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This interview took place at Yashodhara Ashram in British Columbia, Canada on the beautiful Kootenay Lake during my 10-day Yoga Retreat the end of July.     

 

Interview with Swami Samayananda

 

 

Candess: What motivated you to become involved with the Ashram?

 

Swami Samayananda: In the late '70s I was in a PhD program in Transpersonal Psychology in California at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and it was one of the first of its kind anywhere in North America.

 

And it was in the first half of the year I was there I met Swami Radha. She came as a teacher in the course and she was teaching one of the workshops she had created called Life Seals. She had been very supportive of the whole transpersonal movement because she thought it was a way that women could come into the work, which was very dominated by men, the whole psychological field [was dominated by men]. And also she thought it was the women who would bring a more feminine approach into psychology and also open it up more to the spiritual. She really supported the whole transpersonal institute that was started there.

 

She agreed. She offered to come to teach and she did many of the first years that the school was there. That's how I initially. . . a door opened, I met her and then I left California, my life went on in other directions and then I moved back to California. Six months after I moved back she opened her first center of her teachings, her first one in the states, 20 minutes from where I was living. And so, I spent a lot of time with her in workshops she offered and with her during the mid 80's. To have a teacher who was so, well, first of all she was female and that was wonderful, for me, but also to have a teacher who lived what she said. There was no discrepancy between who she was and how she lived her life and how she taught and what she offered. I always had a sense there was so much more behind her, as a person. I was always curious what that was. What was it that she knew? Why did she think the way she thought? It was always a drawing power for me.

 

Kootenay Lake

 

So, It wasn't until 1987 I came to the Ashram itself. I was living in California and I was with her. Then it was in '87 I came for the first time for our 3-month yoga development course. That was the first time I had taken it. So even then I was going back. I came and took the course and I went back to my job and back to my life in California. And over time in my life there has been a lot of back and forth, living at the centers that are connected with the Ashram and teaching there, directing there, but always coming back and returning here. A couple of years ago I said I just want to be here, so that is what I did.

 

Candess: That is great. It is beautiful here. Where is it that she first started? What was her first center?

 

Swami Samayananda: She immigrated to Canada in '54 or a couple of years earlier, not exactly sure, but it was around that time from Germany. She had a visionary experience, which took her to India and to her training time with Sivananda, Swami Sivananda Rishikesh. And then he sent her back to the west. So she came back in '56. A very different . . . she was 44 years old and she was a professional dancer and she was an immigrant and so she was doing any kind of work she could find to pay her rent. She left everything again which she had also done in Germany, and went to India.

 

She just wanted to stay there. He [Swami Sivananda] sent her back. He said no, there is a lot that you can offer to Westerners. In '56 she came back. She only had 6 months with him and she said literally she'd only in that six months had 12 hours with him. Just with him. She came back. Her first center of work was in Montreal. Eventually she moved out west. The temperature and everything was much more conducive for her and she started the first Ashram in North America in Burnaby, right outside of Vancouver and eventually moved to this location here in the interior of BC, the Yashodhara Ashram.  

 

Candess: The more I hear about her the more grateful I am that we have a Radha House Yoga Center in Spokane. So, being a Swami, What does it mean to be a Swami?

 

Swami Samayananda: There is sannyasan tradition. Sannyasan means becoming a Swami, living the life of a renunciant basically, in many countries of Asia. In the West it's a whole lot less of a familiar choice in living a life. So what it really means is dedicating. I'll talk personally. It means dedicating my life to the teachings that we offer here at the Ashram, which are Swami Radha's teachings. So being of service to the people who come here, whether its teaching, whether its making special arrangements for people, listening to people, whatever it is, it really is making a commitment to a life of service, and doing the work that needs to be done.  

 

So the renunciation part is renouncing those things that I might personally want to do. What comes first is being of service and my commitment to the Divine, or to the Light or to whatever name we give that part of us that transcends the normal everyday life that we live. So it is really based a lot on surrender and learning what surrender means, which is very different than saying yes to anything that comes along and everything that comes along. It certainly is discrimination but it also is really learning what surrender is all about. What does it mean to let go of things that I am really attached to? Whether it is my ideas, whether it is physical things, or whatever. Freedom. There is a tremendous freedom that comes from a life of renunciation. I really recommend it.

 

Candess: I am doing the 10-day yoga course here now and I am just delighted. I can see how you and the other teachers have been so patient with us. (Swami Samayanda laughs) What is it like for you living in a spiritual community? How has your life changed?

 

Swami Samayananda: Well it's interesting because in a community like what we have here, it is a constant learning. The people that come together at any point and time wouldn't necessarily be people I might go out and choose and say, oh, could I live with you or could we live together. That is part of the surrender, trying to understand, why has this particular group of people come together at this time and how do we support each other. That means not just the nice, friendly, supportive times, but it means how do I remain honest with myself and with the people that I live with.  

 

There is a small group of us that are living here permanently. We have our own class every week and it is a reflection class and we talk about what we are going through and what we are thinking and we talk about things that come up among us. It stays very open and flexible and honest among ourselves, because if that doesn't happen with the core, it's not going to happen in the whole community.

 

 

One of the things I find very vibrant about this community is we have people here at times ranging in ages. Recently we had a 3 year old up to someone who is 87. It is very intergenerational in that way. So we all have an opportunity. In society things are so segmented. Here we all have an opportunity to learn to live together, to work together, and to eat our meals together. It really is an integrative way of learning. So for me it is very exciting.

 

Swami Radananda who is our spiritual director, who is Swami Radha's successor, is very much like Swami Radha in that she truly knows that life is a flow, that life is change. We have all kinds of scientific facts now telling us that life is not what it appears to be. There are waves, there are changes, there are vibrations, and there is all of this happening all the time.  

 

So, we are more and more putting ourselves in that flow asking, what do we need to be looking at? What do we need to be asking? What are the next steps in the future? We are in a big process right now, looking ahead to the next 10 or 15 years, and the fact that many of us in the core group are in our 60s and one is 70, and one is 82. Here we are now. We can't keep doing what we have been doing forever. The next generation, how do we bring them in which is in the process of happening? What are we going to do as we get older. I find it very, very exciting and it also takes some getting used to. In the outside world, at least in my life was trying to find the stability where things didn't change so much. Here we are constantly moving and changing.

 

Candess: When I hear you talk, it sounds like what's happening is that you are keeping the truth of what Swami Radha had in terms of living out what she taught, to truly keep living it and not have a separation.

 

Swami Samayananda: Yes, and no matter what the changes are that happen, there is that very solid core that cannot change, because that is what an Ashram is. It is the center of one teacher's teachings and we are all committed to that. To what she gave us and in our gratitude, that is what we give back. These have to be applied to what is happening in the world. Our focus now is to be carbon neutral by 2013.  

 

We are not cut off from the world. Our sustainability, how do we care for our forests? Our development, Yashodhara Heights, three cabins that we built are all extremely green. We are very much in tune with what is happening with the world and what the concerns are in the world, and bringing them right in to our community, right here. We are always asking. We can go back to her teachings and it is all there. Carbon neutral, it is all there. Sustainability, it is all there. We say, "I am sustained by Divine Light, I am sustained by the teachings." So how do we bring that out then, into the actual physical place we work and to the people who come.

 

 

Candess: That is exciting. The more I hear about this, I am so grateful I am here. My connection with the Spokane Radha House has been mostly through Yoga for Health and Healing and the Dream Yoga. There are a lot of forms of yoga other than the physical. Can you tell me more about yoga?

 

Swami Samayananda: It is interesting in the West, we have taken one yoga practice out of the entire yogic system and we call it yoga. It's basically Hatha Yoga. It's working with the body. It is mainstream. When you say the word yoga, everybody thinks of a studio and doing postures and that kind of thing. Yoga, actually if you look at the original sutras, the yoga sutras by Patanjali; asanas are a very tiny, tiny, part of the yogic system. Their original intent is to prepare the body to be still for meditation and other yogic practices. I see that changing in the West, where a lot of people were just interested in the physical part of it. More and more I hear people say, I know there is more. What more is there? There has got to be more to this. There are probably about 39 kinds of yoga, of which Hatha is just one. What Swami Radha brought back were several that we work with here.

 

 

 

We work with Dream Yoga, which is the interpretation, learning to interpret our own dream messages. We work with Kundalini Yogawhich is the study of, really of how we use energy, how we express ourselves, the choices we make and how that comes out in our speech, in our behavior, in our thoughts. We also work with the Yoga of Light and our primary way of doing that is through the standing practice of doing the Divine Light Invocation. We focus on Mantra Yoga, which is the yoga of chanting, sound, vibration. We work with Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is the basis actually of our Ashram which is the yoga of action. Work is service. It is different than just volunteering. We actually do the yoga and ask ourselves what we are learning from it. What is the work teaching us? It is not just doing the work, getting the work done itself, its what we are learning in that process.

 

 

 

Candess: When you are talking about that, some of the yogas like the Divine Light Invocation is one of the tools I have been using here and there are so many tools. It has been incredible. What is one of your favorite tools?

 

Swami Samayananda: For me, one of my favorites is Mantra. I have had a mantra practice since early 1980s. I also do my practice with a harmonium, which I like. There is that whole practice of having an instrument. I tend to be restless by nature so it gives my hands something to do. Also, singing has been a big part of my life. To be able to channel all of that into the mantra and to have a practice like that that doesn't get old, it just keeps getting deeper and deeper and it feels to me like a dear friend. It is where I go each day and it offers me tremendous support.

 

 

 

Candess: I love the Satsang. The chanting and the mantra is so beautiful. I have a book coming out in January that is called 12 Weeks to Self-Healing: The Gift of Pain. What way would you say that one of the Yoga practices would be helpful in self-healing?

 

Swami Samayananda: Swami Radha wrote a book called The Yoga of Healing. In it, there are several chapters. Some I remember are working with the Light. It is a small book and at the end of each chapter it has four practices you can do. The first one is on the Light and the Divine Light Invocationis one practice. There is also a section on breath. We know that connection with breath and our own healing and when we get anxious, the breath shortens, shortens, and shortens. That is not healthy for the body. Working with breath is healthy and calming for the body. Also, Hatha Yoga, especially when it I approached from more than the physical. What is my body saying to me as I am going into the pose and doing the pose. Mantra, absolutely for sure. Especially the Hari Om mantra is a healing mantra. Using mantra is healing as well. Relaxation is very healing. Those are a few.

 

Candess: That is great! One of the reasons I came here is to rest. I had been pushing myself too hard. We had a whole day on learning to rest. I learned so many tools that I would not have known before. It's been very helpful.

 

 

 

If someone wanted to go on retreat here, what would be the best way for them to find out about the programs?

 

Swami Samayananda: The best way would be to go to our website and just take a look at what we offer. There is a whole range from weekend workshops to 3 day retreats, 4 day retreats, 10 day retreats like you are on now, to our 3 month Yoga Development Course. There is just about something for everybody. Our basic retreats really introduce people to the practices we offer here, Swami Radha's teachings. There are some specific ones, like we have one coming up called the Inner Life of Asanas which is a way of going deeper with the Hatha Yoga practice. We had one this summer not too long ago called Facing Change, Exploring Options, so there are lots of different ways for people to come and be here. People can also come on private retreat and join with us for a couple hours in Karma Yoga so they feel connected in the community. The rest of the times, they can enjoy the prayer rooms. It is beautiful as you said. The trails, the lake, the Temple, the library are all available for people when they are here.

 

Candess: I went to the Temple the other night and I could just feel Swami Radha there. I thought, this must be her favorite place.

 

Swami Samayananda: - It is.

 

Candess: It was so clear to me. It was so beautiful there.

 

Swami Samayananda: She said when she died, that is where she would go.

 

Candess: I have another guide that I work with and I was connecting with this guide, but Swami Radha was right there, so I thought OKAY!

 

 

 

Is there anything else that would be helpful for people to know about being a Swami or your life path or being here at the Ashram.

 

Swami Samayananda: I think one thing that is important for people to know about coming here is it is a time of renewing, learning some practices, some tools as you said to take away. There is no dogma in yoga. There is not doctrine. It is not a religion. I think it is really important. We are an Ashram; it is a spiritual community, so we have people who come who are Buddhist, who are Christian, who practice in the Jewish faith, Muslims, and people who have no particular tradition that they follow but are open to that spiritual dimension and they just want to take a step further. I think that is often a relief.

 

When people come, we do have imagery around. Imagery and symbolism whether we know it or not is very important to us. We live it anyway and symbols are there simply as a symbol that is reflecting some in ourselves so sometimes for some people, and part because of our Christian Judaic background in the West, images can be a little off-putting; but they are so beautiful and the have so much to say to us if we open them up and take them apart. I think the biggest thing is it is a beautiful place to be, to heal, to renew, to gain perspective and then take what is meaningful back out; bridge it back out to your life, back home, family, friends, work, whatever. Often people will come back and get a little bit more and take it back, back and forth. That is what I did for years.

 

 

 

Candess: That is wonderful! It took me probably to day eight until I started feeling myself again, so it was such a wonderful place to renew and relax. Thank you so much.

 

Swami Samayananda: Namaste 

 

 

 

Bless your heart,

 

Chakras are energy centers in the body within our subtle bodies. The word chakra means “wheel” in Sanskrit. The chakras appear to function as energy transformers, taking the higher level of energy in our subtle body and bringing it into a lower level of energy, which is then translated into hormonal, physiologic, and cellular changes throughout the body. To visualize the chakra you can imagine a small circle of energy the size of your fist. I liken the chakras to small computers within your body filled with valuable information. The Hindu system recognizes numerous chakras or energy centers, but I usually work with the seven main ones located along the spine. I have been intuitively reading the information in chakras for about 12 years now. More recently, an eighth chakra is appearing to me where I read karmic information.

The information I am supplying here is from the writings of Anodea Judith, Caroline Myss, Paul Pearsall and my many years of studying and learning about chakras. References for Judith and Myss are at the end of this article.

Chakra Four

• Element: Air
• Color: Green
• Purpose: Love and balance
• Orientation: Self-acceptance, acceptance of others

The fourth chakra is associated with the Heart nerve plexus, which governs the circulatory system and the thymus in the endocrine system. The information contained in the fourth chakra relates to love, self-love, love of others, love of God, affinity, loneliness and commitment, forgiveness and compassion, hope, and trust.

Signs of Deficiency in the fourth Chakra

• Being cold and withdrawn
• Being critical and judgmental
• Feeling isolated and lonely
• Depression
• Fear of intimacy, relationships problems
• Lacking empathy
• Narcissism

Signs of Excess in the fourth Chakra

• Codependency (focusing on others rather than self)
• Having poor boundaries
• Being demanding of others
• Clinging to others
• Being jealous of others
• Behaving as a martyr

Emotional issues related to the fourth chakra from Myss

• Mood swings
• Vacillating between loving and hating
• Grief and anger
• Self-centered behavior
• Loneliness
• Problems with commitment
• Inability to trust and forgive

Health issues related to the fourth chakra from Myss

• Heart disease
• Lung cancer
• Bronchial pneumonia
• Sunken chest
• Shortness of breath
• Asthma and allergies
• Breast cancer
• Issues of the shoulders, upper back and chest
• Immune system deficiency
• Problems with circulation

Several years ago when dating I met a man who shared with me that he’d had four heart surgeries. Four heart surgeries! This man was in his forties! Well, being the mental health and energy therapist I am, I talked with him about the fourth chakra. I asked him what was happening with him in relationship that would have resulted in his heart’s being “broken” four times. He denied any issues in this area, but gave me a book that the last woman he dated had given him. The book was The Heart’s Code by Paul Pearsall. The inside book jacket describes the book as “a fascinating synthesis of ancient wisdom, modern medicine, scientific research, and personal experience that proves that the human heart, not the brain, holds the secrets that link body, mind, and spirit.” I looked at the book and was delighted to have found it. We decided not to continue dating, but the book was quite a gift.

When in relationships, we often have a difficult time being and staying in the heart. It seems getting stuck in being right becomes more important than learning to listen and just hear the other person.  Years ago I was more argumentative and I loved to debate and challenge ideas. Today, I prefer to ask questions that take the person deeper into what they are saying and I get to explore what is like to see the world from their perspective. This does not mean I see the world the same way, or even that I agree, but when I am open in my heart and can listen, I get to expand my own world of possibilities.

We all enjoy being heard and seen when we feel safe. Intimate relationships are immensely satisfying when you have a partner who can hear and be a witness to your view of life. This Valentine’s Day, begin to share at a deeper heart level. Listen to your lover and ask for time that is uninterrupted to share about yourself as well.

Here are some tools that bring love and balance to the body. Do these this month with your loved one or with a good friend whom you love. 

GROUNDING

Practice the 12 minute grounding exercise in my CD, Chakra Clearing or do the following:

Sit and image a grounding cord going down from the base of your spine into the center of the earth, as recommended by Flora (1993, p. 24) in Chakras: Key to Spiritual Opening. This grounding cord can be like a waterfall, a tree trunk, or a beam of light. Sense the grounding cord going down all the way through the earth to the fiery center of Mother Earth. Release energy down your grounding cord. Start at the top of your head; release energy down your neck and down the channels on either side of your spine, all the way down your grounding cord to the center of the Earth. Take a deep breath and continue to release energy, keeping this grounding cord attached near the base of your spine and the center of the earth. With practice, you will begin to stay grounded.

BREATHING

Breathing is an important part of loving your body and loving others. You may remember when you were holding a child and just breathing together. Focusing on your own breath and focusing on breathing with another person are wonderful ways to feel the life energy and the love in your heart. Deep breathing allows us to connect more deeply with our angels. Sit across from your lover and hold hands, close your eyes and breath together.

GRATITUDE

The practice of gratitude brings balance to the heart chakra. A great weekly practice, (maybe on Monday to start the week off right) is to write out twenty things for which you are grateful. You may find the same items coming up, but as you practice this exercise, you will find that your gratitude grows. I especially like this practice when I find myself feeling grumpy for no known reason. After writing my gratitude list, I always feel better. This is especially fun to do with children and grandchildren. It is a practice they will remember as they grow.  This month, share your gratitude list with your lover and listen to theirs.

RELATIONSHIPS

The heart chakra is about relationships. Relationships are always in a process of merging and separating. You may want to physically shift your body in movements of giving out and taking in. The Sun Salutation is a great exercise for this. You can Google Sun Salutation to learn more, as several websites show this yoga movement.

JOURNALING

Journaling is especially helpful for this chakra. You can develop a relationship with yourself through the journal process. Here are some ways to use your journal. For this month of February in addition to the ideas listed here, write a love letter to your loved one only in your journal. In the sacredness of your journal where you are the only audience, you can say the deepest truths to your lover.

1. Write a Dear God/Goddess letter, a letter expressing to God/Goddess from your heart.
2. Write a gratitude list.
3. Write an anger letter. Use this as a way to vent and then let go. “I am so angry at . . .” Once this is expressed, your heart opens to receive love.
4. When you find you are stuck, make a “To Do” list and then reward yourself by checking off what you accomplish with stickers or colored pens.
5. Write a list of pros and cons when you have difficulty making a decision.
6. Write out your dreams. The book I love is Realities of the Dreaming Mind by Sivanan Swami Radha (2004).
7. Write a prayer list. This can include prayers for yourself and for others.
8. When you are reading a novel or self-help book, make notes in your journal when something moves you or awakens your senses, or when there is a “charge” connected to what you read. A “charge” is felt when you have a reaction, positive or negative. It may show up as resistance. Keeping notes from books gives you the ability to return to your journal and remember what was important to you.
9. Write poetry or prose.
10. Take a personal inventory. Write out what you did well today and what you did not do well.
11. Write out your priorities – the endeavors that are important for you to accomplish. Star the priorities that renew you and make you happy!
12. Write what you love about yourself and what you love about your loved ones and friends!
13. If you are in a marriage or an intimate relationship, you may want to get one journal and have each person write to the other in this journal. For example, in the morning the husband would write a message to his wife. Then in the afternoon, she would write a journal entry to him. Occasionally, the two can sit down and read the journal together. This practice is especially bonding in the beginning of a relationship, when communication tends to flow more easily. The goal is to allow this pattern of communication to continue when issues arise and it is important to keep the lines of communication open.

COUNSELING

Many of us can benefit from the help of a counselor. Whether you have difficulty making and keeping friends, have unresolved grief, or have memories of childhood experiences that arise and create problems in your daily life, finding a counselor can help. There are many modalities of therapy, and it is important to find the one that is best for you. For those who have experienced trauma (which is most of us), I recommend Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming (EMDR). My experience with clients when using EMDR is that the technique allows them to clear trauma much more quickly than does “talk therapy.”

DISCOVERY

Although Discovery is not Recovery, finding and reading appropriate books can help heal this chakra. Many books have exercises that help you learn and anchor the new behaviors. One of my favorites is The Artist’s Way, listed below.

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• Cameron, Julia. (1992). The Artist’s Way: A spiritual path to higher creativity. New York: Penguin Putnam Publishing.
• Flora, Mary Ellen. (1993). Chakras: Key to Spiritual Opening. Everett, WA: CDM Publications.
• Judith, Anodea. (1996). Eastern body, Western mind: Psychology and the chakra system as a path to the self. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.
• Myss, Caroline. (1996). Anatomy of the Spirit. New York: Three Rivers Press.
• Pearsall, Paul. (1998). The Heart’s Code: Tapping the wisdom and power of our heart energy. New York: Broadway Books.