The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is a non-profit organization named after Swami Sivananda, one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the 20th century and founded by his disciple Swami Vishnudevananda. All are welcome to come to our ashrams and centres to learn not only about how yoga can help maintain a healthy body but also how yogic philosophy, applied in daily life, can help maintain a peaceful mind and spirit. In 1957, Swami Vishnudevananda on instructions from his guru, Swami Sivananda, came to the West to bring the teachings of yoga. He established the first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta centre in Montreal, Canada, in 1959 and to date there are close to 60 Sivananda locations (ashrams, yoga centres and affiliated centres) around the world. Over 26,000 teachers have been trained in the TTC programs. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashrams and Centres are recognized worldwide for teaching yoga authentically, preserving its purity and tradition dating back several thousand years. They also offer a wide range of programs and even the possibility for spiritual growth through Karma yoga as a temporary or full time staff program participant. Swami Vishnudevananda made the yogic teachings understandable and available to all by simplifying them into five points, showing specific ways to develop physical and mental health as well as spiritual growth through ~ Proper Exercise (Asanas), Proper Breathing (Pranayama), Proper Relaxation (Savasana), Proper Diet (vegetarian), Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana). Together with Swami Sivananda's revival of the yoga of synthesis tradition, which integrates the four paths of Yoga (Karma, Bhakti, Raja, Jnana), a well-balanced Sadhana (spiritual discipline) is achievable by those sincerely seeking for a change in their lives.
