A Photographic Pilgrimage to the Spiritual Heart of Ananda Village

Crystal Hermitage is the Northern California home of Swami Kriyananda, spiritual teacher and direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, (author of the beloved classic Autobiography of a Yogi).

The scenic beauty and peaceful atmosphere of Crystal Hermitage Gardens are reflected in the photographs and quotations contained in this book. Whether you are a nature lover or a spiritual seeker, these images will speak to you, whispering tranquility and inspiration to your soul through lush foliage, sun-kissed flowers, and stately statues.

In 1968, near Nevada City, California, Swami Kriyananda founded Ananda Village, an intentional community dedicated to modeling and spreading the principles of simple living and high thinking.

Crystal Hermitage is the heart of Ananda Village. It began as a home for Swami Kriyananda; it quickly grew to become a site of beauty and joy, open to all. This book is filled with stunning photos of this magical place and the inspirational words of Swami Kriyananda.

Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"
Details: Paperback, 143 pages
Author: Barbara Bingham

Testimonials

Crystal Hermitage Gardens is a glorious book, filled with beauty and wisdom. It is also an open invitation to the reader to visit Ananda Village and Crystal Hermitage, which are a perfect atmospheric and vibrational match for the delicate and refined loveliness depicted in this book. I congratulate Barbara Bingham on publishing this labor of love. I perused this work with my four-year-old. Normally restless, he stood for a long time, enthralled with the splash of color and light. I felt, while reading it, that I had been transported to a high astral plane. This book has an unexpected power to change the reader. Crystal Hermitage Gardens is ideal to place on your coffee table, to lift the spirit and consciousness of anyone who opens it.

—Richard Salva, author of The Reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln and Walking with William of Normandy

About Barbara Bingham

Barbara is a Hatha Yoga teacher, a Registered Physical Therapist and a former gymnast. She brings all of her training together in her yoga teaching and helps people enjoy using their bodies in the healthiest way possible. She can show clients how to adjust yoga movements to their particular limitations, whatever those might be. Known for her playful, approachable style, Barbara also brings compassion and sensitive awareness to her yoga teaching. She finds the greatest joy in making yoga accessible to everyone.

Barbara created a video, Yoga for Menopause, and is working on a book of the same title. She also has created The Expanding Light Sadhana DVD, a routine of Paramhansa Yogananda's energization exercises, gently Ananda Yoga, deep relaxation, and meditation. A woman of many talents, Barbara also serves as a photographer and graphic designer for The Expanding Light. She enjoys capturing the natural beauty of Ananda and the people who live and visit here.

Barbara says:

"Ananda Yoga has been a gift to me with its gentle but effective approach to movement, its potential for strengthening and stretching the body and mind, and its beautiful and powerful affirmations. I have been transformed by the teachings of Yogananda and by my associations with the people here at Ananda. I try and share the gift of peace that I have received by capturing the beauty of Ananda through photography and through teaching Ananda Yoga ."

From a student:

"Barbara made the program. Her background in Western medicine made what she taught logical and believable. Her knowledge of each movement will allow me to take home a newfound confidence in knowing the limits of my body and its potential. Barbara's spiritual process has given me a new confidence in my own path."

— Carolann Stoney, Pomona, CA