Introduction: Our History
The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers is a nonprofit organization founded by Swami Vishnu-devananda to spread the teachings of Vedanta worldwide.
Upon the instruction of his guru, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, India, Swami Vishnu-devananda (in photo at left, standing next to his guru on the banks of the Ganges river in India) headed to the West and began travelling and teaching throughout the United States in 1957. He established the first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Montreal, Canada, in 1959.
There are now close to 80 Sivananda locations (ashrams, yoga centers, and affiliated centers) around the world. The organization has trained more than 10,000 yoga teachers. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers are recognized worldwide for teaching yoga authentically, preserving its purity and tradition, which dates back several thousand years.
This award-winning website is growing and evolving, being modified and upgraded, on a regular basis. At the present, it has 345 pages, 484 graphics (full-color, duotone, gray-scale and line-art), 2 audio clips and 8 animated illustrations.
A Wealth of Information
On this website, you can learn about the various techniques and teachings
of yoga and Vedanta and the different activities
of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, such as the Yoga
Teachers Training Course, Yoga Vacations,
and residential, temporary and full-time
staff programs.This site also offers the online Sivananda Boutique from which you can order valuable books written by both Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-devananda. You will also find there the very informative Sivananda Video Guide to Yoga.
We also post news regarding the different Sivananda locations around the world. The Yoga Life magazine, which is published twice a year by our organization, is now available online as well. It contains a great deal of useful information and wonderful articles. And please don't forget to visit the "Spiritual Utilities" page.
The 5 Points of Yoga
In an effort to simplify and clarify the complex philosophies and teachings
of Yoga, Swami Vishnu-devananda summarized the wisdom of Yoga in five
principles. These 5 points show the way to
developing physical and mental health as well as spiritual growth:- Proper Exercise (Asanas)
- Proper Breathing (Pranayama)
- Proper Relaxation (Savasana)
- Proper Diet (vegetarian)
- Positive
Thinking (Vedanta)
and Meditation (Dhyana)
Swami Sivananda's contribution to the world is to have revived the tradition of the yoga of synthesis, integrating the four main paths of Yoga into a well-balanced Sadhana (spiritual discipline). The essence of his teachings can be summarized in the aphorism "Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize," seen in our banner image on each page of this site.
Other topics covered in this site include: Karma & Reincarnation; the 8 limbs of Yoga; the 3 Gunas; a humor page; Spiritual links; excerpts from the best-seller "101 tips on Hatha Yoga", a collection of vegetarian yogic recipes, 20 spiritual instructions, Sadhana Tattwa (the science of seven cultures), and a page on our Prison Project.
