Testimonials

Feedback from our participants.


After spending forty years in my own spiritual wilderness, PKYC provided me with a road map. The path is not always easy, but the sense of knowing where I am going (as much as anyone can know) is without price.
–C.B., Tennessee


I’ve known Swamiji and Joan for two years now and can honestly say that they are the real deal. In this day and age of a hundred guru wanna be’s offering everything under the sun, it’s rare if not next to impossible to find sincere, authentic, and truly competent spiritual teachers with only your progress and best interest in mind. Their retreats are truly life changing and transformational and their comments on your personal history are worth the price of admission alone. I’ve had many blessings in my life with six beautiful and healthy kids and a wonderful husband, but if one is a true spiritual seeker there isn’t any outward or physical blessing that can pacify the soul’s yearning like the discovery and experience of the real spiritual progress that they offer.
Ginger Doulliard, Boulder, Colorado
Wife and mother


PKYC provides and enriches individuals with remarkable education on the preserved science of Kundalini. Spiritual guidance and supportive practices, administered through PKYC, comfortably advanced my Kundalini process. Seekers, this is true Spirituality.
–K.S., Texas


The many valuable gifts I have received through my experiences with PKYC are too numerous to count, too broad and too deep to catalogue. Over the past four years of consultation, practice, and prayer I have grown from a shaky, brittle person into someone who feels centered and authentically optimistic. The gift for which I am most grateful is the realization that I can truly “Trust Life.”
–Susan Wood Reider, New Hampshire
Artist, Wife, Mother, Cancer Survivor and grateful member of the PKYC family


My practice is going wonderfully. It is the highlight of my life. It’s been a year since my first retreat, and it is no exaggeration to say it changed my life greatly for the better.
–M.F., California


This consultation process has been the vehicle to lead me back to myself and my connection to God.
–P.G. Tennesee


The support and guidance that Joan and Swamiji offer is unique not only because of their knowledge of mind, body, and spirit, but because of their sincerity and integrity. I cannot imagine where I would be today without them.
–Diane Nations, Winston-Salem, North Carolina


Spirit was calling me to PKYC long before I realized it. Once in its expert and compassionate care, my spiritual process moved quickly and efficiently. It guided me past my resistance into a beautiful place of being–far beyond my imaginings. My process is just that, a process, a dynamic force that no longer allows me to be complacent about my relationship with God or with other beings. Kundalini Shakti is the catalyst of that force and by grace she assists me as I attempt to live virtuously and to walk humbly with our creator. The spiritual guidance I receive at PKYC awakened me, and I am eternally grateful.
–Pamela Bradshaw, Knoxville, TN
Homemaker/writer, yoga teacher


What a relief to find someone who knew what I was talking about, didn’t think I was crazy, and knew how to help me. When I first called PKYC, I felt quite desperate. Joan and Swamiji were calm and reassuring. The frightening symptoms I was having were very familiar to them, and they knew how to guide me. Now, two years later, I’m much, much better.
–L.L.H., Vermont


Before I came to PKYC, I had spent several years feeling stuck in every aspect of my life. Like many others, I felt I was missing something, that if I could remove the stuckness, I could move on and grow exponentially. Little did I know I really was stuck–my Kundalini rising was blocked. Through PKYC, I was able to understand this and its effects on my mental and physical health. PKYC gave me a set of practices and Ayurvedic supplements designed to help me break through the block and allow Kundalini to rise to Makara point. This it did with remarkable speed, filling my body and mind with a sense of peace and the silvery white light of a full moon. The practices are/were incredibly powerful, and I remember the fist six months of my time under PKYC as perhaps the most transformative in my life. I experienced a variety of non-ordinary phenomena–sensations, visions, sounds, spontaneous body movements. The most powerful and beautiful of these was a vision of the Christ, his face atop mine as I stood in my yoga pose. I now see how directly my lifestyle choices affect my spiritual life. And I can say that more opportunities are arising for me, and just at the right time. Swamiji and Joan have instilled in me a sense of confidence and unconditional love, a source of strength I can draw on when I feel old patterns re-emerging. Knowing that all is one, I know that there is nothing to fear, no mistake to be made.
–Hillari Dowdle
Former Editor in Chief, Natural Health Magazine; Yoga Journal


Through PKYC consultations, classes and concepts, I have been given a spiritual and ethical haven. I immediately feel in the living presence of my spiritual beliefs made manifest. I am calm and attuned to what matters; all the noise of materialistic and youthful culture is turned way, way down. I am on the path. I am steadier than I have ever been, clearer about everything, more peaceful. This support is stronger than you can imagine. I can’t recall ever feeling that my well-being mattered so much to anybody before, that they were willing to make such an intense, sustained prayer for me where the whole of the being was focused on this and only this. They are so obviously the real thing: people dedicated to God, goodness and helping others in a troubled world.
–A.M. Knoxville, Tennessee


Since my retreat with PKYC, I have experienced a continuing feeling of being more centered and anchored in the “God Within.” My practice continues to deepen and change. I have had improvements in my energy levels and well-being from the Ayurvedic supplements. I don’t feel dependent on outer sources for my spiritual path–I am confident it is unfolding within me.
–D.A., New Jersey
Healer


Working with PKYC has been a deeply sacred experience. Following my prescribed practices and Ayurvedic nutrition along with having expert spiritual guidance has continued to make significant improvements in my personal and spiritual life.
–J. T., Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Psychotherapist


I feel an awareness of subtle changes within myself. I did not know what subtle was–I expected flashing lights and visions. But subtle is better, deeper, and more profound. It feels lasting. It’s been a ‘rough ride’ sometimes with uncomfortable energetic and emotional experiences, but there is a growing faith in me that everything I experience is for my greater good. Knowing that, I find it easier to detach from the experience and observe it. I never feel despair–though before PKYC I would have. My intuition, wisdom and understanding are sharpened in regard to other people and myself. Sometimes I see things in people at a glance that before I would have been unaware of. Sometimes I have sudden small insights into myself that help me understand why I do things. In a slow, steady way these insights are building. I experience longer episodes of peace in my life. I don’t feel that nagging loneliness that I used to. On some deep level… I feel that I’m not alone. Sometimes I feel bursts of enthusiasm, joy and gratitude, especially in the morning when I meditate. These little ‘bursts’ have been slowly growing in frequency.
–Alix Berenzy, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Artist and writer


It is a rare gift in life to find a teacher and/or teaching by which one feels completely met and seen, regardless on one’s current spiritual path. Such a gift awaits you if you choose to engage in the work of Joan and Swamiji. I have never felt more alive, more connected to my True Self, than I do now after a year of intense practice. The Divine presence in my life blossoms ever and anew, and it is with infinite confidence that I recommend PKYC to anyone seeking the awakening of the Divine for himself or herself.
–Debra Agee, Boulder, Colorado
Teacher


During a Passover Seder, Jews repeated the word “Dayenu”, meaning, “it would have been enough.” For example, “If God had led us out of bondage and not fed us in the desert, Dayenu.” In my experience here, if I had only felt the calm and solidity that accompanied my process, Dayenu. It would have been enough. If I only had the blessing of no longer feeling apologetic and inadequate because of frequent career changes, relationship failures, too many geographic changes, Dayenu. It would have been enough. Experiencing a connection to God, Dayenu. Anticipating a sense of my lineage, Dayenu. And so much remains to unfold. To think that this is the Beginning–for this I have no words.
–Jill H. Breslau, Boulder, Colorado


The PKYC retreat facilitated a profound life changing sacred transformation that I know will remain with me and continue to blossom for the rest of my life.
–Kahea Morgan, Atlantic Beach, Florida
Healer/trainer


Having just completed my sixth retreat, I was reminded how helpful they are. Getting my practice updated, to reflect where I am now, makes a huge difference. There is also the boost that comes from spending a week with other students doing practice four times daily. I intend to continue to return every year.
–Travis Jackson, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Neurologist


The loving guidance and individual attention given by Joan and Swamiji provide a solid foundation in spiritual practice. Their teachings on Kundalini allow the sincere spiritual seeker to achieve a tremendous amount of growth in a short period of time. I am so grateful to have found Kundalini guidance that is specific, wise, and appropriate to each individual. Thank you!
–S. Malone, Grand Rapids, MI, 11/12/2005


I love how the work you do with PKYC is so universal. Everything from the facility to the spiritual guidance at the retreat was top notch. Not only has my spiritual process advanced, but also my relationship with the Divine has greatly deepened and my understanding of the power of Kundalini has been expanded. I have gained many skills to continue a wonderful spiritual practice into the future.
My sincerest thanks to Joan and Swamiji for this incredible experience of spiritual growth and personal understanding.
–J.M.T., Charlotte, N.C., 02/25/2006


Working with Swamiji and Shivarpita (Joan) is truly the priceless blessing of my life. What impresses me so much about them is their absolute selflessness in teaching aspirants, and also the skill with which they apply just the right spiritual practices for the seeker’s particular spiritual need.
–G. R., Concord, N.H., 08/29/2008
Teacher


An adage comes to mind: “I can’t think my way into sane living but I can live my way into sane thinking.” I have read the books, meditated, prayed, and attended countless workshops and seminars, all of which had benefit. The PKYC experience however, was different in that I was prescribed spiritual practices and then enjoined to do them over a two week period. At first, I wondered about the “what and its why.” What are those exercises and why do them? Then, I surrendered and decided to judge by the results. The results came in ways that I can only imagine or describe as joyfully unexpected. I had a “souped-up” spiritual experience here that provided immense growth on many levels in a very short period of time. Perhaps it was the culmination of many years, even lifetimes of work. But, it happened here. Thank you so much Joan and Swamiji!
–L. Fishburne, 12/17/05


I feel I have been steadily guided toward greater and greater spiritual growth. Negative emotions and thoughts are gradually falling away. It happens slowly (and I sometimes grow impatient) and it usually happens without my realizing it until I think back and remember how I would have reacted to things in the past. I feel a New Self – my True Self – is gradually making her way to shine within me and to act in the world with confidence.
It’s not always easy but progress is undeniable and permanent. I am changing step by step for the better. Effort is required but I feel I am getting a lot of help. I feel I have been very, very blessed to have been guided to come here.
–A. B., 03/04/06


I love how the work you do with PKYC is so universal. Everything from facilities to the spiritual guidance at the retreat was top notch. Not only has my spiritual process advanced – my relationship with the divine has greatly deepened. My understanding of the power of Kundalini has been expanded, and I have gained many skills to continue a wonderful spiritual practice into the future.
My sincerest thanks to Joan and Swamiji for this incredible experience of spiritual growth and personal understanding.
–JMT, 02/25/06

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