Are You Open to the Possibilities? by Bob Nogue, SVA Board Member

I was initially drawn to Svaroopa^® yoga by noticing the profound impact that it had on my wife, Rudrani.  My feeling was, “There’s something good going on here”.  I have participated through the years in numerous Master Yoga and Svaroopa Vidya Ashram events, and have had profound breakthroughs in understanding myself and in learning about seeking the Self.  Mostly the yoga has had the impact of causing me to pause and notice what was happening in my life.  Throughout that period I have been in awe of the ability of Swami to articulate very complex concepts of ancient wisdom in a way that they spoke to me and had relevance in my life and to use all the modalities of yoga to do this.

When the call came from Swami to join the founding Board of Svaroopa Vidya Ashram came, I felt a need to take this journey.  I came to understand the depth of experience and commitment that Swami brings to putting programs and organizations together, and was in awe as I came to understand better the workings of both Master Yoga and Svaroopa Vidya Ashram.  As the Board journey commenced, I found Swami to be a person not satisfied with the status quo but seeing greater possibilities for both of these organizations.  At our Board meetings, we would be presented ideas for consideration and I have to say that my first reaction was often one of, “Why are we doing this?  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Through a process of moving my own feelings to the side to allow the new ideas an opportunity to germinate and the flow of grace, I have been able to see so many of these ideas flourish into something better than what I had seen as a possibility.

The most recent changes to consolidate Master Yoga and Svaroopa Vidya Ashram evoked some of the same reactions from me.  I have had the opportunity to see and hear the intention of this change and believe that it is important that this be communicated to the broader Master Yoga and Svaroopa Vidya Ashram communities.  I know how jarring changes of this magnitude can feel to people.  I also acknowledge that this change hits some people in a place that raises concern about their livelihood.

My invitation to you is to become involved in this change, speaking up about what is going right for you and what you are concerned about.  My request of you is to become involved, with an open mind, where you are prepared to put your existing beliefs and ideas to the side and truly hear the intention of what is meant to happen here; to be open to new possibilities it may present, while having faith that it is not meant to detract from anything that you have today.

My experience has been that when I have gotten myself out of the way, I have seen wonderful new possibilities arise that I did not even see initially.  My only explanation is that this is the power of Grace brought to me through Swami.  Are you open to these possibilities?

OM svaroopa svasvabhava.h namo nama.h