How Svaroopa yoga changed my life. And more.

 It was raw vegan foods that led me to yoga.  I had been dabbling with raw foods for years - I believe I started reading about them and experimenting with going all or mostly raw in 2000 or 2001.  It didn't take me long to find David Wolfe's Sunfood Diet Success System (there weren't too many raw food books back then) - and I read that book at least 3-4 times - it was actually falling apart I read it and highlighted it so much.  In that book, he suggested to take up yoga.  So, in my local vegetarian restaurant at the time (back in 2002 I believe) in Middletown CT, It's Only Natural, (I love that restaurant - it's not raw, but raw-friendly and an excellent vegetarian restaurant near Wesleyan University.) I spotted a flyer for yoga classes, and I signed up with Elizabeth McKenty who was teaching Iyengar at the time.  So, I took a series of Iyengar classes - I really liked it, but it did flare up some old neck injuries (I had 3 whiplash car accidents in the early 90's) and I did get acute ear pain and head aches.  Elizabeth at the time was just starting to teach Svaroopa yoga, and I joined her second series of classes.  In the very first class, I felt so much relief of pain and tightness in my neck!  I was hooked. I had lived in fear of re-injuring my neck for over a decade, and my range of motion was almost non-existant.  I also started taking Embodyment Yoga Therapy with Elizabeth on a regular basis and this accelerated my healing significantly.  During the yoga classes and during the Embodyment I would also experience such a sense of calm and peace of mind that I had never experienced before.  My mind was becoming still - but I didn't know about that at the time.  I started taking weekend and weeklong retreats with Rama Berch, the founder of Svaroopa yoga at Kripalu in MA and in California.  I even drove to Ithaca NY for a Bliss weekend one time - I just couldn't get enough of the bliss and calm and the healing of my body and being.  During one weekend retreat at Kripalu with Rama Berch - perhaps my first one - all of the bitterness in my heart disappeared and it never came back.  During a weeklong retreat in February 2003 in LaJolla CA, I became so full of love, peace and joy from the deeper classes that my entire being was truly starting to change and be more present.  My fear about my neck was starting to go away.  My body was healing - after over a decade of living in fear and chronic neck and back pain, the fear was dissipating and the range of motion in my neck was coming back.  My mind was becoming open, still, and present.  My emotions were stabilizing, and I was becoming spiritually awakened on a very deep level.  (More about that another time.)  In Svaroopa yoga, the core tensions of the body are released and opened, and this opens the mind, calms the emotions, and opens the nadis. The yoga is relatively easy to do (anyone of any fitness level can do this yoga) and it appears subtle, yet powerful changes occur on every level of being.  I just love this yoga.  This style of yoga is not just about asana (poses and exercise).  In Svaroopa yoga we teach yoga philosophy, meditation, and chanting as well.  To most Americans, yoga is a form of exercise.  In Svaroopa yoga, I have learned that the true purpose of any yoga (asana - the poses), is to prepare one for meditation.  To prepare your body to sit for a long time so that you can meditate and find your true Self - the bliss of your own being. 

 

I no longer live in fear or pain.  I have good range of motion in my neck, and I love this style of yoga so much that I have become a yoga teacher.  I live my life in the world as a yogi - the sense of presence rarely leaves me.  If you have aches and pains, or if you've ever wanted to just try yoga, or if you'd like to relieve stress, or if you'd like calmness of being, or if you'd like to be more meditative or learn how to sit and prepare your body for meditation, come try a Svaroopa yoga class.  It has changed my life in profound ways on all levels of being.  It will change your life too in any way you are ready to change it. And more. 

Comments

[Angela Thomas]

Wow! I want to sign up for Svaroopa Yoga immediately. I am going to have to learn more......so glad I ran across your blog this evening. Thank you for sharing this experience.

[Dawn Gaynor]

Dear Angela,

So glad that I can be of help! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask or email me.

Namaste,

Dawn