Awakened Heart Yoga & Meditation
With Robert Jacobs
Yoga is an ancient spiritual path that enables us to experience the Divine essence at the core of our beings. The most important practice of yoga is meditation.
People meditate and practice mindfulness to relax and alleviate the stress of their hectic lives. But when we meditate, we do more than overcome stress. We connect to the deepest part of ourselves beyond our desires and anxieties, our inner Witness. From this space, we deal more consciously with the many exigencies of modern life.
Meditation takes us directly into the Awareness at the root of our consciousness. When we touch this inner center, something magical happens. We call this path Awakened Heart Yoga & Meditation because through it, we become awakened to the love, wisdom, and joy that is our essential Self. Practicing meditation and mindfulness is the best way to experience our inner center, our true heart.
Awakened Heart Yoga and Meditation offers courses on meditation, walking the spiritual path, and yogic scriptures such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. All courses are now on Zoom.
I am offering a Zoom course on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras through the Deep Spring Center’s website, which started this January and will run through May. The sessions will be on alternate Thursday evenings, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. A fall session will run from September through December. The course includes dharma talks, guided meditations, questions and answers, and chanting. You can register at the Deep Spring website.
If you would like to arrange for personal instruction or a group course through Zoom, please call me at 352-359-3910 for more information.
About
Robert Jacobs has been practicing meditation and yoga for 45 years. His first spiritual teacher was the Chilean master Oscar Ichazo, who established the Arica School in the late 1960s. He then went on to study with two Spiritual Masters from the Indian tradition and lived with them in yoga ashrams for 18 years in India and the United States. In the 1980s, he managed a residential ashram in Washington DC. Through his ashram years, Robert studied the essential scriptures of the Indian yoga tradition and learned them in conjunction with his practices. His teachings come directly from these ancient sources and his own personal experiences. For the past 10 years he has been studying Buddhist Vipassana meditation with noted teachers in the field. He is the author of a spiritual memoir- Journey to the Awakened Heart – and is currently writing a second book – Path to the Awakened Heart: the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Courses
Meditation for Beginners
Our beginner’s class explores several meditative techniques to get in touch with our inner Awakened Heart. We use the breath, mantra, and visualizations as tools for developing our practice. Our class is offered to individuals and small groups on Zoom. Please call Robert at 352-359-3910 for details.
Intermediate Meditation
Our Intermediate Meditation course explores meditation techniques from the yogic scripture Vijnana Bhairava and includes sessions on mindfulness and Vipassana. It is for those who already have a firm foundation in meditation. It is offered to individuals and small groups on Zoom. Please call Robert at 352-35-3910 for details.
Walking the Spiritual Path
In “Walking the Spiritual Path,” we use the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as a guidebook to explore and practice the many elements of the spiritual path: non-violence and truthfulness, meditation and samadhi, surrender to the Divine within. This course is offered to those who have a sincere desire to grow spiritually.
Scriptural Studies in Yoga Philosophy
We will be offering courses in several key scriptures of the Indian yoga tradition: the Bhagavad Gita, the Siva Sutras, the Pratyabhijna Hridayam, the Vijnana Bhairava, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and others. Along with studying the theory behind these works, we will engage in practices that bring these sutras to life.
You can contact me about your interest in a course on the Contact page. Please indicate which course you are interested in and if you prefer private or group instruction. I will respond through email or phone and we will arrange a schedule.
I am offering a Zoom course on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras through the Deep Spring Center’s website which started in January and will run through May. Another course will start this fall, from September though December. The sessions meet on alternate Thursday evenings, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. They include a dharma talk, guided meditations, questions and answers, and chanting. You can register at the Deep Spring website.
Dana
There are no set fees for our courses. Rather we encourage each person to offer dana, a contribution for the sacred teachings received. In the Indian tradition, one who receives spiritual teachings always offers something in return. This creates a harmony between the giver and receiver and allows for the teachings to flourish.
You can offer dana on the Contact page.
Books And Publications
In 2018, Robert Jacobs published his spiritual memoir: Journey to the Awakened Heart, available on Amazon.com. The book is a fascinating account of a young man’s attraction to eastern mysticism in the early 1970s and his travels across the globe in search of a spiritual awakening. The book recounts Robert’s time in Paris, his travels through North Africa and Central Asia, his overland trip to India, and his extended studies with distinguished Indian spiritual masters in their yoga ashrams.
Robert is now writing a second book: Path to the Awakened Heart: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Through the Yoga Sutras, Robert discusses the many facets of walking a spiritual path.
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