Greetings!

May has arrived, reminding us that 2016 is well on its way and offering each of us renewed vision for our immediate and long-term futures. Be bold as you continue on the path of self-study, defining and understanding on a deep level who you truly are from the inside out. Use all your yoga resources to stay the course, remaining calm and detached in every moment to better define your authenticity with integrity and wisdom.

Param Yoga has wonderful opportunities ahead to support your practice, starting with a FREE Kriya Introduction on Friday May 13th. You’ll gain an overview of the ancient art of Kriya Meditation as taught by a lineage of realized Masters that is as important and vital today as it was a thousand years ago. If you are drawn to Kriya, then you are invited to come to the two-day workshop that follows on Saturday and Sunday to learn the user-friendly techniques of meditation that are life-changing. I highly recommend this technique to enhance your current spiritual, religious or intellectual path.

You officially have 9 DAYS left to pre-register for our outstanding Yoga Day 2016! Please take advantage of this money-saving offer now, as you do not want to miss this fantastic celebration of yoga, our community and Living the Dream! Pre-registration gives you the added opportunity to be first in line to reserve your spot for extra services, including: Psychic Palmistry with Professor Sasi, Vedic Astrology with Vimal Sood, Ayurveda Consultation with Cherise Bangs, or Therapeutic/Reiki Massage with Amy Izenberg.

I send my love and blessings to all of the Mothers in our community, young and old, who have given themselves with devotion to lovingly raising their children in ways that will guide this world we share into heightened wisdom, wholeness and peace. I salute you, one and all. Have a blessed and beautiful celebration of you and yours.

In Service,

“On this Mother’s Day, I pray to the Divine Mother to give us hearts that can feel pure love for all living beings so that our lives are comprised of pure love, compassion, and kindness. Let our love for the mother, Mother Earth, and even the entire creation be sincere and our lives be simple and practical, loving nature and all creation. Let this Mother’s Day be a day of gratitude for our earthly mother and motherhood in general.” – Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

Greetings and Salutations!

Well, here we are in the second quarter of 2016. As a community, we continue our commitment to personal growth and expansion. What’s changed for you in the first three months? Anything? Have you been vigilant about asking yourself often, “Who am I?” Has the journey led you inward to where all wisdom and answers reside? Has your awareness changed? Paramahamsa Prajnanananda teaches that discovering who we are is easy, because it is our nature. Staying in the awareness of our true identity is an altogether greater challenge. For the recognition that we are Satchitananda (eternal – conscious – bliss) implies that we are always in a state of ultimate unchanging reality. In “reality,” living this truth continuously, without break, is not so easy. In fact, for most of us it is impossible.

That struggle to embrace constant awareness leads us back in humbleness to the mat. We embrace our lives, breath by breath, with integrity, taking time each day to pray, to meditate and anchor ourselves in the scriptures that make our hearts sing, leaning into our Guru’s presence to hold us up and anchor our lives in a perpetual place of peace, calm and wakefulness. Then the possibility of glimpsing Satchitananda becomes a yearning, a goal toward which the Soul begins to gravitate with more confidence, little by little, day by day. It is your birthright to reach this state of Being-ness, and I for one have complete faith that, if this is what you want, you will absolutely make it so.

May the right of Spring bring you renewal and reinforced commitment to your ongoing expansion into Self-Realization.

Love, Love, Love,

“We are all living sparks of divinity. The one who dives deepest into his Self not only realizes his identity with the Cosmic Spirit, but tastes the sweetness of infinite joy. In the rush and clamor of our conscious life, we do not pay attention to the mystery of our being.” – Paramahamsa Hariharananda

March has arrived filled to the brim with wonderful opportunities here at Param Yoga for your continued exploration into who you are as you advance upon your path. Please check out all the fun and informative events below and be sure to save June 11th to join us for another amazing Yoga Day at Rancho Providencia!

As Spring approaches, it ushers in the promise of renewal, rebirth and rejuvenation. This year, Easter comes early (March 27), because it always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon (March 23) occurring on or after the vernal equinox (March 20). For many of us, Easter offers a time to pause and reflect on the phenomenon of the short life of Jesus Christ and how his teachings continue to impact the whole of humanity. Imagine if you had lived during his lifetime and were able to spend time in his presence – what must that have been like? Would you have recognized this simple man as the Christ? Would you have questioned and/or mocked him? Interesting to consider, even though we shall never know. We do know that the legacy of Christ recognizes Him as a living Avatar who came to assist us humans on earth to learn to live from love and to trust that we are capable of living and behaving as He did. It was His promise that we are capable of even more than he demonstrated in his short 33 years. How many have learned and successfully demonstrated his teachings and advanced to live eternally in peace and love?

Since the time of Christ there have been many realized beings who have graced the earth, perhaps lacking in the remarkable popularity and longevity that Jesus created, but impactful nonetheless. Whether they are avatars or incarnated advanced beings returning to shine Light for us, we cannot truly know. As Yogis, we embrace the idea that the great ones come to teach us how to move into realization in this lifetime, and if we recognize them and pay attention through their immense love, the promise of Christ lives on in all of them.

While each of us, through innate desire and tenacity, has the ability to create our highest good in this world, if we are fortunate to discover a teacher who makes our heart sing, the speed in which your progress accelerates can be remarkable. Here at Param Yoga we are blessed to have the ability to offer training in Kriya Yoga, Yoga Sutras and Sanskrit, all through the auspices and leadership of a fully realized being, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda. If you have the inclination or perhaps simply the curiosity to be exposed to such a soul, please join us and let the obvious love move you.

From my heart to yours I wish you happy springtime, Happy Easter, happy everything!

Love, Love, Love,

“In essence, it can be said that a disciple, through his apprenticeship with the realized master, should try to discipline his extrovert mind and senses and make them more Truth-oriented. Yoga is really a discipline. Undisciplined people cannot enjoy the real beauty of yoga, which is already in them, though they are not aware of it. Those who follow the realized master and his teachings about scriptures, and practice a technique like Kriya Yoga, can really enjoy the constant state of yoga.” – Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

Learn more at www.Kriya.org and www.KriyaLosAngeles.org.

Upon your birth, the world changed. You had an immediate impact in this world and, as subtle as it may be, you continue to have an ongoing impact that is substantial enough to affect your circle of influence and beyond.

If, as Yogis, we know that our thoughts create our reality and we embrace the idea that who we are and what we do has a rippling effect, then how could we ever justify thinking or behaving in any manner that is void of love? After all, we souls yearn for love, to receive love and to give love. In many respects it is the belief in love that soothes us and often protects us from harm’s way. But then, you know this. Yet it is far too easy to forget the responsibility we have to one another to live in harmony, Grace and peace.

February is the month that capitalizes on love. Why not use this time to reinforce your personal objective to live in love, to walk in love, to act in love and to become love with every breath? You be the mirror for others to peer into and see themselves through loving eyes, gestures, and words. You can do it, I can do it, we all can do it…if we try. Make a daily effort and it will be so and the world will, bit by bit, become better, happier, healthier and more beautiful because YOU make a difference. Think love.

Loving you, loving all,

“All of us have the same basic need: to love and be loved. By turning the selfish love we feel toward ourselves and our immediate circle into warmth and compassion for all those who share this earth with us, we will find ourselves released from the self-made prison of our emotions. We will be free at last to love wholly, without fear and without restraint. Through loving others, we love God, and that love returns to us a thousandfold when it is given unselfishly and without ulterior motives.” – Paramahamsa Prajnananadaji

After working at Param Yoga for five years, I shouldn’t be surprised by the extraordinary synchronicities that happen in and around the studio on a regular basis, but I’m still amazed when events come together as if they’ve been orchestrated by design.

Kerry Morris had several close encounters with mountain gorillas on her trip to Uganda.

When Kerry Morris took her dream trip to Uganda and assembled a wonderful slideshow of her adventures to share with our community, students wanted to know how they could get involved with helping the people of Uganda. Kerry had said they needed school supplies, but the cost to ship a box of notebooks and writing implements to Africa was almost as much as the supplies themselves.

One morning in her meditation, Marydale received a message that we needed to send eyeglasses to Uganda. She mentioned this to me and asked me to put it in the January newsletter to let our community know that this would be an ongoing project for 2016.

On my way to the studio one morning in late December, I was contemplating the newsletter and wondering about the logistics involved in sending glasses to Uganda. While waiting at a light, I happened to glance over at an SUV in the lane next to me and saw a decal on its back window featuring a pair of glasses and the words “Eyes on Africa.” You have got to be kidding me!

As soon as I arrived at the studio, I went on the computer and looked up Eyes on Africa. It is a charity that donates eyeglasses to communities in Africa with no access to vision care—and it’s located less than four miles from Param Yoga! I emailed the founder, Sherry Grigsby, and she responded right away to say that she’d love to work with us. In fact, most of her contacts in Africa are in…you guessed it…Uganda.

Sherry Grigsby with a grateful recipient of donated glasses through Eyes on Africa.

We met with Sherry at the studio and learned of her own incredible journey with Eyes on Africa, from spontaneously giving of pair of reading glasses to a lady she met while on a trip to South Africa more than a decade ago to partnering with companies like Diff Eyewear and Y&R apparel, which donate a pair of glasses to Eyes on Africa for each pair sold.

Although Sherry’s focus is on Africa, Marydale’s heart lies with Kriya Yoga and India, so she asked if it would be possible to send eyeglasses to the Prajnana Mission run by Kriya Yoga International in Odisha, India. Within days, Sherry had delivered a box of 279 pairs of glasses prepared for shipment to India.

Given this auspicious beginning to our relationship with Eyes on Africa, we anticipate many interesting developments in the months ahead, starting with a special event at the studio on Friday, February 12th. Our new neighbor, Martina with My Creative Outlet, is having her Grand Opening celebration and Param Yoga will be open from 7:00 – 9:30 pm selling authentic, handmade African arts and crafts to raise funds for Eyes on Africa. There will be an encore presentation of Kerry’s slideshow, a Q&A, entertainment, food and fun. Our next door neighbor, Rhennie Viloria with Go Build Business, will also be open to showcase products and services that assist entrepreneurs on the path to success, so be sure to join us on the 12th to support women in business and promote a worthy cause.

posted by Kirsten K.

It is with great faith and anticipation of all good things that together we step across the threshold of a New Year filled with promise and fulfillment. Through the standards of numerology, 2016 is a (number) nine year signifying completion and the culmination of all that you have put forth in the last eight years. It takes us above and beyond the small-minded, self-centered “I” into the all-encompassing, Universal “I”. For this very reason, it is time to step up into your ability to engage life to its fullest, anchored on a strong practice based on love, prayer and daily meditation.

This year, the focus of our Param Yoga community is to make a concerted effort to truly understand who you are through constant self-inquiry and introspection. This soul searching study, when done with sincere enthusiasm and focus, will reveal to you a depth and breadth of living that is incredibly rewarding. Paramahamsa Prajnanananda encourages all of us to use this inquiry as the foundation for all other spiritual practices that we engage in daily to assist us into recognizing eternal love, peace and great joy.

Through the last five years we, as a community, have studied and implemented the essence of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra to bring yoga to life on all levels. In response to many of you wanting to learn more, we are very excited to offer an in-depth video study with Prajnananadaji every Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM at the studio led by Yogacharya Richard Peterson. This will be an ongoing class offered on a donation basis (recommended donation $7 per week). You are encouraged to join us as often as possible. Reservations are not required.

It is my sincere hope that this year will be filled with Grace for you and yours. It is my joy to be sharing the path with you!

All Love, all the time,

“As sincere seekers of Truth, we should be like a burning lamp and live in light and help others by showing light, thereby kindling the flame of knowledge and love in others.” – Paramahamsa Prajnananada

With the End of 2015 quickly approaching, we are faced with the hustle and bustle of the holidays followed by the inevitable New Year’s resolutions consciously chosen to hasten a happier, healthier life in some way. Tradition, ritual, family, hopes, dreams and wishes are all important to the sanctity of hearth, home and the world at large. However, one must not lose touch with the true purpose of all of the expended energy in these acts of kindness; responsibility and obligation to whom, and for what ultimate goal? Many of us are swept away by the current of society that has set the flow into motion long before our arrival on the earth. It reminds me of the hundredth monkey scenario, which creates the phenomenon of like behavior that soon becomes common among all.

While this month, this season, these holidays offer profound opportunities for love, communion, fellowship and generosity of Spirit, it also invisibly dislodges feelings of aloneness, lack, debt, indulgent behavior, isolation and complete disregard for the true meaning of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza. In truth, each one of these celebrations is drenched in Spiritual beliefs, traditions throughout the world, Love and hopefulness for continued blessings from above.

All wonderful, indeed, but one should not need to be prodded by dates on the calendar to be reminded of Spirit. Remember this: as yogis, we embrace the daily responsibility to stay awake in the beauty, majesty and Presence of Divinity in every breath. We know that our thinking, our behavior and our choices affect the whole in a dynamic way that often goes unseen, and yet still carries profound loving energy to assist in creating balance in all living things, including the planet, now.

While it’s wonderful to draw together to celebrate, to share feasts, gifts and time, remember that you’re living in the light of Love with integrity and generosity. Being awake and available in service at all times outweighs any manmade holiday.

So when and if you are considering a New Year’s resolution or two, be sure to recognize the importance of cultivating your relationship with God, Divinity, Source, Spirit, or however you relate to that which created life, as the foundation, the platform from which everything else in your life flows. Celebrate each day that you wake here with enthusiasm, vigor and determination to live a life drenched in Love…today, every day.

Know that you are loved and honored in my heart. Best wishes to you and yours for a blessed and beautiful a holiday season. I look forward to sharing the path and seeing you on the mat!

All Love, all the time,

“The mind is a good servant but a bad master. Have mastery over your mind and direct it to the right path so that it will always be in contact with the indwelling spirit”. – Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

Some dedicated Param Yogis have continued to participate in our Strike a Pose project by doing yoga in places outside of the studio and sending us the pictures. The latest shows Linda Welles (left) and Michelle Marlow doing tree pose in the Santa Monica Mountains. Keep those pictures coming, yogis!

Our studio blessing ceremony in September 2010.

With a grateful heart, I bow to you, our Param Yoga community! It’s been five years now since we opened the doors to our humble sangha and together we have stretched and grown in every way. Thank you for being such a precious part of our community and may you continue to thrive on your yoga journey.

Together, let us anchor the month of November in gratitude as we recognize our great fortune to be experiencing this beautiful life. We embrace the good with the bad, knowing that it is through trials and tribulations that our greatest expansion takes place. We stand strong in our resolve to do our very best each day and let go, refusing to drag the past along with us. Ever turning inward, where our true wisdom, strength and peace reside, we fortify our evolutionary vision through our faithfulness to God and Gurus.

Celebrate your life and everyone in it through the spirit of continuous thanksgiving for this humble posture, which summons continuous grace and presence. Blessed and grateful for you.

All Love,

“Spiritual experience is not a degree or a diploma. When words and the world disappear, you experience the play of Consciousness everywhere.” — Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

Even though summer is officially over, Param Yoga students have continued to strike a pose and send in pictures of themselves doing yoga in locations away from the studio. These masked yogis are getting in the pre-Halloween spirit at Serrania Park in Woodland Hills.

Standing from left are: Kerry Morris, Cherise Kruger, and Michelle Marlow. In plank pose from left are Linda Welles and Ann LaManna.

We hope that you’ll continue to send us your pictures all through the year, and make sure to smile… “Because we love our yoga!”

posted by Kirsten K.