For two years Julie and I have been studying and practicing Svaroopa yoga.  Never heard of it? You're not alone.

We only stumbled upon it and our teacher by attending a Kirtan at Sac Yoga Center, in the Curtis Park area of Sacramento.  Kriyananda Devi has been involved in yoga for more than two decades and she exudes the deep clarity of someone who has done her personal work.  Non-judgmental and accepting, patient and consistent. And a very sweet soul. 

I joke that it's Old Guy Yoga. Not that it's for old guys, really, but that it is gentle. Where other yoga styles are often populated by the hard-body beauties who are wonderful advertisements for yoga's athletic side, a typical svaroopa class is done lying on the floor, supported by blankets, and most often by people in sweatpants and t-shirts. The openings and stretchings are of a more internal nature.  Alignments are very precise and you learn that by ample propping with blankets or blocks, you can completely trust your support and can surrender the tight energies that wrap around your spine.

This is an excerpt from the official Svaroopa web site:

Svaroopa^® yoga offers a significantly different paradigm in yoga poses. Our practice is both physical and more than physical.
We specialize in the inner opening. Svaroopa^® yoga poses release the tensions in the deepest layers of your body - the layers of muscles wrapped around your spine.

This opens up conscious access to the ever-expanding inner realms of your own being. Rather than using hatha yoga as a sophisticated form of exercise, Svaroopa^® yoga pursues the understanding of the deeper purposes of yoga: the understanding of your own essential nature.

Yoga Journal says, "This style of yoga teaches different ways of doing familiar poses, emphasizing the opening of the spine by beginning at the tailbone and progressing through each spinal area. Every pose integrates the foundational principles of asana, anatomy, and yoga philosophy, and emphasizes the development of transcendent inner experience, which is called svaroopa by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra. This is a consciousness-oriented yoga that also promotes healing and transformation."

Amrit Ayurveda describes Svaroopa^® yoga as "one of the few styles that considers the yoga practice itself to be a transformative experience in itself. Beginning level classes focus on deep, supported poses for spinal release. Continuing level as well as advanced classes add to this an exploration of how to use the body and yet still keep the spine open."

Yoga International's article on Svaroopa^® yoga's Magic Four describes it this way, "Svaroopa^® yoga is not exercise. You don't need exercise. You need a scientific maximization of your body's capacity, dissolving the tensions that inhibit your body's natural functioning and inherent healing capacity. The release of the inner blocks allows you to live in an inner ease, in your body and in your self, that is your birthright."

 Here's a link to the "Magic Four"... four poses you can do in a chair. It'll give you an idea of what the Svaroopa opening feels like.

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