Meeting Myself with Awareness: Reflections on a 3-Month Yoga Intensive
I often think about what Swami Sivananda Radha writes in Mantras: Words of Power, how during chanting an aspirant may feel an overwhelming sense of emotions: “Tears may come that you have been holding back for many years… Sometimes the tears will be part regret and part joy – joy that the soul is at […]
Can Work Set You Free? Lessons from Karma Yoga
Like most people, I have spent much of my adult life working. Coming to the Ashram in July 2025 as part of the 2-month Karma Yoga Program was a brilliant opportunity to make space for witnessing my habitual ways at work. Having spent 20 years working in an office environment, Karma Yoga became a space […]
Finding Divine Mother Through Gardening and Yoga
I was running down a forest lined country road in the fall of 1980 when I first met God. There was a strong feeling of a supportive Presence, a spiritual connection to something far greater than anything I had ever known before. This was during a time of upheaval in my life — a fractured […]
Holding Grief with Grace and Compassion
In this episode of Ask a Swami, Swami Padmananda reflects on the lessons of grief and how spiritual practice can help us meet sorrow with compassion, presence and courage. Whether you’re navigating a recent loss or carrying grief from years past, this conversation offers thoughtful insights into living with grief while remaining open to love, […]
Awareness Through the Seven Cakras: Reflections on Kundalini Yoga
When I first read Swami Radha’s Kundalini Yoga for the West, a foundational text within the Ashram teachings, I became fascinated by a quote introduced in the very first pages of the book: “From being a sleepwalker, a hypnotized or conditioned person, you gradually become a person who is aware.” At the time, I found […]
What does it Mean to Live at an Ashram?
In this episode of Ask A Swami, Swami Jyotihananda reflects on life in spiritual community and shares her hopes for the future of Yasodhara Ashram. Drawing on her experience with Swami Radha and the many stages of Ashram life over the years, Swami Jyotihananda offers insights into commitment, connection across generations and the deeper value of living in community. This episode […]
Explorations on Love As a Way of Being in the World
At the time of writing this blog, the Ashram’s three-month Yoga Development Course (YDC) has just come to completion. Many of the course participants are transitioning back to families, jobs and environments that are busy with the day-to-day challenges of living in the everyday world. In the last part of the course, questions were coming […]
What Grace Looks Like When Everything Changes
This morning, the first chevrons of geese arrive from southern skies, their calls evoking both longing and comfort in me. Sap rises in the maple trees around my home, boils on a small outdoor fire, the steam off the pans, sweetening the air. Every spring, when I tap the maples and sap pours out, I […]
Being a Disciple and Understanding Devotion
In this episode of Ask A Swami, Swami Lalitananda reflects on what it means to walk the path as a disciple and the role that devotion plays in spiritual life. Drawing from her experience as Swami Radha’s disciple, she shares insights into trust, discipline and the deep heart-longing that keeps one grounded on a chosen spiritual […]
The Yoga of Transitions: Accepting Change and Uncertainty through Asanas
There are moments when I find myself between what was once familiar and what has not yet taken form. In this space, expectations fill me up as I try to make sense of what has happened, what is coming and how I want to meet the new. That’s how the coming of spring feels, with […]