Swamini Shraddhananda Saraswati (Swamini Ji), co-founded Kula Kamala Foundation & Yoga Ashram with her late husband, Ed RamaChandra. The nonprofit spiritual center offers meditation, yoga, yoga therapy, yoga teacher training, spiritual counseling and education, classes and more. The onsite Food4All Café.teria offers a pay-what-you-can brunch each Sunday featuring vegan, gluten-free food made with organic produce, often harvested from the ashram gardens.

Swamini Ji had practiced yoga and studied its teachings since in her teens, and always found it to be supportive, especially while working through her early life and health traumas. Early on, she worked as a waitress, went on to earn five academic degrees and became an archaeologist, researcher and university professor. In 2002, she experienced significant health issues that stemmed from long-term Lyme disease, and was weak and bedridden for nearly a year.

“While recovering, I felt very disconnected with myself,” she reflects. “My condition precluded me from my normal practices of yoga for nearly a year. It was the thing that was missing in my life. My husband suggested that I pick up my yoga practice again, and I replied that I was in pain and could barely walk up a short flight of stairs, much less do sun salutations. His response was, ‘Aren’t you always the one who told me that yoga is not about the posture, it’s about the stillness?’ Of course, he was correct.”

At that point, despite her health obstacles, Swamini Ji entered a summer intensive yoga teacher training program. She eventually met and studied yoga and spirituality under Swami Adhyatmananda, of Gujarat, India, who would become her beloved guru. Swamini Ji, who says she has always been deeply drawn to service, started working with hospitals and nonprofit organizations that dealt with at-risk families and children, which led to her forming the Kula Kamala Foundation.

“I always felt a profound calling to serve. What started as a whisper, over the years got louder and clearer, and one day I realized, ‘Now is the time. I am being firmly placed on the path I am meant to walk,’” she says.

After studying with Swami Adhyatmananda in India, Swamini Ji was left feeling inspired to develop an ashram in the United States. She and her husband searched for a vacant school to purchase and renovate. In 2015, they found the perfect site. The building, constructed in 1932, served as an elementary school and in more recent times, a school for at-risk youth.

“I had a clear vision of exactly how the ashram would look and feel. On the day we came to see this building, I patiently walked through each room. By the time I reached the little room at the far end of the building, what is now a meditation temple, I knew this is the space in my vision, the space where the ashram is meant to be developed,” Swamini Ji recalls.

Offerings Inspire Wholeness and Compassion

Yoga classes at the ashram are passive and gentle, rather than physically exerting, Swamini Ji explains, which aligns with the therapeutic approach to yoga practice that she is known for. “For people constantly on the go and experiencing stress and anxiety, taking gentler classes supports the parasympathetic function of their nervous system. If all we ever do is go-go-go, our bodies become chronically stressed, and research tells us that stress is the underlying factor in nearly all disease. We need something to support us in slowing down, so we can learn about stillness and inner peace.”

There are four pillars of offerings at the Kula Kamala Foundation & Yoga Ashram. First, public yoga and meditation classes are donation-based, so no one is precluded from taking part for financial reasons. Second, the ashram offers tuition-based professional yoga teacher certification, which the Kula Kamala Foundation has sponsored since 2008, including registered teacher training at the 200- and 500-hour levels, along with professional yoga therapy training at 300- and 800-hour levels.

The ashram also offers a Spiritual Leadership certification program, which comprises one-year of compassionate service. Swamini Ji notes that it is not uncommon to have nurses, doctors, sound therapists and psychologists participate in these certificate programs.

Third, Swamini Ji offers spiritual counseling, Ayurvedic counseling, yoga therapy via group and private sessions and themed wellness retreats for those interested in using the techniques and wisdom of yoga to strengthen health, wellness, happiness and relationships.

The fourth pillar of offerings at the ashram is the study of scriptures and teachings associated with yoga and the practice of associated rituals, including homa and puja. These study sessions teach proper pronunciation and meaning of mantras, and offer the public an opportunity to come together in uplifting purpose.

There is also a holistic department that offers massage therapy. Onsite gardens produce organically grown fruit and vegetables for the Food4All Café.teria. There is a meditation path and labyrinth open to the public.

Promoting Peace In Pennsylvania and Beyond

In 2023, Swamini Ji expanded her vision of Kula Kamala Foundation and opened the Saraswati Ashram & Devi Mandir in the village of Headford, in County Galway, Ireland. The space is located on the shores of Lough Corrib, a large lake in a serene countryside setting. Swamini Ji leads retreats there. Participants interested in an international adventure can explore the teachings and practices of yoga and meditation while enjoying Irish culture and history.

Swamini Ji was inspired to develop the Irish ashram after visiting Ireland with her son and daughter. Smitten by Ireland’s diverse ecology, environment and quaint villages, she returned to the island several times, and with the support of her children, located the building where the Saraswati Ashram & Devi Mandir is now located. Swamini Ji is planning to lead four retreats to Ireland in 2024.

Kula Kamala Foundation & Yoga Ashram has been a strong presence in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond. Swamini Ji focuses on building and empowering community relationships, currently offering a series of talks at West End Yoga, in Lancaster. She provides annual presentations at the Berks County Breast Cancer Center and has supported both Reading and Oley Valley students, staff and faculty. The ashram also participates in festivals and conferences, providing guidance for those intending a life of peace and an experience of unity.

“This spiritual path has unfolded for me in such creative and meaningful ways. Every day, there is something new that touches my heart, a new opportunity to be of service, to learn, to listen, to teach, to be humble and compassionate, and to be an uplifting, peaceful influence in the world—which is most definitely needed right now,” Swamini Ji enthuses. “It is nourishing to our souls when we embrace peace, and it is liberating to answer the call of the heart. May we all come to be of service to the healing of self and others through peace. May we know that following the call of the heart is what we are meant to be doing in this life.”

Kula Kamala Foundation & Yoga Ashram is located at 17 Basket Rd., in Alsace. For more information, call 484-509-5073 or visit KulaKamalaFoundation.org.