The Mai Ram Yoga ashram – your path to spiritual growth
The Mai Ram Yoga School in Banská Bystrica has been part of the Mai Ram Yoga ashram since 1 September 2019.
In the ashram, yoga practice is understood not merely as a set of physical exercises but as an all-round path of self-cultivation. The yoga ashram in Vilnius is a unique place where anyone can deepen their yoga practice, develop awareness and discover inner harmony. The ashram's surroundings are created so that a person can step away from daily routine, immerse themselves in the process of self-knowledge and deepen their connection with inner peace. It is a place where one can study the philosophy of yoga, practise meditation and experience the effects of yoga in everyday life.
A yoga ashram – what is it?
The Mai Ram Yoga ashram is a sacred place of yoga teaching, the home of Guru Mai Ram, who is initiated into the teaching lineage of the Kapalin nathas. Here the spiritual teacher lives and passes on the authentic teaching of classical raja yoga and hatha yoga. In the ashram people can step away from the distractions of the outer world, learn yoga practice, gain deeper self-knowledge and grow spiritually.
At the Mai Ram Yoga ashram in Vilnius
The Mai Ram Yoga Ashram in Vilnius is a special place where the traditional wisdom of yoga meets the needs of a person of today. This yoga school follows the authentic teaching of yoga, which brings together physical practices, breathing techniques, meditation and spiritual teaching. The Mai Ram Yoga school holds classes both for beginners and for advanced practitioners. It teaches a holistic approach to yoga – as a way of life that helps to reach physical, emotional and spiritual balance. Mai Ram Yoga in Vilnius invites everyone who wishes to touch the authentic teaching of yoga.
Practices at the Mai Ram Yoga ashram
At the school of classical yoga, the Mai Ram Yoga ashram, the following practices take place:
Mai Ram Yoga ashram locations and facilities
Vilnius, Lithuania
The Mai Ram Yoga ashram was founded in 2010 in the heart of Vilnius, in the Old Town, in Lithuania. The ashram has spacious halls where peace and silence prevail. The sacred surroundings of the ashram always relax a person and help them find a spiritual connection.
Varanasi, India
In 2019 construction began on another Mai Ram Yoga ashram in Varanasi, India, in the sacred space of old Varanasi on the bank of the river Ganges, at Brahma Ghat.
The sacred surroundings of the ashram always relax a person and help them find a spiritual connection.
Ashram festivals: Guru Purnima
The festival of Guru Purnima is a day of honouring the spiritual Teacher. Guru Purnima is a special day, devoted to honouring the spiritual Teacher and expressing gratitude for their guidance, wisdom and the spiritual energy they pass on. Guru Purnima symbolises the bond between Teacher and student, which is essential for spiritual growth. On this day special attention is given to humility, self-knowledge and inner transformation, and so it is considered especially favourable for spiritual growth.
Guru Purnima (Skt. guru pūrṇimā) is a spiritual event, the day of the Guru, celebrated every year at the full moon in July. This full-moon festival is one of the most important festivals of the spiritual yoga tradition, devoted to honouring spiritual Teachers, their wisdom and guidance. The festival is devoted to honouring and expressing gratitude to the spiritual Teacher, who passes on not only knowledge and spiritual teaching but also spiritual energy, shaktipat. The festival goes back to Vedic times, to 1500 BCE. It is celebrated not only in India but all over the world, and also at the Mai Ram Yoga ashram in Vilnius.
The mahasiddhas
They are exceptional spiritual masters who have reached the highest level of yogic and tantric practice. The term mahāsiddha means in Sanskrit “the great one who has attained perfection”. The mahasiddhas are masters and practitioners of yoga and tantra who, through their deep devotion to spiritual practice, have gained supernatural powers (siddhis) and perfection. They guard the secrets of extraordinary supernatural powers, yet their aim is not these powers alone – the powers appear as a side effect of deep spiritual practice. The mahasiddhas stress that true wisdom comes from personal experience, not from books or theoretical knowledge. Their life is devoted to intensive practices and meditation, which allow them to experience the highest state of consciousness. To this day the mahasiddhas pass on their knowledge directly and only to prepared students, through initiations and secret teachings. Their wisdom rests on deep practice and inner understanding. They guard the methods of yoga, tantra and alchemy.
Why visit the Mai Ram Yoga ashram?
The ashram is a place where the mind quietens naturally. The arati rituals, meditations and mantra chanting performed here every day create a strong field of spiritual light, which naturally affects everyone who arrives.
The ashram works as a living transmission, because there is a real, living spiritual Teacher here – the Guru. The authentic spiritual teaching of yoga helps a person of today to seek self-knowledge.
What is valuable about the Mai Ram Yoga ashram is that here a person can uncover a deeper meaning of life and experience inner transformation. It is a place that invites you to return to yourself, to your true source. It is a place where every detail encourages inner awakening. Here people learn to live simply and consciously. The ashram cultivates discipline, service, gratitude and inner freedom, which are so lacking in the modern world. Through daily sadhana people come closer to a sense of the sacred that is alive and can be experienced.
The Mai Ram Yoga ashram is a place for those who are looking not for one more practice, but for a deep and true inner silence and a return to the light.