Princeton Integral Yoga Community Center

Princeton Integral Yoga Community Center is dedicated and operated exclusively for charitable, educational and spiritual purposes. The primary purposes for which we are organized are;

To share and provide spiritual support in living the teachings of Integral Yoga as taught by Sri Swami Satchidananda Maharaj;

To provide a supportive environment for all who are interested in spiritual development;

To exemplify the precepts of truth, compassion, love, joy and charity in every detail of our organizational operations;

To engage in and offer: yoga classes, meditation, kirtan, workshops, study groups, retreats, yoga teacher training, satsangs and ecumenical events;

To bring to the community living examples and great teachers of these spiritual precepts and practices;

To be of service to the community and actively contribute to the interconnectedness and cooperation of its diverse members.

The physical body is shaped in accordance with the nature of the astral body. The physical body is like water in its gross form. Water that is heated becomes vapor. Vapor could be compared to the astral body. The astral or subtle body is within the gross body. The physical body cannot function without the astral body. Each gross center of the body has its corresponding astral center.

Chakras are centers of spiritual energy. They are located in the astral body, but have corresponding centers In the physical body. There are seven important chakras. They are: the Muladhara, situated at the anus; Swadhishthana, at the genital organ; Manipura, at the navel; Anahata, at the heart; Vishuddha, at the throat; Ajna, at the space between the eyebrows; and the Sahasrara, which is located at the top of the head.

Corresponding to the chakras in the astral body, there are plexuses in the physical body. A plexus is a center of interwoven nerves, arteries, and veins. The sacral plexus corresponds to the Muladhara chakra; prostatic plexus to Swadhishthana chakra; solar plexus to the Manipura chakra; cardiac plexus to the Anahata chakra; laryngeal plexus to the Vishuddha chakra; and cavernous plexus to the Ajna chakra.

Each chakra has control over a particular center in the gross body. The nervous, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and genito-urinary functions, as well as other systems of the body, are under the control of the chakras. The gross nerves and plexuses of the physical plane have a close relationship with the subtle ones. As the physical centers are closely related to the astral centers, the vibrations that are produced in the physical centers by prescribed yogic methods have the desired effects in the astral centers.