Hybrid Meditation I : Learning the Basics with Paul Emerson, Ph.D. on Tuesdays: February 15 – March 22, 2022
2022-02-15 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
Hybrid Meditation I : Learning the Basics
with Paul Emerson, Ph.D.
After you register for this class, you will receive the zoom link the day before the class begins.
If you would like to retake Meditation I at half the cost please email us at info@themeditatationcenter.org.

Hybrid Class on Tuesdays: February 15 – March 22, 2022
An In-Person Option and a Zoom Option Are Being Offered
Instructor: Paul Emerson, Ph.D.
6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $75.00

Section 1: (live at the Meditation Center, can zoom when you can’t make it): 12 max
Section 2 (zoom only): 12 max
Register here
This class introduces the student to the basics of meditation in the Himalayan Tradition. Relaxation techniques, pranayama (yogic breath), ideal sitting postures, and the use of mantra will be taught to help the student focus the mind and relax the body. Beginning Raja yoga philosophy is also included in this class. Treat yourself to the many benefits of a regular meditation practice.
TMC policy for those entering the building or participating in outdoor ceremonies will be requesting all to practice non-violence – being fully vaccinated and wearing a mask w/social distancing. Staff and volunteers will not be asking for vaccine certification cards as trust of community will be sufficient. All are welcome.

To further protect the community, an Iso-Aire purification movable unit has been purchased to use in all rooms of TMC where people gather. These units have pre-filter, hospital quality HEPA filters, and a bi-polar ionization unit to remove pollen to pathogens

Full Moon Meditation on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 from 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
2022-02-16 21:00 - 22:00
Full Moon Meditation
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Swami Ritavan invites you to join us for a group meditation starting at 9 o’clock in the evening. Meditate wherever you are at that time.

Swami Ritavan Bharati has said, “The full moon meditations are an opportunity for us to come together in connecting with the universal mind-field bringing unity, harmony, peace, and love. Go into your silence; exhale-release, inhale-accept, forgive and fulfill, with purified heart and mind receive the blessings of the Lineage.”

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: Valentine Week Kirtan, “A Celebration of the Ancient Traveler...Love” with Chris Young - February 17, 2022
2022-02-17 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – February 17, 2022
Valentine Week Kirtan…
“A Celebration of the Ancient Traveler…Love”
with Chris Young
To receive the zoom link for this event, please subscribe to The Meditation Center’s e-newsletter on the home page of this website.

7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Kirtan with Chris Young
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Join us for an evening of kirtan and chanting with Chris Young to celebrate Love, the ancient traveler.

Join Chris in this kirtan, it being an opportunity, a vehicle, to receive an experience of Beauty; a time to drop the worry and the hurry, set aside the intellect, and simply be… with people who are beautiful, in a setting that is beautiful, and with beautiful music.

“Kirtan is a spiritual practice that originated in India centuries ago. The word “kirtan” means singing, chanting, and praising the Divine. It is a sacred practice anyone can do; no special training is required. The music does the work for you, carrying you to a state of tremendous joy and mental clarity…

…But the most important instrument in kirtan is the voice,’There is a sacredness in everyone’s voice. It is like hearing your own soul’, shares Milwaukee-based kirtan wallah Ragani. who leads one of the largest ongoing monthly kirtan events in North America. Your voice comes from within; it is uniquely yours. Unlike an instrument which acts on you, emanating from the outside in, the voice acts internally, emanating from the inside out. When you sing kirtan, you can literally feel the sound resonating inside you. ‘massaging’ your inner organs with sacred mantras…”

(Kirtan! Chanting as a Spiritual Path. pages 7 and 9)

Date Change! Valentine Week's Meditative Walk in Nature with Swami Radha Bharati and Nikki Strong Ph.D. - February 19, 2022
2022-02-19 12:00 - 15:00
Valentine Week’s Meditative Walk in Nature
with Swami Radha Bharati and Nikki Strong Ph.D.
Saturday, February 19, 2022 (12:00 PM CST)
Revisiting the Mississippi.. Returning to Wakpa Tanka
Stories, History, Meditation, Contemplation… A Walk in the Woods…Connecting with Nature…

Details:
When: Saturday, February 19, 2022 (12:00 PM CST)
Where: Meet-up at the Fort Snelling Parking Lot (Historic Ft. Snelling, 200 Tower Ave., St. Paul, MN 55111)
What to Bring: WARM CLOTHES. Boots for hiking in snow.
Provided: a special pre-hike Valentines treat

No Charge.. This is a Free public event… ALL WELCOME…
Registration not required but appreciated! RSVP here.

Event led by….
Swami Ma Radha and Nikki Strong

Join us for stories, history, meditation, contemplation… a walk in the woods…connecting with Nature..
We will be revisiting Wakpa Tanka (Haha Wakpa… the Mississippi River) returning to Wita Tanka … from the river banks above, near Fort Snelling. This is sacred Native American ground. Let us walk gently here and contemplate what that means. Let us recall the tale of Dred Scott… his time living here… what his tale teaches us in our modern day. Let us explore tales of romance…. connected to this ground… and enjoy each others company in quite thoughtful wonderings through the beautiful wintery woods of this special place…

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: ""Introduction of the New Practice and New Mantras" with Emilio Bettaglio - February 24, 2022
2022-02-24 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – February 24, 2022
“Introduction of the New Practice and New Mantras”
with Emilio Bettaglio
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk by Emilio Bettaglio
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers
To receive the zoom link for this event, please subscribe to The Meditation Center’s e-newsletter on the home page of this website.
New practice and new mantras will be introduced as we transition from Saumya mantra to Ganesha mantra practice.
Ganesha Gayatri

Tat-puruśāya vidmahe
Vakratundāya dhimahi
Tan no danti pracodayāt

We meditate upon the purusha of That (Brahman)
The one with the crooked trunk;
May he inspire and impel our buddhi.

Translation by Stoma

Gam Ganapataye Namaha

Gam, salutations to the Lord of Ganas (categories)

To support the work of The Meditation Center and register you can donate here (suggested donation $15.00) for Thursday Satsang or make a general donation by clicking on the “donate” button on the “Support TMC” website page.

Date Change - New Monthly "Bhagavad Gita" Study Group via Zoom with Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
2022-02-26 10:00 - 11:30
Date Change – New Monthly “Bhagavad Gita” Study Group via Zoom
with Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
We will be meeting February 26, 2022 rather than March 5, 2022, because of a scheduling conflict.
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Donation: $15.00/session
Register here
for February 26, 2022

We are studying Chapter 2, “The Way of Self-Knowledge,”
for the February 26th meeting. This meeting date has been changed.

You can join any time and use any “Gita” commentary.

The “Bhagavad Gita” is one of the great spiritual books of the world and a core source of Yoga Philosophy. In essence, it is a spiritual discourse given by Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, to his disciple, the great warrior Arjuna, on the threshold of a vast war in which both would soon be involved. The teachings of the “Gita” are as meaningful today as they were thousands of years ago.

In this study group, in successive monthly sessions, we will slowly walk through the “Gita” from the beginning, discussing each of the verses. This will not be a lecture, but rather a study and discussion group. Although the leaders will officiate and offer brief talks now and then, all of the study group members will read and discuss the verses. Participants will share perspectives from their favorite translations of the verses and commentaries, and this will broaden our understanding of the “Gita.”

Because one of the leaders is a Yoga Alliance Continuing Yoga Education Provider (YACEP), you may count each hour of your participation in this study group as a “Contact” hour of continuing yoga education.

Leaders: Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
Sandra Uyterhoeven is an experienced yoga teacher, yoga therapist and loves the Bhagavad Gita. She is an initiate in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition. Sandra is experienced at leading study groups in yoga philosophy.

Randall Krause is an initiate of the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition and a senior mentor and teacher in the Tradition. He is registered with Yoga Alliance (YA) as an Experienced Yoga Teacher and a Continuing Yoga Education Provider (YACEP).

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: “Ahimsa and Shaucha...The Two Sided Coin" with Pandit Tejomaya - March 3, 2022
2022-03-03 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – March 3, 2022
“Ahimsa and Shaucha: The Two Sided Coin”
with Pandit Tejomaya
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
To receive the zoom link for this event, please subscribe to The Meditation Center’s e-newsletter on the home page of this website.
7:00 p.m.: Meditation guided by Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk by Pandit Tejomaya
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers
Pandit Tejomaya will begin the evening with a short reference to Shivaratri, which falls on March 1st, and will read Shankaracharya’s “Shivohum. ” His talk will follow.
Hidden among the numberless blessings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is the transformative interplay between the Yamas and the Niyamas. With the first, we systematically empty ourselves of all our habits which are not helpful on the spiritual path; with the second, we intentionally fill ourselves with the qualities that are conducive to spiritual growth. Either limb without the other is incomplete.

This symbiotic relationship, and the underlying brilliance of Patanjali’s system, is beautifully exemplified in the relationship between Ahimsa and Shaucha. Each is a sacred practice unto itself with breathtaking potential, and yet neither practice can be fully realized without the other.

Pandit Tejomaya was initiated in the Himalayan Tradition by Swami Veda in 2008. He was initiated as a Pandit by Pandit Dabral, and received the name Tejomaya in 2012. He took the vows of a Vanaprastha, or Forest Dweller, in January of 2017.

Pandit Tejomaya resides on Gabriola Island in the Salish Sea of Canada’s British Columbia where he lives a life of sadhana and devotion.

Cancelled Because of Date Change - New Monthly "Bhagavad Gita" Study Group via Zoom with Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause Begins on Saturday, February 5, 2022
2022-03-05 10:00 - 23:30
Cancelled New Monthly “Bhagavad Gita” Study Group via Zoom
with Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Donation: $15.00/session
This class will meet the 1st Saturday of every month.
The “Bhagavad Gita” is one of the great spiritual books of the world and a core source of Yoga Philosophy. In essence, it is a spiritual discourse given by Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, to his disciple, the great warrior Arjuna, on the threshold of a vast war in which both would soon be involved. The teachings of the “Gita” are as meaningful today as they were thousands of years ago.

In this study group, in successive monthly sessions, we will slowly walk through the “Gita” from the beginning, discussing each of the verses. This will not be a lecture, but rather a study and discussion group. Although the leaders will officiate and offer brief talks now and then, all of the study group members will read and discuss the verses. Participants will share perspectives from their favorite translations of the verses and commentaries, and this will broaden our understanding of the “Gita.”

Because one of the leaders is a Yoga Alliance Continuing Yoga Education Provider (YACEP), you may count each hour of your participation in this study group as a “Contact” hour of continuing yoga education.

Leaders: Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
Sandra Uyterhoeven is an experienced yoga teacher, yoga therapist and loves the Bhagavad Gita. She is an initiate in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition. Sandra is experienced at leading study groups in yoga philosophy.

Randall Krause is an initiate of the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition and a senior mentor and teacher in the Tradition. He is registered with Yoga Alliance (YA) as an Experienced Yoga Teacher and a Continuing Yoga Education Provider (YACEP).

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: Panel Discussion with Members of the TMC Spiritual Committee - March 3, 2022
2022-03-10 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – March 10, 2022

“Everything You Wanted To Know About Meditation (And Its Practice),
But Were Afraid to Ask” with Members of the TMC Spiritual Committee – Part 3

Swami Radha Bharati, Lori Beron, Emilio Bettaglio, Paul Emerson, Kay (Shanta) Gendron, Jim Nelson, Stephen (Stoma) Parker, and Michael Smith
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
To receive the zoom link for this event, please subscribe to The Meditation Center’s e-newsletter on the home page of this website.

7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Panel Discussion by the Spiritual Committee
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Overview of Presentation

New to meditation, an old sage or somewhere in between, join a panel of senior teachers for a lively discussion and on the problems and promises of keeping a meditation practice. How does one keep meditation “fresh”? Why aren’t I “enlightened” yet? What are the tricks for keeping a regular meditation time? Am I making progress? Why don’t I see pretty lights? Or what do I do if I do see pretty lights? These and other questions brought by the gathering will be answered.

New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom with Chris Young - March 11, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
2022-03-11 19:00 - 20:00
New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom
with Chris Young

Friday, March 11 , 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. CST
We will meet every other Friday to recite the new mantra together.

Our new AHYMSIN Sangha Mantra will be the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra.

ॐ तत्-पुरुषाय विद्महे
वक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि ।
तन्नो दन्ती प्रचोदयात्॥

Om tat-puruṣāya vidmahe
Vakratuṇḍāya dhīmahi ।
Tanno dantī pracodayāt ॥

For those that would like to practice together the japa of the new mantra, which was announced by Emilio Bettaglio during Thursday Satsang on February 24th, we will meet every other Friday with Chris Young via Zoom. Chris will guide us in the recitation of 3 malas of the new mantra.

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: "Yoga, Sound and Devotion" with Chris Young - March 10, 2022
2022-03-17 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – March 10, 2022
“Yoga, Sound, and Devotion” with Chris Young
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
To receive the zoom link for this event, please subscribe to The Meditation Center’s e-newsletter on the home page of this website.
7:00-7:30 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk by Chris Young
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Join Chris in this talk, it being an opportunity, a vehicle, to receive an experience of Beauty; a time to drop the worry and the hurry, set aside the intellect, and simply be… with people who are beautiful, in a setting that is beautiful, and with a beautiful discussion about yoga, sound, and devotion and their relatedness.

Chris was initiated into the Himalayan Yoga Tradition in 2005, but has been connected with The Tradition in some way since birth, with his parents being early members and faculty of The Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Chris occasionally leads Kirtan at the Meditation Center’s Thursday satsang, and helps with some IT aspects of the HYT Teacher Training Program. Chris finds the thread of yoga and meditation that has been taught through the Tradition and it’s teachers, and cultivated through practice, to always keep him returning to his heart’s path – the path of Yoga – and he is grateful to be a part of the local and global communities that are working to further the mission of The Himalayan Yoga Tradition. He is the father of two amazing boys, he enjoys singing and playing music, and is ready to help with your ocular asanas through eye-roll-inducing dad jokes.

Saturday Morning Hybrid Drop-In Gentle Hatha Yoga Class with Nicole Roberts - Occurs Weekly
2022-03-19 09:30 - 11:00, 2022-04-02 09:30 - 11:00, 2022-04-23 09:30 - 11:00
Saturday Morning Hybrid Drop-In
Gentle Hatha Yoga Class with Nicole Roberts
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. CDT
Fee: $12.00

Section 1: In-Person

Register Here for In-Person Option

Section 2: Via Zoom

Register here for Zoom Option

These classes are for all levels. Instructors excel at leading the class in relaxation, gentle asana (yoga positions) and pranayama (breath). Relieve stress, achy joints, improve balance at all levels and increase your sense of well-being.

Nicole Roberts is the current resident and caretaker at The Meditation Center. Nicole has been guiding hatha yoga since 2010 and is 250-RYT certified with Yoga Alliance. She trained in the Jivamukti yoga lineage and the Himalayan Tradition yoga meditation lineage. Nicole was initiated in 2016 in the Himalayan Tradition. Nicole is part of our DEI team teaching outreach hatha classes. Nicole has guided the gentle hatha class on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: "Landscape Techniques for Water Conservation" with Fred Rozumalski - March 24, 2022
2022-03-24 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – March 24, 2021
“Landscape Techniques for Water Conservation”
with Fred Rozumalski, Landscape Architect, Ecologist, and Horticulturist
7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk by Fred Rozumalski
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

To support the work of The Meditation Center and register you can donate here (suggested donation $15.00) for Thursday Satsang or make a general donation by clicking on the “donate” button on the “Support TMC” website page.

2021 was a drought year in MN which followed 2020, one of the wettest years on record. Gardeners will increasingly be required to address these extremes as the climate continues to change. In this talk Fred will present landscape techniques to address drought tolerance and water conservation along with his favorite drought tolerant plants. It is time to prepare for whatever nature will throw at us this summer.
Join us for this important talk on the conservation and preservation of water for our gardens and beloved landscape spaces on this planet earth, in preparation for future extreme weather fluctuations like we have been encountering these past years.
Fred’s garden was showcased in the May/June 2020 issue of “Northern Gardener.”

Read here the article “Sustainably Scenic “about Fred’s gardening techniques.

New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom with Chris Young - March 25, 2022
2022-03-25 19:00 - 20:00
New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom
with Chris Young

Friday, March 25 , 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT

We will meet every other Friday to recite the mantra together.

For those that would like to practice together the japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra, we will meet every other Friday with Chris Young via Zoom. Chris will guide us in the recitation of 3 malas of the new mantra.

Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī Mantra Recitation by Swami Veda Bharati (108 times) can be heard here.

If you would like to learn proper recitation of the Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī Mantra and the Mother Gāyatrī prayer, Pandit Priyadarsana (Pierre Lefebvre) has shared word-by-word slow recitations, which can be heard here.

March 2022 Virtual Silence Weekend Retreat with Swami Radha Bharati, Emilio Bettaglio, and Daya Seeley
2022-03-25 19:00 - 21:00
March 2022 Virtual Silence Weekend Retreat
with Swami Radha Bharati, Emilio Bettaglio, and Daya Seeley
March 25-27, 2022
Cost: $60.00
Register here.
Hatha Yoga Sessions, Contemplative Walks,
Breathing/Pranayama, Subtle Body Practices, and Meditations

A revised silence weekend retreat schedule is coming.

“Sprinkle silence out the windows of your eyes, of your senses, out of your heart and through your words. Convey your inner peace, stillness and emotional equilibrium. See how this silence “speaks” to other minds at that deep level. Silence impacts the psyche as no spoken word can.”
-Swami Veda Bharati-

“Only those who have learnt to merge their speech into the sea of silence
have found the fount of wisdom.
Immerse yourself in that sea.”

-Swami Veda Bharati-
(Silence Light Beyond Mind, page 160)
_____________________________

Swami Ma Radha Bharati took her vows of Sanyasa in 2007 from Swami Veda Bharati. She earned an M.A. Degree and further formal studies in Comparative Philosophy at the University of Hawaii and an M.A. in Public Policy at the University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Policy. Swami Ma Radha has been a disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas since 1971, and has been serving as Academic Director of Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama in Rishikesh, India, for the past ten years.

Emilio Bettaglio was initiated into the Himalayan Yoga Tradition in 1971 by then Pandit Usharbudh Arya, and has been a regular practitioner since. He has received instruction on Pranayama practices from various teachers in the tradition over the years and most recently from Pandit Dabral. In 2019, Emilio took Vanaprastha vows and is currently a member of the Meditation Center’s Spiritual Committee.

Daya Seeley has been teaching Hatha Yoga classes since 2002. In late 2000, Daya found yoga/meditation courses offered through the Community Education programs in her town. Soon after, Daya collaborated with her yoga teacher in teaching small classes in a space that had been the local funeral home. This was before it was required to have a yoga certification. Daya went on to study yoga with a popular fitness-center-based teacher training program that required 11 levels of courses. She took them all, but wanted more. In 2002, Daya discovered the Institute of the Himalayan Tradition and was taught classical Hatha Yoga by Ma Devi, Swami Jaidev, and Maynard Speece. In 2007, Daya was initiated. This milestone was followed by a trip to India in 2009. In 2010, Daya entered a year-long Meditation Teaching Certification course through IHT. Since then she has been teaching yoga and meditation classes in the traditional way and has taught hatha yoga in silence retreats for both IHT and The Meditation Center. Daya continues her education through seminars and classes from fabulous teachers within the Himalayan Tradition Yoga community.

Postponed Until April 3rd - Sunday Book Club/Satsang via Zoom: with Swami Radha Bharati, Michael Smith, and Jim Nelson "The Art of Joyful Living" by Swami Rama from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
2022-03-27 10:00 - 11:30
Postponed until April 3rd – Sunday Book Club/Satsang via Zoom
with Swami Radha Bharati, Michael Smith, and Jim Nelson
“The Art of Joyful Living” by Swami Rama
from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Swami Radha, Shanta, Jim, and Michael will continue the study of spiritual topics in 2022 The book chosen for the Book Club is “The Art of Joyful Living.”

Thursday Satsang In Person and via Zoom: "The Promises and Disappointments of Utopia: new ways to use your Vril staff" with Paul Emerson Ph.D. - March 31, 2022
2022-03-31 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang In Person and Via Zoom – March 31, 2022

“The Promises and Disappointments of Utopia: new ways to use your Vril staff”
with Paul Emerson Ph.D.
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. CDT

7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk with Paul Emerson, Ph.D.
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Join Paul in person or via Zoom on Thursday, March 31, 2022

Certainly the war in the Ukraine and the threat of nuclear annihilation leads one to consider other types of social organization. To this end a variety of Utopian ideas have been proposed over the last several thousand years and some have actually been tried out to varying degrees of success. I’d like to consider some of these ideas and experiences to see if there is any commonality or lessons to be learned particularly from those which didn’t quite work out as planned. If nothing else they make for some interesting stories.

Paul Emerson is a biomedical engineer with a Ph.D. He is the authority on the physiology of breathing for The Meditation Center and has been teaching yoga for over 30 years. Paul has worked as a research scientist, has been a manager of clinical research with a major biomedical company and a university instructor. In addition, he holds eight patents in the areas of dialysis and sleep therapy. he is a scholar of ancient yoga texts. Paul was certified by the Rockford School of Yoga and began teaching in 1975.

Monthly "Bhagavad Gita" Study Group via Zoom with Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause - April 2, 2022
2022-04-02 10:00 - 23:30
Monthly “Bhagavad Gita” Study Group via Zoom
with Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
April 2, 2022
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Donation: $15.00/session
This class will meet the 1st Saturday of every month.
Register here.
The “Bhagavad Gita” is one of the great spiritual books of the world and a core source of Yoga Philosophy. In essence, it is a spiritual discourse given by Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, to his disciple, the great warrior Arjuna, on the threshold of a vast war in which both would soon be involved. The teachings of the “Gita” are as meaningful today as they were thousands of years ago.

In this study group, in successive monthly sessions, we will slowly walk through the “Gita” from the beginning, discussing each of the verses. This will not be a lecture, but rather a study and discussion group. Although the leaders will officiate and offer brief talks now and then, all of the study group members will read and discuss the verses. Participants will share perspectives from their favorite translations of the verses and commentaries, and this will broaden our understanding of the “Gita.”

Because one of the leaders is a Yoga Alliance Continuing Yoga Education Provider (YACEP), you may count each hour of your participation in this study group as a “Contact” hour of continuing yoga education.

Leaders: Sandra Uyterhoeven and Randall Krause
Sandra Uyterhoeven is an experienced yoga teacher, yoga therapist and loves the Bhagavad Gita. She is an initiate in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition. Sandra is experienced at leading study groups in yoga philosophy.

Randall Krause is an initiate of the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Tradition and a senior mentor and teacher in the Tradition. He is registered with Yoga Alliance (YA) as an Experienced Yoga Teacher and a Continuing Yoga Education Provider (YACEP).

Sunday Book Club/Satsang via Zoom: with Swami Radha Bharati, Michael Smith, and Jim Nelson, "The Art of Joyful Living" by Swami Rama from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
2022-04-03 10:00 - 11:30
Sunday Book Club/Satsang via Zoom
with Swami Radha Bharati, Michael Smith, and Jim Nelson,
“The Art of Joyful Living” by Swami Rama
from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Swami Radha, Jim, and Michael will continue the study of spiritual topics in 2022 The book chosen for the Book Club is “The Art of Joyful Living.”

IN-PERSON MEDITATION I : LEARNING THE BASICS WITH AARON MEANS, PSY.D. Sundays, April 3 – May 8, 2022
2022-04-03 16:30 - 18:00
IN-PERSON MEDITATION I : LEARNING THE BASICS
WITH AARON MEANS, PSY.D.
If you would like to retake Meditation I at half the cost please email us at info@themeditatationcenter.org.
Dates of Series: Sundays, April 3 – May 8, 2022
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 6:oop.m.
Instructor : Aaron Means, Psy.D.
Fee: $75.00
Register here.
12 spaces available
This class introduces the student to the basics of meditation in the Himalayan Tradition. Relaxation techniques, pranayama (yogic breath), ideal sitting postures, and the use of mantra will be taught to help the student focus the mind and relax the body. Beginning Raja yoga philosophy is also included in this class. Treat yourself to the many benefits of a regular meditation practice.
Aaron Means began practicing yoga in 1994 while in college to ease his own afflictions at the time. Soon thereafter he studied and practiced yoga and meditation while living at The Meditation Center and other associated Himalayan Yoga Tradition institutions in the US and India. Aaron completed his first yoga teacher training through the HImalayan Institute Teachers’ Assoc. in 1997, and started a RYT training program in 2019. He has periodically taught yoga and meditation in the community throughout the years, as well as at The Meditation Center. Aaron (Arunadeva) has been a student and initiate of Swami Veda Bharati since 1997. His teaching style is reflective of what he has learned under his spiritual preceptor (Swami Veda), as well as studies of psychology, compassion, and mindfulness.

Aaron earned a doctorate in clinical psychology (PsyD) in 2015, and has been a practicing licensed psychologist in the Twin Cities since 2016. He is married with two children and enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, playing tennis, and strategy board games.

TMC policy for those entering the building or participating in outdoor ceremonies will be requesting all to practice non-violence – being fully vaccinated and practicing social distancing. Staff and volunteers will not be asking for vaccine certification cards as trust of community will be sufficient. All are welcome.

To further protect the community, an Iso-Aire purification movable unit has been purchased to use in all rooms of TMC where people gather. These units have pre-filter, hospital quality HEPA filters, and a bi-polar ionization unit to remove pollen to pathogens

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: "The Meaning of Passover" with Daniel Hertz - April 7, 2022
2022-04-07 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – April 7, 2022
“The Meaning of Passover” with Daniel Hertz
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

7:00 p.m.: Meditation guided by Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk by Daniel Hertz
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Description: There will be a short presentation on the meaning of the Passover holiday in the Jewish Tradition. A connection will be made to how this ancient holiday observance relates to the practice of meditation. After this brief introduction we will read through a version of a Haggadah. The Haggadah is a storybook that guides the Passover Seder.

Bio: Daniel Hertz (MS, BCB, E-RYT 500) is on the faculty of The Meditation Center. He is the author of the memoir Everything Is A Little Bit Alright: yoga, meditaiton, and a dog named Roy. For more information on the book, here is the Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Little-Bit-Alright-Meditation/dp/1951651294/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

To support the work of The Meditation Center and register you can donate here (suggested donation $15.00) for Thursday Satsang or make a general donation by clicking on the “donate” button on the “Support TMC” website page.
Or donate through PayPal.

New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom with Chris Young - Friday, April 8 , 2022, Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
2022-04-08 19:00
New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom
with Chris Young
Friday, April 8 , 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
We will meet every other Friday to recite the mantra together.
For those that would like to practice together the japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra, we will meet every other Friday with Chris Young via Zoom. Chris will guide us in the recitation of 3 malas of the new mantra.

Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī Mantra Recitation by Swami Veda Bharati (108 times) can be heard here.

If you would like to learn proper recitation of the Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī Mantra and the Mother Gāyatrī prayer, Pandit Priyadarsana (Pierre Lefebvre) has shared word-by-word slow recitations, which can be heard here.

Chris Young was initiated into the Himalayan Yoga Tradition in 2005, but has been connected with The Tradition in some way since birth, with his parents being early members and faculty of The Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Chris occasionally leads Kirtan at the Meditation Center’s Thursday satsang, and helps with some IT aspects of the HYT Teacher Training Program. Chris finds the thread of yoga and meditation that has been taught through the Tradition and its teachers, and cultivated through practice, to always keep him returning to his heart’s path – the path of Yoga – and he is grateful to be a part of the local and global communities that are working to further the mission of The Himalayan Yoga Tradition. He is the father of two amazing boys, he enjoys singing and playing music, and is ready to help with your ocular asanas through eye-roll-inducing dad jokes.

Saturday Morning Hybrid Drop-In Gentle Hatha Yoga Class with Nicole Roberts - Occurs Weekly
2022-04-09 09:30 - 11:00
Saturday Morning Hybrid Drop-In – April 9, 2022
Gentle Hatha Yoga Class with Nicole Roberts
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. CDT
Fee: $12.00

Section 1: In-Person

Register Here for In-Person Option

Section 2: Via Zoom

Register here for Zoom Option

These classes are for all levels. Instructors excel at leading the class in relaxation, gentle asana (yoga positions) and pranayama (breath). Relieve stress, achy joints, improve balance at all levels and increase your sense of well-being.

Nicole Roberts is the current resident and caretaker at The Meditation Center. Nicole has been guiding hatha yoga since 2010 and is 250-RYT certified with Yoga Alliance. She trained in the Jivamukti yoga lineage and the Himalayan Tradition yoga meditation lineage. Nicole was initiated in 2016 in the Himalayan Tradition. Nicole is part of our DEI team teaching outreach hatha classes. Nicole has guided the gentle hatha class on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: An Evening with Stephen (Stoma) Parker, Psy.D. E-RYT 500 - April 14, 2022
2022-04-14 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – April 14, 2022

An Evening with Stephen (Stoma) Parker, Psy.D. E-RYT 500
“The Word, language, love, and surrender”
7:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M.

7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Stephen Parker Psy.D., E-RYT 500
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Talk by Stephen Parker Psy.D., E-RYT 500
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Join Stoma on Thursday as he talks the “Word”, language, love, and surrender.
Dr. Stephen Parker was initiated in the Himalayan Yoga tradition by Swami Veda Bharati and was given the initiate name Stoma in 1971. Among the first teachers certified by the Himalayan International Teachers’ Association, H.I.T.A., he began teaching hatha yoga in 1974. During that time he also studied Sanskrit with Swami Veda and South Asian languages and culture for his B.A. at the University of Minnesota.

Stoma is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level of the Yoga Alliance (E-RYT 500). A member of the International Association of Y.T., he serves on the faculties of the Meditation Center in Minneapolis and the Sadhaka Grama ashram in Rishikesh, India. He is also a senior faculty member of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition Teachers’ Training Program. He has lectured on yoga, meditation, yoga psychology, and spiritual practice in the U.S. and Canada as well as in Caribbean countries, Holland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, South Africa, Korea, Hong Kong, and India. In 2004 he helped originate and teach the first course on yoga in an American medical school at the University of Minnesota Academic Medical Center. In 2007 he received preliminary vows of renunciation from Swami Veda and the Shankaracharya of Karvirapitha.

Stoma has been a licensed psychologist in private practice in St. Paul, MN since 1985. He also serves as Adjunct Assistant School Professor of Counseling and Psychological Services at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN. He teaches on the faculty of the Introductory Workshops of the Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis. In addition to authoring journal articles and book chapters, Dr. Parker edited volume two of Swami Veda’s definitive scholarly work on the “Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali” and he has been a peer review editor for the “Journal of Men’s Studies,” the “American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,” the I”nternational Journal of Yoga T. and Yoga Mimamsa.” He is also the author of “Clearing the Path, The Yoga Way to a Clear and Pleasant Mind: Yoga, Neuroscience and Emotion” (2017) published by AHYMSA publishers.

Meditation II Hybrid Class - Superconscious Meditation Tuesdays: April 19 – May 24, 2022, 6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.
2022-04-19 18:30 - 20:00
Meditation II Hybrid Class – Superconscious Meditation
Tuesdays: April 19 – May 24, 2022

Instructors: Lori Beron and Paul Emerson, Ph.D.
6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.
Section 1: (live at the Meditation Center, can zoom when you can’t make it)
Section 2 (zoom only)
Register here.
Meditation II focuses on powerful and practical yoga practices that quiet and focus the mind; decreasing our emotional reactivity which often creates stress and pain in our relationships. Students will also receive 8 free CD’s or MP3’s of Swami Veda’s penetrating and inspiring lectures on yoga psychology and philosophy. These audios create an interactive atmosphere for discussion of questions and insights generated by the lectures.
Lori Beron is an initiate and certified teacher through the Himalayan Yoga Tradition as well as a Certified Holistic Nurse, she has an MA in Holistic Health Studies and is employed as an RN on a surgical oncology unit at the University of Minnesota Health.

Lori took a 3-year Vanaprastha Vow from Swami Veda Bharati during the 2013 Sangha Gathering. (Vanaprastha-a stage in life where one lessens worldly attachments.)

Paul Emerson is a biomedical engineer with a Ph.D. He is the authority on the physiology of breathing for The Meditation Center and has been teaching yoga for over 30 years. Paul has worked as a research scientist, has been a manager of clinical research with a major biomedical company and a university instructor. In addition, he holds eight patents in the areas of dialysis and sleep therapy. he is a scholar of ancient yoga texts. Paul was certified by the Rockford School of Yoga and began teaching in 1975.

After you sign-up for the class on the The Meditation Center’s website, a Zoom registration link (to join the meeting) will be sent to you the day before the first class begins.

TMC policy for those entering the building or participating in outdoor ceremonies will be requesting all to practice non-violence – being fully vaccinated and social distancing. Staff and volunteers will not be asking for vaccine certification cards as trust of community will be sufficient. All are welcome.

To further protect the community, an Iso-Aire purification movable unit has been purchased to use in all rooms of TMC where people gather. These units have pre-filter, hospital quality HEPA filters, and a bi-polar ionization unit to remove pollen to pathogens

Thursday Satsang via Zoom: Kirtan with Chris Young - April 21, 2022
2022-04-21 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang via Zoom – April 21, 2022
Kirtan with Chris Young
7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Kirtan with Chris Young
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

Join us for an evening of kirtan and chanting with Chris Young to celebrate Love, the ancient traveler.
Join Chris in this kirtan, it being an opportunity, a vehicle, to receive an experience of Beauty; a time to drop the worry and the hurry, set aside the intellect, and simply be… with people who are beautiful, in a setting that is beautiful, and with beautiful music.

“Kirtan is a spiritual practice that originated in India centuries ago. The word “kirtan” means singing, chanting, and praising the Divine. It is a sacred practice anyone can do; no special training is required. The music does the work for you, carrying you to a state of tremendous joy and mental clarity…

…But the most important instrument in kirtan is the voice,’There is a sacredness in everyone’s voice. It is like hearing your own soul’, shares Milwaukee-based kirtan wallah Ragani. who leads one of the largest ongoing monthly kirtan events in North America. Your voice comes from within; it is uniquely yours. Unlike an instrument which acts on you, emanating from the outside in, the voice acts internally, emanating from the inside out. When you sing kirtan, you can literally feel the sound resonating inside you. ‘massaging’ your inner organs with sacred mantras…”

(Kirtan! Chanting as a Spiritual Path. pages 7 and 9)

Chris Young was initiated into the Himalayan Yoga Tradition in 2005, but has been connected with The Tradition in some way since birth, with his parents being early members and faculty of The Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Chris occasionally leads Kirtan at the Meditation Center’s Thursday satsang, and helps with some IT aspects of the HYT Teacher Training Program. Chris finds the thread of yoga and meditation that has been taught through the Tradition and its teachers, and cultivated through practice, to always keep him returning to his heart’s path – the path of Yoga – and he is grateful to be a part of the local and global communities that are working to further the mission of The Himalayan Yoga Tradition. He is the father of two amazing boys, he enjoys singing and playing music, and is ready to help with your ocular asanas through eye-roll-inducing dad jokes.
To support the work of The Meditation Center and register you can donate here (suggested donation $15.00) for Thursday Satsang or make a general donation by clicking on the “donate” button on the “Support TMC” website page.

New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom with Chris Young - Friday, April 22 , 2022, Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
2022-04-22 19:00
New AHYMSIN Community Mantra Japa Practice via Zoom
with Chris Young
Friday, April 22 , 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
We will meet every other Friday to recite the mantra together.
For those that would like to practice together the japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra, we will meet every other Friday with Chris Young via Zoom. Chris will guide us in the recitation of 3 malas of the new mantra.

Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī Mantra Recitation by Swami Veda Bharati (108 times) can be heard here.

If you would like to learn proper recitation of the Gaṇeśa Gāyatrī Mantra and the Mother Gāyatrī prayer, Pandit Priyadarsana (Pierre Lefebvre) has shared word-by-word slow recitations, which can be heard here.

Chris Young was initiated into the Himalayan Yoga Tradition in 2005, but has been connected with The Tradition in some way since birth, with his parents being early members and faculty of The Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Chris occasionally leads Kirtan at the Meditation Center’s Thursday satsang, and helps with some IT aspects of the HYT Teacher Training Program. Chris finds the thread of yoga and meditation that has been taught through the Tradition and its teachers, and cultivated through practice, to always keep him returning to his heart’s path – the path of Yoga – and he is grateful to be a part of the local and global communities that are working to further the mission of The Himalayan Yoga Tradition. He is the father of two amazing boys, he enjoys singing and playing music, and is ready to help with your ocular asanas through eye-roll-inducing dad jokes.

Thursday Satsang Via Zoom: Lecture by Ashutosh Sharma on Hatha Yoga, Breath-Awareness, and a Loving Attitude towards Oneself in our Yoga Practice and Our Life - April 28, 2022
2022-04-28 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday Satsang Via Zoom – April 28, 2022

Lecture by Ashutosh Sharma on Hatha Yoga, Breath-Awareness,
and a Loving Attitude towards Oneself in our Yoga Practice and Our Life.
Introduction by Michael Smith
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. CDT

7:00 p.m.: Meditation with Swami Radha Bharati
7:30-8:30 p.m.: A Video with Ashutosh Sharma,
Introduction by Michael Smith
8:30 p.m.: Evening Prayers

…Ashutosh talks about his early training in a very strict, intense school of Hatha and his wonderment when he came to Swami Veda and found that none of his earlier training applied, and how he had to unlearn all the things that he was so confident about. Swami Veda taught him that by comparing himself with others and forcing the body into advanced poses, the entire purpose of Yoga, which is balance, harmony, peacefulness, and joy, is defeated.
There are sections in this talk where Ashutosh talks about certain technical aspects of teachings Hatha in the HYT — such as how to sequence asanas as part of a regular integrated Yoga practice, how to work with one’s physical limitations and one’s time constraints, the importance of breath-awareness, postural stability, the necessity to relax effort when doing asanas. But he also talked about certain marvelous things that are part of Prana-vidya Hatha Yoga – such as mindfulness of the subtle body and the after-effects of doing an asana, and how an entire shift of consciousness can occurwhile in centered relaxations in which one goes beyond identification with the body.

Ashutosh’s main theme, however, is about creating an attitude of self-acceptance and self-nurturance in one’s sadhana. And the most beautiful part of his talk is at the end where he talks about how Swami Veda taught him to be a “flower-picking” person rather than a “thorn-picking” person, and about his personal transformation due to Swamiji’s unconditional love.

Excerpt from the Summary of “Hatha Yoga as a Gateway to Meditation” by Ashutosh Sharma, HYT-TTP Seminar: November 7, 2021. The summary was written by Michael Smith.

Pandit Ashutosh Sharma is an expert hatha yoga instructor, who can teach both beginners and advanced students. From an early age, he studied asanas, pranayama, and subtle-body relaxation techniques. In 1992, he met Swami Rama, who sent him to Swami Veda Bharati to learn meditation and to intensify his practices. Since 1996, he has been travelling and teaching worldwide. He serves as a senior Hatha Instructor for the Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program (HYT- TTP) and has trained hundreds of teachers all over the world in the Prana Vidya Hatha Yoga Style of the Himalayan Tradition.

To support the work of The Meditation Center and register you can donate here (suggested donation $15.00) for Thursday Satsang or make a general donation by clicking on the “donate” button on the “Support TMC” website page.

Or donate through PayPal.
