Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams & Centres, India is dedicated to the teaching of classical yoga and vedanta to promote physical, mental and spiritual health. Recognised as one of the most important and authentic yoga institutions in the world, our network of Ashrams and City Centres in India offer teachings on all aspects of yoga and meditation-including our world-renowned teacher training courses and yoga vacation. Our founder Swami Vishnudevananda synthesised the four traditional paths of yoga into five principles that could be easily incorporated into daily life. Our core teachings, passed from guru to disciple in an unbroken chain to the present day, make the wisdom of the ancient sages easily accessible to beginners and the more experienced alike. These traditional teachings have been and are the mainstay of the teachings of our organisation.

Swami Sivananda, the inspiration behind our organisation, had disciples around the world, owing largely to his having written so many books in English. Swami Vishnudevananda was later able to further his guru’s vision by travelling to the west in steps, teaching and establishing communities of dedicated yoga practitioners everywhere he visited.

Swami Sivananda embarked on frequent and extensive tours of India and Sri Lanka starting in the early 1930s. Many years later he is still remembered by aspirants in Sri Lanka for his spiritual magnetism and inspired talks.

Swami Vishnudevananda also visited and taught in Sri Lanka. In fact, Sri Lanka was his first of many stops as he slowly made his way towards North America in the late 1950s, conducting classes in several cities. Swamiji’s gurubhai, Swami Satchidananda, who later founded the Integral Yoga Institute was then living in Colombo. He welcomed Swamiji and arranged programmes for him there.

For a number of years we have welcomed groups of students to our Teachers’ Training Courses (TTCs) in India. Now, for the first time we are offering dedicated yoga programmes online for students in Sri Lanka. These programmes provide an opportunity to connect with teachers and students from India to learn and practice yoga together.