About Big Shakti
Empowering spiritual growth through yoga and meditation.
Founded in 2004 by Jayne Stevenson and Dr. Swami Shankardev Saraswati, Big Shakti is a leading online platform for authentic yoga and meditation resources.
Big Shakti's mission is to support you in reaching optimal physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being through the transformative power of these ancient practices.
Big Shakti offers guided meditations and courses that blend yoga tantra and Western depth psychology, including the works of Carl Jung. These teachings cultivate self-awareness and self-regulation, empowering you on your journey towards self-mastery.
We aim to provide a supportive environment for all levels of yoga and meditation practitioners of all levels. By joining the community, you can embark on a journey of self-discovery, inner peace, and holistic well-being.
Our Accreditations
Big Shakti’s courses are recognized by the Yoga Alliance (USA) as Continuing Education (contact hours), Yoga Australia, Satyananda Yoga Academy, and SYTA (Satyananda Yoga Teachers Association) for Continuing Professional Development.
About the Cofounders & Teachers
Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati
Dr. Swami Shankardev Saraswati is a western medical doctor, Yoga Acharya (authority), Yoga Therapist, psychotherapist, author, and teacher.
Jayne Stevenson
Jayne Stevenson, Cofounder and Director of Big Shakti is a counselor, dreamworker and writer with a passion for healing and spirituality.
About our Philosophy and Teachings
BIG SHAKTI
BIG SHAKTI
Modalities
Modalities
Our selection of holistic modalities enhances your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. From the physical practice of yoga to the mental clarity achieved through meditation, along with the therapeutic benefits of yoga therapy and Ayurveda, and the transformative nature of psychotherapy, each approach is tailored to support your journey toward a healthier, more connected life.
Explore these practices and find your path to balance and renewal.
Meditation
Meditation is an English word that refers to both a technique for achieving conscious connection and the state of connection itself. When you connect deeply with your body and mind through meditation, you will experience improved health, inner peace, and spiritual awakening. Various meditation techniques exist,including relaxation meditation, prana meditations for increased energy, mantra meditation to calm the mind, breathing meditation to build emotional resilience, and chakra meditations for spiritual awakening. These are just a few of the forms we teach at Big Shakti.
Yoga Tantra
Yoga Tantra is a profound and comprehensive approach that integrates traditional yoga and meditation practices with rituals, visualizations, and deep meditation. It places a special emphasis on mantras and yantras (symbols), using them to harness the subtle energies within the body to promote spiritual growth and transformation. Our teachings in Yoga Tantra guide you through these ancient techniques, assisting you in accessing a deeper connection with your inner self and the universe. Yoga-tantra is especially effective if you are seeking to enrich your spiritual practice and explore the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit.
Yoga Therapy
Yoga is a science of health management and a method for continuously improving your well-being. Yoga therapy involves applying yoga and meditation to treat chronic physical and psychological conditions. It is often combined with other healing practices to enhance their effectiveness. In many cases, with supervision from qualified health professionals, individuals can ultimately discontinue medications and rely solely on yoga therapy to maintain good health.
Ayurveda
The science of Ayurveda examines how our environment, diet, habits, and activities influence our innate constitution (body type). Ayurveda provides powerful remedies to restore balance and enhance health by making appropriate lifestyle and dietary adjustments and using natural medicinal herbs. Integrating Ayurveda with yoga therapy and psychotherapy creates a robust path to self-healing and self-transformation.
Dreamwork
Dreamwork involves exploring and interpreting dreams to gain insight into one's subconscious, emotional well-being, and spiritual guidance. It can be a powerful tool for personal growth and understanding, offering a unique method to access deeper self-awareness and resolve psychological conflicts. Incorporating dreamwork can enhance existing modalities like yoga, meditation, and psychotherapy by adding a new dimension to self-exploration and healing.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy provides tools for managing stress and unhealthy patterns while fostering self-awareness. Through Jungian depth psychology's focus on ego stabilization, shadow work, and Self-realization, individuals can integrate unconscious aspects of themselves, develop authentic relationships, and achieve greater psychological wholeness, leading to more meaningful and conscious living.
Yoga
Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means ‘union’ or ‘connection.’ Yoga and meditation are synonyms. Meditation is an integral part of yoga. Some forms of yoga are more physical, while others aim to develop the mind and spirit, and are meditation-based. We teach and synthesize a variety of these forms, which, when integrated, support you feeling calm, strong, aware and more fully connected to yourself and your life.
Pranic Healing
Pranic Healing is a form of meditation on pranic energy, life-force. It direct the body's life force (prana) to heal the physical and energetic body. This technique involves the manipulation of this life energy, the cleansing of blockages, and the energizing of the body to enhance health and well-being.
Yoga Breathing
Yoga Breathing, or Pranayama, involves various breathing techniques that are designed to improve mental and physical health. Pranayama practices focus on controlling breath to influence the flow of prana in the body, thereby improving vitality, mental focus, and emotional equilibrium.
Jyotish
Jyotish, or Vedic Astrology, is an ancient Indian science that utilizes the positions of planets and stars to provide deep insights into an individual’s personality and life trajectory—past, present, and future. This modality offers unique perspectives on personal and spiritual growth, helping practitioners align their lives with cosmic rhythms and universal truths. As a profound tool for understanding your karma, your life’s purpose and for navigating challenges, Jyotish complements traditional practices like Yoga, Meditation, and Ayurveda, enhancing holistic well-being and informed decision-making.
Mantra Meditation
Mantra Meditation is a transformative practice that uses the repetition of sacred sounds, words, or phrases to focus and calm the mind. Each mantra is selected for its specific vibrational quality and potential to elevate the practitioner's spiritual and mental well-being. Engaging in Mantra Meditation regularly can help reduce stress, increase concentration, and promote a profound sense of peace. This modality is particularly beneficial for those seeking to deepen their meditation practice and achieve a heightened state of consciousness through the powerful resonance of sacred sounds.
Chakra Meditation
Chakra Meditation focuses on activating and balancing the body’s chakras, or energy centers, which are crucial for maintaining physical, emotional, and spiritual health. By meditating on these energy points, practitioners can clear blockages and enhance the flow of energy throughout the body. This practice promotes better health, emotional resilience, and a deeper spiritual connection. Chakra Meditation is ideal for anyone looking to harmonize their inner energy systems and foster a vibrant, balanced state of being.
Seeking deeper spiritual understanding and personal growth?
Seeking deeper spiritual understanding and personal growth?
Explore transformative teachings that offer personal growth and transformation, ethical living, and holistic well-being practices.
Explore transformative teachings that offer personal growth and transformation, ethical living, and holistic well-being practices.
What is Shakti?
Shakti means creative power. It is your inner power, your life force, your glow, your feeling of well-being, and your verve for life.
The more Shakti you have, the better you feel. You have more energy for thinking clearly, digesting food, digesting all life experiences, and creating a better, more fulfilling life.
Big Shakti’s meditations and courses increase your shakti so you gain physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, and ease pain and suffering of every kind.
Big Shakti meditations and courses cover
- Relaxation
- Yoga Nidra
- Pranic healing
- Chakras
- Life Purpose
- Yoga Breath
- Yoga Tantra
- Dreamwork
- Yoga Psychotherapy
- Mindfulness
- Mental health
- Building resilience and strength
“Big Shakti’s study programs provide a path to enlightenment and a practical yet highly spiritual means of attaining a more aware state wherever you are in your own development. Both Swami Shankardev and Jayne support your growth and learning in a safe, loving environment where questions are seen as part of the learning. The structure of the theory has given me the basis on which to build. It has helped me to understand so much about my life and the lives of those around me. I feel supported and held.”
Dr. Elaine Himadi
USA
“I really appreciate the format of the Find Life Purpose course. It is easy to follow and I feel I can go at my own speed. This makes it possible for me to truly embody the principles I am learning. I have gained deep insight into what I really want and moved away from patterns that don't serve me, I am much more aware of my own genuine truths. I will continue to use this course as a tool in my life. Thank you!”
Erin Plattner
“Thank you so much for your wonderful courses. I really love the way you combine meditation, psychology and spiritual concepts in such a user-friendly, manageable format. I am calmer, less reactive, more creative and productive despite life constantly hurling bombs at me. I am grateful for your guidance. Not many Yoga teachers have the experience to guide me in this way. I feel connected and trusting of you because you have shown me how to trust and connect with myself in a most real and wonderful way.”
Belinda Robson
Australia
Our commitment to you
We have been blessed to study with outstanding teachers and masters who gave us access to authentic, life-changing knowledge and wisdom.
We have spent our lives translating this knowledge into meaningful forms you can use to improve your health and enhance your life.
We are committed to supporting you at every level, whether you’re just beginning your meditation journey or you’re an experienced meditator, yoga teacher, or health professional.
“The Chakra Meditation practice with Swami Shankardev is the most clear and delightful I've done. The introduction is excellent and it has helped me understand the chakras more deeply. The rotation of consciousness through the chakras is genius! What a downpour of grace; to hear the beautiful pronunciation of the sweet names of the chakras, but more importantly to truly feel them in our own being!”
Nancy Schalk
USA
“Heartfelt gratitude to both of you, I have been longing for this deep connection to teachings that can only be transmitted by the Teacher. I understand that there are many subtle levels of communication you are conveying to us through your expertly crafted courses. The meditations are helping me stay centered and present. My sense of self-awareness is heightened and I am able to witness my thoughts, actions and emotions throughout the day.”
Deborah Garland
USA
“Big Shakti's online programs are planned with extreme care and knowledge and they are valuable tools for self-study. They are easy to follow, and they always make me feel as if the teacher is in my mind, knowing my needs, and what I want to explore. Either it is a meditation, a Yoga Nidra or a program about facing our shadow, or discovering our life's purpose, their quality and power is unique.”
Chrysa Apostolopoulou
Greece
