Lineage & Inspiration

Our practice and teachings are from the lineage of one of the worlds’ ancient Goddess traditions, Shri Vidya, or Knowledge of the Supreme, which recognizes nature as an expression of Spirit. This lineage and essential teachings of yoga focus on Direct Experience of the True Nature of Reality, and have been passed down orally from teacher to student since ancient Vedic times by such great masters as Vasishta Maharshi, Sage Agastya and his consort Lopamudra, Adi Shankaracharya and many other awakened souls.

Shri Ramana Maharshi

sri_ramana_maharshi_-_portrait_-_g-_g_welling_-_1948Shri Ramana Maharshi is one of the greatest spiritual teachers and Masters of our time.  Considered as a Jnana Yogi, His teachings focus on the One Supreme Truth of Being; non-duality or Advaita Vedanta.  He taught that we must simply abide in our True Self; our natural state, and that this could be achieved through the direct path of Self-Inquiry.  At the young age of 16, Shri Ramana Maharshi had a life-changing ‘near death’ experience whereby He experienced the Absolute Self. Leaving his family, Shri Ramana left for the sacred Hill of Arunachala where He spent the remainder of His life.  While most of His time was spent in deep meditation in the caves of Arunachala, Shri Ramana eventually gave teachings and darshan, although He considered silence to be the most powerful form of transmission.

Although Shri Ramana Maharshi wrote few formal works Himself, His disciples recorded many of His talks & teachings and transcribed them into a plethora of literary resources. It was Shri Ramana Maharshi who prophesized the birth of Shri Amma Karunamayi as Divine Mother, as Amma’s birth mother, Shri Annapurnamma was a devout discipline of the great Maharshi.

Learn more about His teachings on the official website at www.sriramanamaharshi.org

Amma Shri Karunamayi

amma_bandw Amma Shri Karunamayi is revered as the embodiment of Divine Mother. Outpouring compassion and grace on all sentient and non-sentient beings, sharing the sacred knowledge of the Supreme Self; Shri Vidya, and helping all beings everywhere to live in peace and happiness is Amma Shri Karunamayi’s mission. “Amma”, or Mother, as she is affectionately called by Her devotees, is a living saint, humanitarian, peace leader & spiritual teacher worldwide.  There are many stories of Amma’s Divine nature, and spending over 11 yrs in severe tapas in the Vedic forests of South India, Amma meditated on behalf of all beings and the entire cosmos to alleviate suffering and foster our True Nature of ever-abiding peace.

She works selflessly and tirelessly to help all beings through Her charitable projects, Her teachings, and Her Divine Love. Embodying the highest of Realization, we are endlessly grateful to have Her Holiness as our Guru and spend many months with Her in India in deep meditation and Yoga tapas.

Learn More about Amma on Her official website: www.karunamayi.org

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

sivananda One of the greatest Yoga masters of the 20th century, Swami Sivananda, is the inspiration behind the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. The teachings of Master Sivananda are summarized in these six words: Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize.

Born in 1887 in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, South India, Swami Sivananda whose name was then Kuppuswami, was a brilliant boy at studying as well as gymnastics and naturally inclined toward spiritual and religious practices. His parents were very devoted to Lord Siva and Kuppuswami was eager to join them in daily worship. His natural selfless spirit lead him to a career in the medical field. His amazing eagerness and ability to learn and assimilate his studies earned him the respect of his professors who invited him to attend surgeries while still in his first year of medical school.

The young Dr. Kuppuswami felt a strong urge to go to Malaysia where he felt there was great need. In a short time he was given the responsibility of running a hospital. During these years Dr. Kuppuswami was renowned as being both an excellent doctor and a true humanitarian. Very often he waived consultation fees for patients too poor to afford his services and on many occasions provided medicine for free to his neediest patients.

One day Dr. Kuppuswami had the opportunity to cure a wandering Sannyasin (renunciate or Monk) who then gave the doctor instruction on Yoga and Vedanta. From that day on his life changed. Gradually, Dr. Kuppuswami became more introspective— pondering the great questions of life. He felt the need to help people on a more profound level, not just healing their physical body, but helping them to find a cure for all suffering.

Filled with a tremendous desire for spiritual growth and enlightenment Kuppuswami went to North India in search of his Guru. After spending time in Varanasi and the Himalayas, he found his Guru in holy town of Rishikesh. His Guru gave him Sannyas (a monk’s vows of renunciation). After taking these vows, Swami Sivananda Saraswati, as he would be known henceforth, started an extremely intense daily Sadhana (spiritual practices) and Tapas (austerities) for the next 10 years or so. By the end of that period many co-Sadhus felt drawn to Swami Sivananda for his instruction and his spiritual inspiration.

In 1957, Swami sivananda sent his devoted and industrious disciple, Swami Vishnudevananda to the West where he then established the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.

Read more on his Holiness remarkable teachings at www.sivananda.org

Lily Goncalves

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Being guided by her India Satguru, Her Holiness Amma Sri Karunamayi, Lily’s deep & profound inner journey has allowed her to synthesize the knowledge gained from her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology & Energy Healing Training, with the deep revelations born from her intensive meditation & yogic practices.  Lily’s yearning for yoga has brought her to seek out its True Essence; it’s essential nature of being and the timeless wisdom that embodies these sacred teachings.  While integrating this knowledge or vidya to offer a holistic approach that addresses the modern world, Lily focuses on Yoga as living; our awakened state, our True Self.

Along with her love for the mystic poets, dance, art, music, & sacred pilgrimages throughout India and Asia, Lily shares the multiple ways that our divine nature expresses itself both through the teachings & in our daily lives. Lily’s special interest lies in Meditation, Advaita Vedanta, Mantra & Tantra, Bhakti Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. Over the last 16 years she has been influenced by many great traditions & practitioners; which include teachings from the Hatha, Vinyasa, Power, Yin & Restorative approaches to yoga asana, as well as the chakra & self-inquiry approaches to spiritual awakening.  She has fully dedicated herself to her spiritual journey and currently spends extensive time in retreat every year in remote forest ashrams in India, practicing silent meditation and serving those in need. Yoga with Lily aspires to ignite our awakening from within and guide us to live from a place of truth, compassion, & peace.

Read more about Lily and her teachings at www.blooming-lotus-yoga.com

Ramananda Mayi

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Ramananda inspires the awakening of the spiritual heart through the wisdom traditions of Yoga, Tantra and Vedanta.  A natural born mystic, vedic priest, astrologer and ayurvedic medicinal healer he facilitates yoga teacher trainings, vedic sacred arts workshops and discourses regularly in spiritual retreat centers around the world.  Revealing the importance of Self-Awareness as a means to reconnect humanity to its roots as compassionate caretakers of Mother Nature, his silent presence emanates the love and insight of one surrendered into the Grace of Existence.  From the lineage of one of the worlds’ ancient Goddess traditions, Shri Vidya, which recognizes nature as an expression of Spirit, he humbly offers spiritual guidance to all sincerely seeking liberation.

His teachings originate from the Vedas and the oral tradition of the enlightened saints of India which he received from his gurus and extensive pilgrimages throughout Asia. His extensive knowledge of the mystery teachings of the Vedas and Tantras coupled with his expertise in ceremony, ritual, Sanskrit chanting, mudras and mandalas opens the gateways into the unseen worlds that connect our world with that of the Spiritual realms.  The sacred ceremonies he facilitates are an invitation into the dimensions of higher awareness where all may receive guidance, purification, and revelation. Bridging the gap between the wisdom of the ancient sages with the modern age, Ramananda is an advocate of selfless service, devotion, meditation and contemplation as a means of promoting world peace.  Empowering each individual to unfold their spiritual potential and embody the essence of truth through their compassionate presence is his life’s work.

Read more about Ramananda Mayi and the teachings at www.blooming-lotus-yoga.com