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The Art & Science of Raja Yoga

14-Week Immersion into the principles of yoga

Usually offered once or twice a year—stay tuned for the next immersion

Discover how meditation,  pranayama (breathwork), yoga postures and yogic lifestyle practices can give you strength and confidence to navigate life’s challenges and find deeper meaning.

One of our most popular offerings, Raja Yoga is a comprehensive course on the ancient science of Yoga as taught by Paramhansa Yogananda. The course is rooted in practical application of yogic teachings and building a personal practice to transform one’s life inside out.

Each class will begin with 45 mins of guided practice that will include gentle yoga, meditation and other techniques for stilling the breath and the mind. Students will also learn the energization exercises as taught by Yogananda for developing willpower and control of life force. The practice of these exercises aids in going deeper in meditation and developing a daily habit of it.

This course serves as a foundation and a pre-requisite for advanced meditation lessons leading upto Kriya yoga (a sacred meditation technique brought to the west by Yogananda)

Class outline:
6pm Guided Sadhana (Yoga postures, energization, meditation)
7:15pm Potluck dinner
8pm Lecture, discussion and Q&A

Swami Kriyananda’s book The Art and Science of Raja Yoga will be provided for free with course registration.

Students who have completed this course before are welcome to audit the class free of cost. Contact one of our staff to register as an auditor.

Please contact us if you are in need of financial assistance.

Fee $495 for new students
$445 for those who have completed lessons in meditation with Ananda

 

Instructors

Featured
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Nayaswami Shanti

Nayaswami Shanti is a lifelong devotee and is now a co spiritual director here at Ananda Palo Alto. She teaches, counsels and still maintains a practice of medicine through her coaching practice of “Transformational Medicine.” Her talks are rich with stories from her life as a physician and her many years on the path. With her warmth and wisdom, she is a much-loved counselor and teacher. Shanti’s talks online.

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Saiganesh Sairaman

Saiganesh is an Ananda minister and one of the co-managers of Ananda Palo Alto. He is a deeply thoughtful, clear speaker, and connects easily with people. He has a passion for sharing the teachings of Kriya yoga and meditation. A world citizen, he grew up in a traditional Hindu family in India and was trained as an Indian Classical musician. He is a former tech manager in the silicon valley, and applies his tech acumen to many Ananda projects.

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Brahmacharini Lakshmi

Lakshmi is an Ananda minister and one of the co-managers of Ananda Palo Alto. She also serves as an English teacher and a mediator at a local high school, dedicated to merging mindfulness and academics in a professional setting. She is a thoughtful and delightfully engaging teacher at Ananda, as well. Lakshmi serves Ananda Palo Alto in many ways, with a rare gift for organizing major projects with ease.

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James Noh-Kuhn

James Noh-Kuhn is a former senior executive with a San Francisco based coffee company. His calm, cheery management style in a fast-paced environment is born of many years of yoga and meditation practice. He directed the yoga program at Ananda Santa Rosa in 2003. In the corporate world, he was often asked how he remained so calm. He joyfully answered by sharing Ananda's breathing and meditation practices. He brings years of management and strategic planning experience to the Sangha staff.

 
““It seems that all questions that life presents to us can be solved using these teachings. The course helped me look at habits I have built up over time that keep me stuck, and gave me tools to get free.”
—L. Williams

“Anyone on a spiritual journey needs the fantastic tools offered in this class. I am walking away with a more in-depth understanding, awareness, and overall feeling of joy and inner peace — everything I need to continue my path.”
—C. Wilkerson

“The teachers individually and together are wonderful, experienced and caring people. They create a community where the energy is clear and high.”
—S. M.

“This is a fun class with like-minded people. The content was excellent and made me want to learn more. Great teachers, great energy—and great food.”
—A. Manolov”
 
 

Raja Yoga teachings come from ancient India, passed from teacher to disciple. Swami Kriyananda (right), author of the text we will be using, received his training from Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogananda was guided by Babaji to share these teachings in the West.

This spiritual lineage