
Swami Atmarupa Saraswati
Atma Center is an award-winning yoga center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio dedicated to SATYANANDA YOGA. Their instructors are some of the most highly-trained in the nation.
Thank you so much, Atmarupa, for taking time out of your busy schedule to participate in this interview.
I am honored to have had the opportunity to study with you and other teachers at Atma Center. As a yoga instructor, I am always soaking up as much information as I can when I come to classes and workshops with you. Each time I see you, I always leave thinking how I’d love to learn about how yoga became a part of your life and of the many adventures you have had. I know I’m not alone in my curiosity, as many of your students can attest. So, I thank you in advance for sharing your history, thoughts and insights with me, my readers, our students and the world. -Julie Konrad
Luna Presence: When did you find yoga, or did yoga find you?
Atmarupa: I originally found yoga through the “Light of Yoga” in the early 80’s. Then a friend of mine in Australia also became very involved with Satyananda Yoga and encouraged me to try it.
LP: Many students feel confused with all the different styles of yoga out there from Iyengar to Bikram from Ashtanga to Jivamukti. How is SATYANANDA yoga different from other styles of yoga?
A: Satyananda Yoga® is an integrated form of classical yoga that was developed by Swami Satyananda, who is still alive in India. It draws on the ancient teachings, but has been adapted to modern living and includes practices that can be done by everyone. The popular view of yoga is that it requires flexibility at nearly a gymnastic level, or that it is a fitness practice. Yoga is so much more. Yoga is truly of science of living and the practices of Satyananda Yoga® are designed to help people deal with daily stress, to find inner peace, and the physical practices are accessible to every body type or level of fitness.
LP: There are many people out there who are interested in yoga, but are afraid they aren’t flexible enough or who might be intimidated. How do you encourage these folks to give yoga a try?
A: It is so important to realize that yoga is about awareness. When someone is practicing with full awareness, in the present moment, without attachment to the results, this is yoga. So, it is possible to be practicing more yoga while doing simple movements linked to the breath than while struggling to do the more extreme postures while listening to music. We believe that yoga should fit each person rather than trying to fit each person into some preconceived idea of yoga.
LP: How did you get your Sanskrit name, Swami Atmarupa Saraswati, and what does it mean?
A: My name was given to me as part of an initiation with my guru, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, who is the successor to Swami Satyananda. A guru gives a disciple a name based on what they feel the disciple should become. Atma means the true, unchanging Self beyond this personality or time or space. Rupa means to take form. My name, therefore, means that I am to realize the form of my true Self.
LP: I loved participating in the Sanskrit classes. It’s a real workout for the brain. How long did it take you to feel confident pronouncing the alphabet and reciting Sanskrit mantras?
A: I don’t think I feel confident even now! Within the tantric tradition, pronunciation is important, but not of great concern provided one chants from the heart. In the vedic tradition, correct pronunciation is considered extremely important. Lucky for me, Satyananda Yoga® is more tantric.
LP: Do you have a favorite mantra(s). Which one(s) and can you share with us why?
A: There are many mantras that I chant regularly. The mantra “Om” is of course one that is most powerful to me. If you read the Mandukya Upanishad, you realize that Om is everything.
LP: How do you incorporate yoga and yogic principals into your life when you are outside the studio?
A: I believe that yoga is a part of everything that I do. I try to be fully aware of the moment I’m in and witness my mind’s activity regarding what is going on. Learning to “witness” the play of the mind and emotions has allowed me to be much more contented in my life as I learn again and again that if I wait a moment before reacting I have much more choice in what the experience will be.
LP: I think most teachers and students find they struggle at times with always keeping in the yogic spirit and following the Sutras (Yamas and Niyamas), for example; living in the present moment, exhibiting non-possessiveness, finding contentment, etc. What do you do to guide yourself back when you find yourself slipping out of the moment or out of your practice?
A: The first thing I do is to connect with my breath and remind myself that all experiences come and go. I am not the experience that I am having. Whatever state of mind I am experiencing can and will change.
LP: You grew up in a very small town in the middle of NW Ohio called Ai, in a family that never traveled, but you have since gone on to travel the world including, Tibet, China, Delhi, and Nepal. What has been your most favorite trip?
A: That’s a really tough question. I’ve had so many amazing experiences. I have been up to Mount Everest Base Camp and down scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. I really can’t say which trip was a favorite. Maybe the next one.
LP: Can you share one unexpected moment that had significant meaning to you while on one of your adventures?
A: I think maybe it was the first time I went to India. I was doing a trip called “5 Ways Across Asia”. The first leg was riding camels through the Indian desert for about five days. I think it was on the third or fourth day as I was swaying back and forth from the ungainly gait of the camel and looking across the endless, barren terrain that I was suddenly overcome with the realization that while I was there riding a camel across the India desert, that back here in Cleveland all my coworkers were still being stressed out by all that goes on at work. It was in that one moment that I clearly saw that everything I am involved in is my choice. I clearly saw it. It doesn’t mean that I always remember it, but there was definitely a shift in my consciousness at that point.
LP: Atma Center celebrates its 12th Anniversary this weekend. What has been the most exciting experience for you since you opened the studio?
A: I really enjoyed being able to renovate the center about 5 years ago because it provided the students with a much nicer facility. You know this place was a State Liquor Store prior to becoming the Atma Center - from spirits to spirituality!
LP: Any plans for the next 12 years you can share with us?
A: I try not to think too far into the future since it never turns out the way I think it will. I hope that the Atma Center and the teachers and students here will continue to provide a foundation of personal growth and well-being within the community. And finally, what do you do when you are not teaching yoga?
LP:
A: I try to live what I teach.
Truly inspiring! Thank you so much! Namaste!