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Om Namah Sivaya,
Dear Friends,
It's the official launch of the 2014-2015 season! We invite you to join us in the study and practice of yoga and immersion in a yogic lifestyle through one of the many courses, trainings, programs, and special events that we offer in the Bahamas.
Discover this season's programs ...
- watch for our catalog in your mailbox this month
- explore our new website (launching this month!)
- enjoy the highlights in this email
In his welcome letter in the new catalog, Swami Swaroopananda talks about the important work of the ashram in promoting Swami Vishnudevananda’s teachings of unity in diversity: “We offer a rich diversity of programs that bring together spiritual leaders, healers, musicians, scientists, and artists from all religions and spiritual traditions that we may learn from and share with one another ... When we come together in our diversity, we connect through our shared oneness, and great spiritual wisdom emerges." Plan to join us this year for one of these important symposia celebrating unity in diversity, including the Thanksgiving Walking with the Mystics Symposium and the Christmas and New Year's Symposium: Welcoming a New World.
We look forward to an inspiring season and to welcoming you to the ashram.
Om Shanti, Om Peace.
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas
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"Happiness comes from within. It cannot come from without."
—Swami Sivananda
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Emotions vs. Intuition and Meditation for Depression
Question: What is the difference between emotions and intuition?
Answer: Emotions are the motive forces behind thoughts. This is how Swami Sivananda explains it. You have a thought, but a thought by itself is like a corpse. The power behind a thought is an emotion, which gives life or vitality to the thought. If the emotion is powerful, the thought also becomes very powerful.
In Bhakti Yoga, in the yoga of devotion, we transmute emotion into devotion. We take the power of all of these emotions and we transform them into devotion, which is love. And this devotion is directed toward the beloved, toward the object of our meditation.
Intuition is something else. Intuition is immediate knowledge. It is when you know something without the intermediary of the senses, without the intermediary of logic, without the intermediary of the thoughts, without the intermediary of the emotions. You have this knowledge without any intermediary, and the nature of this knowledge is whole. It is complete knowledge that is beyond description, a knowledge that is going to transform you. Once it touches you, you’ll never be the same, ever. This is how Swami Sivananda describes real intuition, which he says is samadhi. It is deep, deep, deep meditation that brings an immediate knowledge which is not an intellectual knowledge. This knowledge transforms us for good, and others as well.
Question: Can meditation help in controlling depression, anxiety and mental illnesses?
Read the answer.
Swami Swaroopananda is the is the acharya (spiritual director) of Sivananda yoga centers and ashrams on the West Coast of the United States and in the Bahamas, and is one of the foremost disciples of Swami Vishnudevananda. He offers Questions and Answers on Yoga and Spiritual Life regularly throughout the season. Bring your most important questions.
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Yoga Jumpstart
New to yoga? New to Sivananda Yoga? First time at the ashram? Need a yoga refresher?
Take our Essentials of Yoga I: Establish Your Foundations and Essentials of Yoga II: Deepen Your Practice as a 10-day immersion:
- October 2 - 11 or December 8 - 17, 2014
- Call to register for both courses at the same time and save 5% on each tuition.
Small classes, beautiful surroundings, and carefully orchestrated steps to the asanas made the course a success for everyone. I leave with my heart singing and my mind quiet – recharged, ready to learn more, and to make yoga part of my life. Thank you. Om Shanti. —Leslie, 2014 guest of the Yoga Retreat
Each course offers enjoyable, experiential learning through presentations and guided practice, providing you with invaluable tools and skills for creating vitality, happiness, and health. Plus, you'll have plenty of time for the beach and other happenings at the ashram!
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Take your practice to the next step — become a yoga teacher.
In love with yoga? Want to share it with others? Looking to deepen you own practice? Ready to transform your life? Maybe it's time to take our Teacher Training Course!
Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course
28-day immersions begin
December 4 • January 4 • February 3 • March 10 • April 9 • May 9
Ready to dive deep into yoga? Take the December 4, 2014 Teacher Training Course AND the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Course in January — you'll receive a 10% discount on the total tuition for both and qualify for 500-hour registration with Yoga Alliance.
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Fresh Starts ... Say Yes to 2015!
Say yes to something new in 2015 — What do you dream of doing? What do you want to know more about? What spiritual longing are you ready to satisfy?
Take a look through our program offerings — are there any that come with a feeling of 'yes'?
A sample of January programs:
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 January 2 - 6, 2015
Kabir Helminski, Elizabeth Anne Hin, Sequoyah Trueblood, and James O’Dea
January 4 - 8, 2015
Senior Staff of the Yoga Retreat
 January 9 - 12, 2015Raymond Moody
 January 11 - 17, 2015Ken Whiteley, Davod Azad, Luna Ray, Satkirin Kaur Khalsa, and Rabbi Andrew Hahn
 January 13 - 17, 2015Robyn Ross (Priti)
 January 14 - 18, 2015Molly Asebey-Birkholm (Madhavi) and Robin Carnes
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 January 15 - 17, 2015
Silvia San Miguel (Surya)
 January 22 - 25, 2015Joe Dispenza
January 23 - 29, 2015
John Beaulieu and Silvia Nakkach
 January 25 - 30, 2015Swami Swaroopananda, Rubin Naiman, Robert Moss, Christina Pratt, and Edward Tick
 January 31 - February 4, 2015Katie Papo (Ambika)
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Join one of our detox retreats and juice-fasting cleanses for a complete mind, body, spirit renewal. Discover the benefits of a yogic diet through one of our nutrition-based programs. Explore new cuisines, adopt healthy eating habits, and learn how to promote good health and spiritual well-being through a yogic approach to food. View all Nutrition & Cleanse programs this season.
Upcoming:
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 November 3 - 5, 2014Patti Symonette
This program focuses on the relationship of food to mental, physical, and spiritual health.
 November 17 - 23, 2014Join us for a week-long immersion retreat to cleanse your body and increase vitality and energy. Also offered January 4 - 10, 2015 (New Year's Cleanse).
 December 14 - 20, 2014Tom Francescott
This doctor-supervised, gluten-free juice cleanse provides the tools and jumpstart you need to radically change your life and boost your energy.
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 Cashew Goji Superfood Cookie
Recipe from Grace Van Berkum
This wonderful recipe can become a healthy, nutrient-dense breakfast, snack, or dessert that will provide you with sustainable energy. Thank you to Grace for sharing her raw-food, recipe-creating talents!
Get the recipe.
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"This place was an amazing yoga experience! We had the deluxe accommodation on the beach front and it was just perfect in every way. Clean, comfortable, air conditioned room. The food was good, especially the home made bread, and menu changes every day! Don't forget your bottle of water, you will need it! We will certainly go back!"
—Nathalie, Dieppe, Canada (from our TripAvisor page).
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Sharing our thoughts and experiences of yoga study, practice, and living.
September Topic: Advice for New Yoga Teachers
Whether you're a teacher or a student, what advice can you give to a new yoga teacher?
Please share: Send 50-100 words or so to communityvoices@sivananda.org. With your permission, we'll share them next month (can be done anonymously).
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Christmas & New Year's Symposium: Unity in Diversity
Each year, we bring together an incredible series of presenters from diverse backgrounds for talks, concerts, spiritual practices, and discussions to break down artificial barriers and experience the underlying unity in our diversity. See what we've planned for 2014 — and enjoy this video clip from last year's symposium.
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