Karma, Effort, and Grace
Karma, Effort, and Grace
Up to 30 in group
Mar 12 - 14, 2027
Retreat Highlights
- Explore how karma begins and the different forms it takes in individual, national, and global life.
- Examine free will vs. determinism and whether karma can be transcended through willpower or effort.
- Learn practical methods for facing life's challenges and transforming them.
- Discover how prayer, forgiveness, and divine grace work alongside personal effort.
- Join daily Integral Yoga Hatha and meditation classes, Saturday Satsang, and vegetarian meals at the ashram.
About this Retreat
Your Guides
Swami Karunananda has had 50 years’ experience teaching all aspects of Yoga. She designed and conducts teacher training programs in Raja Yoga and in Meditation. She served as president of Satchidananda Ashram in California and in Virginia, and as director of the San Francisco and Santa Barbara Integral Yoga Institutes. She compiled and edited The Lotus Prayer Book and Enlightening Tales as told by Sri Swami Satchidananda. Her book, Awakening: Aspiration to Realization through Integral Yoga, makes the Yoga teachings accessible and provides inspiration and guidance for the spiritual journey.
Swami Karunananda on Integral Yoga Podcast
Hear Swami Karunananda Ma on the Integral Yoga Podcast offering teachings on the breath, meditation, and the path of self-realization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puk8Ab9EhCM&list=PL3mY6wDcxjOsb9J1B2JtpVO95eoPZcwZE&index=31Details of this retreat
The Universe unfolds in an orderly way based on the grand Law of Causation, known as Karma. There is individual karma, national karma, and global karma. The pattern of cause and effect is clear, though sometimes the cause lies hidden in the distant past. Join Swami Karunananda for a weekend exploring the force that shapes our lives and our world.
Exploring karma raises profound spiritual, philosophical, and scientific questions about the nature of the universe and our role within it. Ancient wisdom and modern research both point to effective methods for facing and transforming the challenges that life presents. In this workshop, we will dive deeply into the mystery of this fundamental force as it unfolds in our lives and in the world around us.
What We Will Explore
How does karma begin?
Discerning the different types of karma
Is it possible to transcend karma?
Can we overcome karma through willpower or personal effort?
Free will vs. determinism
Can prayer affect the outcome of a situation?
The power of forgiveness
What is the role of divine grace?
You Will Leave With
An understanding of how karma operates and the different forms it takes
Practical methods for facing life's challenges and transforming them
Insight into how personal effort, prayer, forgiveness, and grace can transform our lives.
Who This Is For
This workshop is open to everyone, from those new to Yoga philosophy to longtime students of the teachings. No prior experience is needed. Tuition includes the ashram's daily Hatha Yoga and meditation classes, Saturday Satsang, and vegetarian meals.
All are welcome.
Continuing Education
Integral Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) can provide a CE certificate with your program's total contact hours for a $10 fee (free for IYTA members). Email ce@iyta.org.
What Past Participants Say
"Swami Karunananda has the ability to make the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali accessible to everyone… She uses her personal stories and analogies, which make her lectures so inspiring." ~Bhakti Cinzia Parma
"Swami Karunananda is incredible. So knowledgeable, down to earth, compassionate, articulate, and funny! She clearly takes the practice seriously but not herself." ~L. Misztal
"Swami Karunananda is so cool! Her brilliance is not only conveying these spiritual principles and practices in such an understandable way, but also the essence she conveys. She uplifts us as she teaches, in a way that is beyond words." ~Montina Sraddha Cole
"She takes the subtle and sublime aspects of the teachings of Raja Yoga and makes it so accessible. Every time she shares a story it is perfectly placed… She is filled with grace, beauty, wisdom, knowledge and love." ~Joni Giconi
View Daily Ashram Schedule →
Exploring karma raises profound spiritual, philosophical, and scientific questions about the nature of the universe and our role within it. Ancient wisdom and modern research both point to effective methods for facing and transforming the challenges that life presents. In this workshop, we will dive deeply into the mystery of this fundamental force as it unfolds in our lives and in the world around us.
What We Will Explore
How does karma begin?
Discerning the different types of karma
Is it possible to transcend karma?
Can we overcome karma through willpower or personal effort?
Free will vs. determinism
Can prayer affect the outcome of a situation?
The power of forgiveness
What is the role of divine grace?
You Will Leave With
An understanding of how karma operates and the different forms it takes
Practical methods for facing life's challenges and transforming them
Insight into how personal effort, prayer, forgiveness, and grace can transform our lives.
Who This Is For
This workshop is open to everyone, from those new to Yoga philosophy to longtime students of the teachings. No prior experience is needed. Tuition includes the ashram's daily Hatha Yoga and meditation classes, Saturday Satsang, and vegetarian meals.
All are welcome.
Continuing Education
Integral Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) can provide a CE certificate with your program's total contact hours for a $10 fee (free for IYTA members). Email ce@iyta.org.
What Past Participants Say
"Swami Karunananda has the ability to make the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali accessible to everyone… She uses her personal stories and analogies, which make her lectures so inspiring." ~Bhakti Cinzia Parma
"Swami Karunananda is incredible. So knowledgeable, down to earth, compassionate, articulate, and funny! She clearly takes the practice seriously but not herself." ~L. Misztal
"Swami Karunananda is so cool! Her brilliance is not only conveying these spiritual principles and practices in such an understandable way, but also the essence she conveys. She uplifts us as she teaches, in a way that is beyond words." ~Montina Sraddha Cole
"She takes the subtle and sublime aspects of the teachings of Raja Yoga and makes it so accessible. Every time she shares a story it is perfectly placed… She is filled with grace, beauty, wisdom, knowledge and love." ~Joni Giconi
View Daily Ashram Schedule →
Getting Here
Accommodation
Shared Dormitory: Bottom Bunk
Bottom bunk in a shared dorm room. Dorm rooms contain 4-8 beds. Shared bathroom Dorm rooms are not coed Availability is Gender Specific. Stairs are required.
Private Dormitory
This is a private room with a shared bathroom in our Ramalinga Nilayam Dorm - Females Only. Stairs are required
LGH: Full Bed
Private room and Private Bath. A single Full bed and a private bath designed for those seeking peace in solitude.
LGH: 2 Twin beds
Private Room and Private Bath. Two twin Beds and a private bath that is ideal for friends looking to experience the bliss of Yogaville.
LGH: Queen Bed
Private Room and Private Bath. A queen bed or a queen with two day beds and a private bath that is perfect for couples and families searching for a peaceful time together. Please put in the personal comments if you need a room that includes trundles.
Tent-Site
Open from Mar. 16–Nov. 30. Closed from Dec. 1–Mar. 15
Set off in a quiet, wooded area adjacent to the Lotus Guest Houses are Eighteen campsites. Campers have use of the nearby bathhouse as well as laundry facilities at the LGH Building 3. Also, all tent sites have tent platforms for a more comfortable and dry tenting experience. Fires and Stoves are not Permitted. Price is per person per night.
Please bring your own tent, tie downs, tarp (weather protection). bedding and towels.
What's Included
- Accomodations
- Meals
- Meditation Sessions
- Yoga Classes
What's Not Included
- Transportation
- Airfare
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