his way of serving the Divine within himself and others. In the winter of 1968, Krishna Das met Ram Dass, who had just returned from his first trip to India. After living and traveling with Ram Dass in the U.S., and hearing Ram Dass’ many stories

about Maharaj-ji, Krishna Das traveled to India, where he was blessed to meet and stay with this extraordinary guru.

Join him in Yogaville on Memorial Day weekend, May 25 - 28, 2012 for the Yoga of Devotion Retreat with Krishna Das.


Make the Entire Class a Moving Meditation By Stardust Mukta Devi Breczinski

“This experience will probably change your life,” said Lilavati, the woman on the other end of the phone line. That’s a big claim to live up to, I remember thinking to myself. I was in the process of applying for the yoga teacher training program at Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville in Virginia. Maybe this is part of the marketing strategy, was my next thought. However, I had already put down my deposit, so Lilavati didn’t need to convince me to sign up for the course.

In the past, I had gravitated toward experiences that had been life-changing: a five month journey in India, a solo bike tour down the west coast of the U.S., an eight-month apprenticeship at a petroleum and electricity-free community in rural Missouri. Each experience had brought me new perspectives, strong emotions, and a greater sense of my potential as a human being.

With this next adventure, yoga teacher training, I wasn’t expecting a significant life change. However, I did want to learn more about teaching yoga. I had been leading hatha classes as an uncertified instructor for about a year and a half, sharing what I knew about yoga with whoever was interested. While teaching, I realized that I wanted to learn modified versions of the poses for beginning students, to know the Sanskrit names of the poses, and to be able to lead deep relaxation properly. I also wanted to become more grounded in my own yoga practice.

I arrived at Yogaville in mid-October with few expectations. I was prepared for a month of full days, new friends, and lots of asanas. We started our first session by “Om-ing” in, as we would start every class session for the rest of the month. One of our first activities was to make an altar. We had each brought sacred objects, which we placed on a low table in the front of the room. This created a space to hold our energies together, to keep us connected to spirit and each other.

Each morning we would gather at 6 am for group meditation, followed by a hatha class. The day would continue with breakfast, class, noon meditation, lunch, break time, class, supper, and class. We usually finished around 9 pm. In our classes we studied many aspects of yoga, including guided meditation, pranayama (breathing practices), hatha theory, anatomy, health and nutrition, raja (the study of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali), and japa (chanting). We also did karma yoga (service) around the ashram, went to pujas, and attended a weekly kirtan and satsang. We were encouraged to fast weekly, and we had a morning session of kriyas (cleansing practices) and a day of observing silence.

Over the course of the month, I started to notice changes in myself. Waking up at 5:30 am became routine and easy. My body became more limber as I became more aware of it. My breathing deepened. My mind became clearer, calm. I was able to relax more fully, to sleep more deeply. I found myself using the wisdom of the Yoga

Sutras--ahimsa, non-attachment, the four locks and keys, pratipaksha bhavanam—to guide me in my daily activities, my interpersonal relationships, my inner thoughts.

The practice of yoga began to reach me on deeper levels as well. We learned that yoga affects and connects body-mind-spirit. During the course of the month, I noticed the changes first on the physical level, then on the mental level and finally on the level where spirit resides. These shifts of spirit were the most subtle and most transformational experiences during the course. I will try to share some of the wisdom that I learned on this level, although words can’t really do it justice.

“Make the entire class a moving meditation.’’ This is something a teacher would often say at the beginning of a hatha class. It felt like the entire month was a moving meditation, flowing from hatha to classes to meals to meditation to sleep. My actions became more mindful and deliberate; I became more aware of my words and thoughts as well. My daily trip to and from the LOTUS became a barefoot walking meditation: my feet experiencing the sensations from contact with the ground, my eyes focused on the path so I wouldn’t stub a toe. Sleeping outside became a meditation on nature and the cosmos. I would often sleep outside of my tent in the open air, gazing at the twinkling stars through the trees, listening to the night animals rustling in the forest, connecting with the waning and waxing of the moon.

“Let the teachings flow through you.” Another profound piece of wisdom that I have integrated into my practice and life. The yogic teachings are not coming from me. They have been passed down for thousands of years. It’s not about “me” being a good teacher. It’s about being pure in body, mind and spirit; being a clear vessel for the teachings to flow through. This can be accomplished by being grounded and regular in my own practice. As a new teacher, this helps me to let go of nervousness and self-imposed expectations about how I teach, and helps me to focus on how I live the teachings.

“Truth is one, paths are many.” From beloved Swami Satchidananda, the foundation of Yogaville. The many paths to the divine are honored here. All seekers are looking for the same truth, although there may be different names for it, or different ways of getting there. This is a very different philosophy from what I was taught as a child. I had a period in my life when I rejected anything that had to do with God or religion. The interfaith approach here has given me spaciousness to honor the divine in my own way. In my own path, I have felt a deep connection to spirit through nature and through the sacred feminine. I now have permission to explore this. And, most importantly, this course has helped me to more clearly recognize the spiritual path we are all traveling. I have been traveling and wandering for almost a decade. Sometimes people ask me why I am doing it. I usually don’t know how to answer; it feels like a force stronger than myself draws me to powerful places, to amazing people, to intense experiences.


The Benefits of Meditation By Nalanie Chellaram

Question: “How long before you start to feel the benefits?”

Answer: How long, depends on you. Let’s go to that sutra, a phrase, from the Yoga Sutras of Sri Patanjali, that tells you how long. “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time without a break and in all earnestness.” (That means with all your heart and, for me, with all love).

This is the ingredient for success in any field you do in life. If you watch anybody who is successful in life, you will see that they’ve done it for a long time, without a break, meaning that they’re always focusing on it, and with all their heart— they love it! Let me give you an example. Henry Ford, the car manufacturer, just focused on car, car, car, car and he got a car, and when he was successful he said that he did not know where all his information came from! He didn’t learn it from childhood; he thought the information must have been there in a past life, or from the heavens above!

Some of you are very good at certain things and never studied them or never have been taught it. I’m sure everybody in this room has a talent, and it’s inborn. Sometimes when you work with this talent you say to yourself, “But how did I know this?” I used to teach dance and I used to see this in a lot of my pupils. I used to watch them, especially the little ones, and I’d tell them, “Create your own choreography, make up your own,” and sometimes when I’d just taught them three or four steps, they would come up with their own beautiful dance. They used to create beautiful movements, movements they had never done before. So where did this knowledge come from? We never take time to look at these things. This is the process of meditation. It helps us to look at our life as it really is, to see beyond the physical eye. So, how long it takes depends on you.

Later on in the same book Sri Patanjali also says, “To the keen and intent practitioner this samadhi—(which is a state of awakening, of awareness, a state of knowledge, of enlightenment) comes very quickly.” (Book I sutra 21)

So it’s up to you, not up to me. If you’re excited and you want to know about your life, and you want to make it more peaceful, then all you have to do is to decide “I am not going to talk about meditation, I am going to do it every day, five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening.” That is how I started, and in three months, just three months, I noticed a difference. I’ve now been meditating for ten years. Six years ago I made a promise and I have not missed a single day since then. I will tell you what happened.

When you start to meditate, lots of wonderful changes start to happen in your life, as well as lots of tests. Tests to test your spiritual muscles. When I first started meditation I got a bit lazy and stopped practicing every day, sometimes I would skip a day. So I decided one morning, when I woke up, “No, I really want to know this knowledge that is beyond all knowledge. There IS a Spirit in me and I want to know it, because there’s nothing interesting out there.”

Really, after you’ve travelled all over the world and you’ve seen people and you’ve seen suffering, it’s the same story everywhere, “Poor me, poor me,” and you’ll see the really happy people will never say, Poor me.” I saw that the really happy people, the really peaceful people, are the ones that say God is in everyone.

Recently we met a lovely gentleman who is peaceful like that. His face was shining. He was seventy-one and he was shining. He was sitting in the hotel talking to my husband and they were talking about business and suddenly he said, “We’re all God’s instruments,” and we keyed in right away. I had thought he was just another businessman just discussing business. It’s very exciting when you tune into this energy, because once you tune in, you meet so many who are tuned in and you say, “Oh, this is a coincidence. ” It’s not a coincidence. Once you become aware, there are many, many, many miracles.

Returning to the question, “How long before you start to feel the benefits?” how long depends on how you want to practice! I became very excited seeing some of the progress in myself I just wanted to do more and more and more, and I still feel the same. One and a half hours of meditation today, is too little for me now. It’s too little because it’s such bliss, such peace. That’s the idea of meditation. How long depends on you.

—Excerpted from, How to Meditate

Nalanie Chellaram, having had the enormous privilege of growing up knowing Sri Swami Satchidananda as a close family friend, became a formal disciple of Sri Gurudev in 1986. She is an accredited Integral Yoga® teacher and teacher trainer as well as a therapist trained by the British School of Yoga. Nalanie is the first of a new

generation of spiritual teachers. Her particular upbringing and education has given her a special insight into both Hinduism and Christianity, inspired by her Beloved Guru.

Hearing about different people’s spiritual journeys here made so much sense to me. Of course! We are all seekers of the truth. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience.” I am doing what makes the most sense to me: following the guidance of spirit.

“This course will probably change your life,” Lilavati had said. I can now tell Lilavati that I fully agree... physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Om, Peace, Peace


If Not Now, When? By Bonnie Ringer

For the past 26 years, Yoga has been an integral part of my life and my existence. I began my Yoga practice as an evening class at a local community center thinking that when the eight-week session was finished I would be done as well. Nothing was farther from the truth. I stayed with my teacher for ten years. After seven of those ten years she would have me teach with her. Shortly after I began teaching, I was given her blessing to teach on my own, and have never stopped.

The practice of Yoga is my life, and each day my practice becomes a little stronger, sweeter, and more fruitful. I was taught by my teachers, especially Sri Dharma Mittra, to both believe and teach that Yoga is so much more than simply the physical practice of asana. Even though I had always helped others, I learned Karma Yoga details from him—it says in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Book I.15, “The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.” Translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda further states, “It is not only saints but everything in nature –trees, birds, animals–they all live for the sake of others. When the entire nature sacrifices, why should we human beings alone lead selfish lives?” I learned very early in my life, that you must take action daily to help others. We become enlightened when we are of service to others. My experiences with my daughter in the summer of 2009 and again on my own in 2011 highlighted these teachings.

My practice took me to new heights, specifically the Roof of the World, Tibet. I learned experientially what my Yoga teachers had always said, and what I had always believed—Yoga off the mat is as invigorating and stimulating as any asana that I could perform on the mat. Moreover, bringing my practice off the mat only served to assist my metabolic, intuitive, and bliss body practice. As I was of service to others, my physical strength and ability to do poses grew too.

During the summer of 2009, my 10-year-old daughter and I spent three weeks in Tibet, with emphasis on love, service, and God. As a parent, I know our actions speak louder than words, and that’s what our children see us do, and say, they will copy. Hence, spending 3 weeks in Tibet seemed to be the most appropriate destination, given my family’s involvement with the Tibetan Home of Hope (THOH). My daughter and I dedicated our trip to helping them, the 72 children who live at the THOH orphanage and their families.

Since its inception, my family and I supported the THOH orphanage in Jian Zha Tibet, a wonderful facility built by a Tibetan refugee, Tashi Dolma, from NY to help Tibetan children desperately in need. Prior to my first trip, we assisted greatly in providing the children with their solar heated water system and continue to sponsor three orphans; many of my students and friends sponsor children too. My Yoga studio

continually seeks to help the children by raising funds and providing other daily life necessities for THOH.

My daughter and I went off to Tibet with 5 huge, completely overstuffed rolling suitcases filled with tooth paste, tooth brushes, face cream, chewable vitamin C, lip balm, clothing, shoes, kites, yo-yos, chalk, books, posters, hand painted flags from the elementary school with a letter from the children and anything else we could think of to help the children.

I was greatly discouraged from taking the trip by some others. We had only a Visa into Beijing, limiting my travel once in Asia. Many told me, even the Doctors Without Borders, that going into Tibet without the appropriate paperwork and medication in case of sickness was crazy. They couldn’t believe I was going forth with my plans and taking my daughter, no less, even though I had good intentions, a limited Visa and faith in my Spirit Guides and the open heart of Divine Energy that was in all living things on my side.

Tibet is just breathtakingly beautiful, with rolling mountains and clear blue skies. It’s as if God takes a paintbrush in his hand, reaches down from the fermented Heaven and places streaks of blue across the sky for all to witness, as in a painting. The Tibetan flags are swaying in the breeze. Some are tied tightly to poles on each side, high in the mountains. Many are very old and worn, and some are new with bright colors of yellow, green, red, white, and blue. Some flags appear so old and thin that only a faintness of the thread is attached. Just like my Yoga practice, some of the earlier teachings are faint, although very much present and part of me. For it is this thread that each bead of new passage towards enlightenment has been placed to string together the mala of self-realization. As my practice grows, becomes stronger and more flexible, so does my teaching. At some point in life, it’s our own personal experience that we learn the most from and can teach from. A Yoga teacher can only teach what she knows. You simply cannot teach what you don’t know. It’s one thing to believe something, or read about it in a book. To experience firsthand giving birth, fighting disease, and sitting with a loved one till death, only then does it leave the imprint on your karma soul.

Tibetan food is delicious. Every meal is freshly made by hand. Nothing is wasted. Anything the children don’t eat and any scraps go to the cows or dogs. The bread, noodles, and dumplings are from the barley that was grown, harvested, and milled fresh. The fires were made outside with hay, and watched closely so that they were kept going. Similar to my Yoga practice, my mind is always on the practice, which is given as an offering to God. The Bhagavad Gita says, “Fix your mind on Me alone, rest your thoughts on Me alone, and in Me alone you will live hereafter. On this there is no doubt.” (Chapter 12.8)

Getting to the Top of the Mountain is Easier than You Think: By Connecting with the Divine Self!


The fruit was fresh picked off the trees whenever we wanted a snack, walking back and forth to the village, school and town. A bowl of apricots, grapes, or watermelon was always on the table. The milk for yogurt and milk tea was provided by the cows early in the morning and used daily. Fresh yogurt has nothing in it, no lids, or tinfoil tops. It’s lumpy and real sour. Here in the states, everything is so processed that I can’t eat any dairy. In Tibet, it was like mothers’ milk, so easy to digest and so delicious to eat! I would eat a tiny bit in the first few days and by the second week, the entire bowl at night before bed! We received it in an open dish, carried over in the same bucket that the cow just gave the milk in. Chopsticks are used for utensils. We all shared from a family plate or bowl, eating at a low table squatting on small, low stools, very close to the ground. Being close to one another around fresh handmade food, it felt very loving and comforting.

The Tibetan people are the most kind, giving, loving, spiritual people that I’ve ever met. They are truly close to God because they had so very little to give and they give everything they have to assist others. I’ve heard “It’s easy to give when you have, but to have nothing and still give is extraordinary.” They opened their homes to my daughter and me, providing us with a place to stay. They prepared all our meals, and shared their culture and lives with us. They shared a piece of history with us by making sure we went to the mountains on the full moon to give offerings and took part in their ceremonies. The opportunity to see the caves where all the monks sit in silent meditation and pray all day long for world peace for all nations is a gift that I will forever cherish. Watching the monks keep the world energy in balance, I was incredibly touched. Dharma Mittra says, “If we didn’t have them, day in and day out meditating, the dharma (right order) of things would be quite different.” Tibetan people work their physical bodies all day long. They do all their chores of cooking, walking, digging ditches, farming, harvesting, washing clothes in a basin and yet; everyone MAKES time to pray, do japa mantra and do prostrations. Some do as many as 400 prostrations a day.

I did a Yoga practice with the children daily, entertaining them with an advanced asana demonstration at the end. They loved partner Yoga, and we chanted the three Tibetan scriptures on our Mala beads, prayed, and played while engaged in the physical practice of Yoga. However, I was there to do more than simply demonstrate asana and teach the children Yoga poses. During those three wonderful weeks, I functioned as mother, teacher, artist, housekeeper, gardener, and playmate. I taught English and Math, and read to the children. My daughter Ellie took so much care of the little ones, copying me and being a true little yogi in her own right. Can’t wait to see what imprint she leaves on this world. We worked on art projects and cleared land to plant flower gardens, carefully stacking up all the rocks from the field of weeds we cleared at the orphanage into a heart shape for additional beauty. I even cleaned the outhouses. I flew kites high into the blue skies, tucked the children into bed, washed their bodies, wiped their runny noses, and gave out daily doses of vitamin C. My daughter, Ellie, and I helped

the children draw pictures, make necklaces, and do crafts. Ellie taught them how to sing the song “A sailor went to SEA, SEA, SEA.” I taught the children how to brush their teeth, a new activity for them, since now they had toothbrushes and a recently installed water purification system. From the supplies we brought, the children were able to receive socks and shoes, and the storage room overflowed with supplies. Most importantly, the children received physical stimulation, emotional nurturing, compassion, friendship, and lots of love. We were sure to let them know how much we cared and even though their circumstance weren’t the best of all in Tibet, that there are people who care about them and want to help give them a chance to thrive and continue their beautiful Tibet Buddhist culture.

Each new day was filled with magic that only through my journey with Yoga could I have experienced. For example, one sunny morning, I became a little boy’s new best friend. He wanted me to meet his grandmother, so he walked me the two miles into town his hand in mine. His grandmother, the boy’s only living relative, had a fruit stand and she gifted me the best, biggest, sweetest watermelon. The boy’s father is deceased; his mother is very sickly. I walked the unpaved streets along with the donkeys, mules and horses. I even got to hug one of the donkeys. I had been going to the zoo since I was very little and have always loved it… but had a sadness that all the animals are caged in. Having walked with the animals freely that day really made me joyous! Loving music, the little boy played his new recorder the whole way there and back, his own angelic rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’. As I walked with him, I believed angels were singing through the gift of music as I saw the joy in the little boy’s eyes.

Every day another once in a lifetime experience occurred which placed me closer to my Divine Self. Walking to the river of freezing run-off Glacier Water, I bathed, swam and played with dozens of children. The girls and boys separated at either end of the waters, as to not catch even a glimpse of one another. The children are very modest. They smile and laugh so much, behaving as though they had not a care in the world despite their orphan status. We hiked 19,000 feet above sea level and made offerings on the Full Moon to the “Mountain Gods,” and were rewarded with a beautiful double rainbow later that night. We climbed to the meditation caves to see the monks and nuns praying.

So, in my spiritual journey up the Yoga mountain of life, I ended up in Tibet with these wonderful children, living Yoga on and off the mat for three solid weeks. The services the children received from me were my honor and privilege to provide. Having my daughter at my side made it even more special, because as I was learning I knew that I was teaching as well. When I reached the top of the Himalayan Mountain, so far away from my small neighboring hills back home, I made a grand wish from the deepest part of my soul, for peace on earth for all beings, creatures and critters, threw my mini paper multi colored confetti flags up into the breeze high into the wind and then did a headstand in full Lotus next to the puja fire. I knew with certainty that GOD made that beautiful mountain that I was fortunate enough to


look out from, and that GOD is the spark inside every living creature. It became as clear to me as a bird’s eye view, that we are all the same cosmic energy of one. The realization that helping one another-- man, women, child, animal and planet --all living creatures-- openly, with no attachments or expectations, is how God would be to his children. With this renewed insight, I felt as though I was on top of Earth not a mountain. I felt so blessed and grateful to my Yoga practice for the journey that I have been traveling and will continue to journey throughout my life. For when we are of service, we are one with the divine universe energy.

Now back in my own little corner of the world, I strive to maintain this simple “Peace and Divine Connection” in NY when I have to do my machine-washed laundry of clothes that aren’t even really dirty, drive my children to and from school (more children should walk), food shop, cook, clean, teach my many classes every day, and listen to the people who have everything as they complain about silliness. I rise above it and learn to be at peace in the face of others Ignorance. A wise person says nothing, until asked. I keep the teachings of this past summer alive by remembering the Three Tibetan Poisons - Greed, Anger, and Ignorance, which I am determined, will not exist in my life. Dharma Mittra taught me a long time ago, that to find true knowledge of all things one must be happy in whatever state of mind exists in the present moment. To be able to find the balance

with being a yogi and being part of the rest of this world is a constant challenge. So as my journey continues, I try to maintain a balance between my inner self and the spark of divine connection I have and my external environment. I want to always be peaceful, even when situations around me are not. I’ll always be very much at home in Tibet, in the caves, sleeping in a mud home with mud floors on Yak hair, washing the cows, boiling my water, and no bathrooms. I was at peace to chant and do prostrations all day long with the Tibetan people. The time with them has been imprinted on my soul. For that I am forever grateful and will walk a little lighter on this mother earth and hope to touch as many people with my life understanding of Yoga and the Divine Energy in all of us.

Blessed Be!

Bonnie Ringer is a Certified Registered Dharma Yoga Instructor in Nanuet, New York, Founder of Bonnie’s Yoga

��

Shala and teaches at Kripalu, �� Ananda& Yogaville Ashram Centers.

��More

information about Mrs. Ringer and her Tibetan journey can be found at www.Bonniesyogashala.com.

Satya By Madhavan Mark Wolz

Truth, when we recognize it, is simply what is.

Come into downward dog. Lift your hips and draw them away from your wrists. Take the weight out of your hands and out of the wrists by drawing energy up through the arms. Check that your fingers are spread apart. Lengthen each finger as you press into the base of the fingers and around the circle of the palm. Lift away from the floor, up through the arms. As the hips continue to rise, stretch back through the legs and move your heels toward the floor.

Satya, the second yama, is a commitment to being truthful.

Bend your knees and lower them to the floor, keeping your hands where they were for downward dog. Rest in child’s pose. Allow yourself to bring to mind the most recent instance when you told a lie. It can be big or small, it can be important or not at all. Consider how your mind supports an untruth. Think for a moment whether your mind acted through rationalizing, minimizing, denying, qualifying, equivocating, focusing on a partial truth or some other mechanism to support your deception. Give yourself a little smile. Know that we can’t rely on the intellect to tell us when something is true.

Keeping your hands on the floor, lift your hips and lean

forward so you see your hands and feel their contact with the floor. Are the fingers spread widely and evenly? Observe. Are any of your digits twisted or crooked, even a little bit? Observe without judging. Is the pressure evenly distributed across the five base knuckles?

Relax the hands and raise your torso, coming into vajrasana. Let the hands rest on your thighs. Consider how your body supports an untruth. What happens in your feet, your hips and shoulders, your neck, your eyes when you prepare to tell a lie?

Reflect on how your body reacts when you hear something you believe is untrue. How does your skin feel, what does your gut tell you? Where in your body can you find the clues when you sense something is untrue? What happens in your breath?

Lean forward and place your hands where they were for adho muka svanasana. Place all 10 digits carefully. Feel the pressure under the base knuckles as you stretch through the fingers and thumbs and raise them off the floor. Return the tips of the fingers and thumbs to the floor, keeping the stretch you found through the whole hand. Is the pressure even under the pad of the last segment of each digit where it contacts the floor? Observe. Make simple adjustments.


Return to vajrasana. When I tell a lie or distort the truth or try to hide the truth I’m usually acting on a need or I’m trying to avert an outcome I think I don’t want. If I look beneath my untruthfulness, I will find a character trait I probably don’t want to recognize: fear, arrogance, laziness, impatience or people pleasing, for example. Satya gives me the opportunity to acknowledge those underlying character traits.

Making the effort always to tell the truth is satya. So is studying those aspects of my character that lead me to be untruthful. When I catch myself telling a lie, I can say, “Oops, I goofed.” To carry the lesson of satya further, I’ll ask myself, “Why? Fear of embarrassment or punishment? To avoid controversy or conflict? To manipulate a situation? To project a false image?”

Place your hands for adho muka svanasana. With the lightest of pressure, test the balance through the full length and breadth of your hands. Rotate the upper arms externally and feel a shift in weight to the outside of each hand. Rotate the forearms inward to restore balance with a shift toward the index fingers and thumbs. Check that your shoulders are relaxed and draw the shoulder blades toward your back.

Return to vajrasana. That I keep myself from ever telling a lie may not be as important as learning why I’m tempted to tell lies. When I lie, I always have what I think is a good reason for it. That reason is created by my intellect. My rational mind will conjure up any number of justifications for it. Mindful practice of satya will show me that real honesty begins with not lying to me. Satya leads me to a deeper awareness of self and reveals the locus of truth, which is within me.

George Washington’s father asked him, “Did you chop down the cherry tree?” During the brief moment while George formulated his reply, he was presented with life lessons on being truthful and taking responsibility for a mistake. At that moment he was given the opportunity to learn something about the consequences to an action—actually two actions, felling the tree and answering the question.

In his comments on the Yoga Sutras, Swami Satchidananda said, “If you always tell the truth, if no lie ever passes your lips, the day will come when everything you say comes true.” To arrive at that day will require a great deal of rigor and close attention to the subtleties of truthfulness.

Place your hands for adho muka svanasana. Tuck your toes under your feet and raise your hips to bring yourself into downward dog. Move slowly, with a deliberate breath. Let the breath help you hold the pose. After a minute observe for yourself where the pose has begun to sag, where it has become rigid, where you could find more stretch or greater ease. How are your hands doing? Even pressure, with a gentle and firm lift that sends energy upward? Can you make an adjustment? Does that adjustment lead to another? Is there truth in your assessments?

If you are rigorous with the truth, that rigor will show up elsewhere in your life and somewhere in your asana practice as well. Can you observe your pose and assess the balance?

If you are lax with the truth, that trait will show up in your pose, along with other traits of character that support it. Then the hands just don’t hold its form or the mind becomes impatient with the effort or there is less ease in the pose.

When I sidestep the truth, the loss is my own, because I subvert a lesson I might have been able to learn. Whether it’s coming from my own arrogance or a fear or a compulsive desire, I’ve chosen a deception over what is. In losing my connection to the truth I am diverted from the experience it would have brought me.

Truth, at the deepest level, is what is.

When teaching a yama I find it helpful to have the students root themselves in their own experience, with an active awareness of body, mind and spirit. If you read this article again and let yourself participate actively, you’ll find what works for you.

Om Shanti.

Madhavan Mark Wolz is based in New York, where he uses his IYI training to teach Hatha Yoga and meditation and practice Therapeutic Yoga. Mark holds a BS in psychology and an MA in anthropology and Southeast Asian studies.E-mail: mwlite @ yahoo.com

It is this mind that is otherwise called the subtle body, ego, jiva or soul.

That which arises in the physical body as ‘I’ is the mind. If one enquires

whence the ‘I’ thought in the body arises in the first instance, it will be

found that it is from the Heart. That is the source and stay of the mind.

—Ramana Maharshi

INTEGRAL YOGA TEACHERS’ COUNCIL

The Spiritual Life Board recently reestablished a Teachers’ Council to oversee the way Integral Yoga is taught internationally. The members are Satya Greenstone and Vidya Vonne from Yogaville, Parvathi Faini from Centro Integral Yoga Shanti in Milano, Italy, Kali Morse from the New York Integral Yoga Institute, and Swami Ramananda from the San Francisco Institute.

The Council meets once a month by conference call. Ramananda chairs the meetings and Vidya and Parvathi will serve as contacts for those who wish to bring an issue to the Council. To understand the purpose and function of this group, see the statement below.

Integral Yoga Teachers’ Council Mission Statement

The mission of the Integral Yoga Teachers’ Council is to oversee the dissemination of the teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda Maharaj by Integral Yoga teachers around the globe, under the auspices of the Spiritual Life Board. Its

purpose is to uphold the standards and directions as set by Sri Gurudev, while allowing for effective innovation within that framework. Its responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the teaching and the training of teachers of Integral Yoga Hatha, Raja, Meditation, and all therapeutic and adjunct Integral Yoga modalities

• Approving new Teacher Trainers and the content of Teacher Training Manuals

• Arranging meetings for Trainers for ongoing education and support

• Final approval of those wishing to establish Integral Yoga Centers or Institutes, based on the IYTA’s review of their qualifications and recommendation

• Appointing and overseeing any sub-committees of the Council as needed, including Hatha Yoga committees


Two Schools of ThoughtBy Lakshmi Sutter

From my examination, I find there are really two schools of thought:

One school suggests that we should practice the poses we dislike even more than we might a pose we enjoy, so that we can come to love and embrace even those we dislike.

Another school of thought submits that if you really find a pose to be uncomfortable, unsteady, or anything else that leads you to dislike it, well, then don’t do it! The theory is: Why subject yourself to something you know you don’t like? This might teach us to avoid recurring situations where we know we will lose our peace.

Taking these lessons off the mat can be quite transformative!

As you find a sensation that you might interpret as discomfort, see if you can create a micro-movement—of the body or mind—to shift your pose away from what you may not enjoy. Even try doing less. From an emotional perspective, you might ask yourself why you are feeling distracted by a given pose. Explore if there are samskaras buried that might be contributing to your opinion. Each time your mind suggests that you don’t care for a pose, ask for an answer that touches deeper than the most obvious.

Minimum Asanas—Maximum HealthBy Satya Greenstone

Sri Gurudev’s emphasis was on using a regular asana practice to gain the maximum health benefits with the minimum number of asanas. This approach prevents one from becoming stuck in the physical asana aspect of Yoga and allows one to maintain a healthy body and peaceful mind in order to experience a more useful life.

Sri Gurudev presented us with a core sequence of asanas for daily practice. One primary benefit of this sequence is to experience balance on all levels of our being. The practice balances the endocrine system on the physical level and on the more subtle level it balances the prana or vital life force throughout the system.

The asanas are performed with a meditative attitude. Sri Gurudev advises that our awareness during an asana should be on the benefit of the pose. The concentration should be directed toward the vital organ, gland, or area of the body that is receiving the flow of prana. By placing the awareness on a particular area of the body, the prana is directed to that area. (Actually, it is the awareness or concentration that sends the prana to the particular area of the body.) This greatly enhances the benefit of the asana.

Teacher’s Notebook

The IYTA Column for MayBy Brahmi Milliman

Namaste dear Sangha! Blessings of warmth and light are radiating to you from Yogaville. It’s barely spring here and already feels like summer. The Dogwood is blooming in white near the Ashram Library and the Cherry tree in front of the dorms has just exploded into lovely pink blossoms. I love to climb the tree with the local children and do what I call “tree Yoga.” The quad is beginning to feel like a college campus, with people playing frisbee and hula-hooping. If you call, and I do not answer the phone, well, it’s because I wandered off into the sunshine for a moment.

This weekend I was honored to be able to take Swami Karunananda’s program, “Getting Unstuck.” We learned about obstacles to our practice and developed a practice plan. Each of us had to develop a Pratipaksha Bhavana practice, inhaling a positive quality and exhaling the negative opposite. I chose to inhale faith, and exhale doubt. We had a little ceremony offering our practice to the altar and then got to choose a Yoga fortune. For my fortune, I chose “doubt.” I was stunned and shared with the class. They urged me to pick another fortune. The second time, I chose “faith.” Was it coincidence or “Godcidence?” Later one of the students shared with me that he had prayed for me to choose “faith.” I wonder if all the students prayed for that and how it created that reality.

I remember how, before I moved to the ashram, I would study the Yogaville website and Facebook pages looking for video clips and photos, hungry for regular connection with my true home. I know many of you feel the same way. You will be excited to know that Shakticom, the ashram media department, is now streaming Satsang live every Saturday night from 7:30-9:30 pm! Just visit www.livestream.com/YogavilleEvents.

The ashram monastic community is pleased to welcome Sister Mukti, (formally Saci), and Sister Gayatri, (formally Sraddha), into the ranks of pre-sannyas.

Om Shanti, Brahmi Milliman, ITYA Membership Coordinator 434-969-3121 X 177 [email protected]

The word sannyasin means ‘perfect abandoning’ or ‘setting aside.’ The one whom we call a monk in English, or a sannyasin in Sanskrit, is the one who has renounced his or her personal life. He or she lives for the sake of others - eats, drinks, and breathes for the sake of others - renouncing selfishness and serving all. That is the only requirement for a sannyasin. There is nothing else. Sannyasins come forward to renounce everything that would disturb their peace. They come to retain that peace and then to serve others by helping them find that peace.

—Sri Swami Satchidananda


Chinnamasta

Advanced Pranayama for Meditators & Yoga Practitioners

Yoganand Michael CarrollJune 15–17, 2012

Just-Be-Happy Yoga Swami Anubhavananda

July 27–29, 2012

Therapeutic Yoga & Ayurveda for Healthy Digestion

Joan RyanJuly 13–15, 2012

Enjoy fresh air and a serene country setting.

Transforming Lives

Spring / Summer 2012 Programs

www.integralyogaprograms.org1-800-858-9642

Freedom Style YogaErich Schiffmann

June I–3, 2012

Saving Our Planet (and Ourselves) –

One Breath at a Time Beryl Bender Birch

May 11–13, 2012

Yoga Anatomy, Physiology, and Practice: Inversions, Knees, Hips & Shoulders

Roger ColeJuly 27–29, 2012

Integral Yoga Senior Speakers’ SchedulesPlease contact local representatives for times, costs, pre-enrollment requirements, schedule changes, etc.


Swami Asokananda Contact

May 4-6 Yoga Retreat, Athens, OH Arjuna [email protected]

May 8–June 19 Bhagavad Gita Study Group, NYC, NY http://bit.ly/xID66t

June 18–July 7 Yoga Workshops , Milan, Italy Parvathi Fiani, [email protected]

July 29–Aug 19 Intermediate Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, Yogaville www.yogaville.org/programs

August 24–27 Colourfest, Dorset Yoga Festival, Dorset, England Rowan Cobelli http://www.colourfest.co.uk/

Swami Karunananda

July 30–Aug. 19 Raja Yoga Teacher Training Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville [email protected]

Swami Ramananda

May 4 Forgiveness: Freeing the Heart from the Past [email protected] New Jersey IYI, in Fairlawn 201-796-7585

May 5 When the Going Gets Tough, Yoga for Difficult Times iyiny.org New York IYI 212-929-0586

May 5 Satsang, New York IYI iyiny.org 212-929-0586

May 10 The Power of Love on the Spiritual Path [email protected] San Francisco IYI 415-821-1117, ext 301

June 16–17 Programs at Elements Spa at the Clarion Hotel [email protected] Stockholm, Sweden

June 19–20 Programs at Om Yoga Studio Martti Tampere, Finland [email protected]

June 21–24 Programs at Bodo Yoga Festival [email protected] Bodo, Norway

Swami Divyananda

May 5–July 22 Basic Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Malika Taipei, Taiwan 886 910 186508

Upcoming Programs at Yogaville


Featured Program

Advanced Pranayama for Meditators and Yoga Practitioners with Yoganand Michael Carroll June 15–17, 2012

Dive in and feel the profound benefits of a deep pranayama practice—experience pranayama as a way to connect with and learn how to channel energy into a life of greater spiritual attunement, and gain the tools and inspiration to continue developing an advanced pranayama practice at home. For practitioners with at least six months practice.

May

4–6 Chakra Frequencies and the Divine Name with Andi & Jonathan Goldman

4–6 Our Second Spring: Yoga of Rejuvenation for Women with Nadiya Nottingham

6–13 Cancer and Chronic Illness T. T. Part I with Jnani Chapman, R.N., B.S.N., E-RYT 500; Lisa Prema Schneider,

M.S., L.CP.C., R.Y.T.; Mahalakshmi Valerie Christensen; Tina Walsh, RYT, LMT, RMT

7–13 Integral Yoga Immersion with Kali Morse

11–13 Saving Our Planet (and Ourselves)—One Breath at a Time with Beryl Bender Birch

17–20 Ageless Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Our Elders with John Schlorholtz

17–20 Cancer and Chronic Illness T. T. Part III with Jnani Chapman

25–28 �Yoga of Devotion Retreat with Krishna Das

June

1–3 Freedom Style Yoga with Erich Schiffmann

2 Free Workshop: Seeds of Awakening Kabbalah & Yoga Wisdom with Prahaladan Mandelkorn & Ariel Lippman

5–10 Yin Yoga T. T. Level 1 with Biff Mithoefer

8–10 Awakening to Joy: Yoga to Overcome Depression with Swami Vidyananda

15–17 Advanced Pranayama for Meditators and Yoga Practitioners with Yoganand Michael Carroll

15–17 ABC’s of Core Alignment, Breath and Core Awareness with Christopher Baxter

17–24 Camp Yogaville with Abhaya Norton-Stein & Rev. Sam Rudra Swartz

22–24 Life Coaching and Yoga-Upgrade Your Story with Stacy Kamala Waltman

30–July 1 Guru Poornima & LOTUS Anniversary

July

1–29 Basic Hatha Yoga T. T. with Sadasiva (Kurt) Schroeder & Lilavati Eberle

3–7 Thai Yoga I with Sudevi (Linda) Kramer

6–8 Clarifying What You Want with Meenakshi Honig

10–15 Thai Yoga II with Sudevi (Linda) Kramer

13–22 Stress Management T. T. with Swami Ramananda, Swami Vidyananda and Jaymie Meyer

13–15 Therapeutic Yoga and Ayurveda for Healing the Digestion with Joan Ryan

20–22 Stages of Bliss with Swami Nirmalananda

20–22 Launch Your Yoga Journey with Cathy Woods

27–29 Just Be Happy Yoga with Swami Anubhavananda

27–29 Inversions, Knees, Shoulders & Hips with Roger Cole

29–Aug. 19 Intermediate Hatha Yoga T. T. with Swami Asokananda & Lalita Vigander

30–Aug. 19 Raja Yoga T. T. with Swami Karunananda and Swami Priyaananada

Integral Yoga® Teachers Association108 Yogaville WayBuckingham, VA 23921

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volume xxi, no. 2, may 2012 the world is our projectionthe world is our projection by sri swami...

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