Sivananda-Yoga Teachers Training New Delhi-South Delhi(India)

Sivananda Yoga Sevashram, South Delhi

Yoga is never an excerice/ aerobics/ physio-therapy. It is not just doing asnaas or pranayamas or doing only meditation. They are a part of yoga, so don’t get confused. Also, there is nothing like power yoga, hot yoga or cold yoga.Yoga is always a discipline, the science & art of right living, so it must be incorporated in our daily life. The word yoga literary means unity or oneness and is derived from Sanskrit root ‘yuj’ that means to join. This unity of joining is described in spiritual terms as the union of individual consciousness with the cosmic conscious. At a more practical level yoga is a tool of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind and emotions. This done through the regular practice of asnaas, pranayamas, mudras, bandhas, shatkarmas & meditation & must be mastered to get tuned with the universal consciousness

Yoga developed as a part of Indian civilization more than 10,000 years ago. As per historians like Romila Thaper, Jha & Shrimali, many statues have been found of lord Shiva and Parvati (performing various asnaas & meditation) in archelogical excavations made at Harappa & Mohan-jo-daro. According to mythical traditions Lord Shiva is said to be the founder of yoga & Parvati his first disciple. Lord Shiva is considered to be embodiment of supreme consciousness. Parvati represents supreme knowledge, will & action & is responsible for all the creations. This force or energy is also known as kundalini shakti, the cosmic force that lies dormant in all beings. Parvati is regarded as mother of the whole universe. The union of Shiva & Shakti takes place for creation of the universe. Shakti, the Parvati out of love & compation for her children, she imparted her secret knowledge of liberation in the form of tantra. The techniques of yoga have there source in tantra & the two cannot be separated just as consciousness, Shiva cannot be separated from energy, Shakti. Parvati imparted these techniques of tantra & yoga to 64 yoginis. These 64 yoginis are worshiped all over India. There are 64 temples dedicated to these aspects of feminine energy. These techniques were always kept secret & were never written down or exposed to public view. They were passed on from guru to disciple by word of mouth.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati was born at Pattamadai, (Tamil Nadu) in 1887. After serving as a medical doctor in Malaya, he renounced his practice to search for his Guru in the foothills of the Himalayas. He settled in the sacred valley of Rishikesh and was initiated into the Dashnami Sannyasa tradition in 1924 by Swami Vishwananda Saraswati. He was a doctor whose experiences in caring for the sick helped direct him to spiritual life. To this end Swami Sivananda toured India extensively, inspiring people to practice yoga and lead a divine life. He founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh in 1936, the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy in 1945, the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy in 1948 and the Sivananda Eye Hospital in 1957 and attained Maha Samadhi on 14th July 1963. In subsequent years he wrote hundreds of books and articles on yoga and spirituality to maintain and introduce yogic values in the minds of the general public. His emphasis was on breaking down the barriers which separated the needy from the teachings that could help them, whether this took the form of yoga for health, peace of mind or spiritual aspiration. This ideology continues to guide the work of the Satyananda branch of his lineage. As a major spiritual voice of his time, Swami Sivananda guided thousands of spiritual seekers, disciples and aspirants all over the world. Swami Sivananda believed that to progress in spiritual life we must Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realize, Be Good, Do Good, Be Kind, Be Compassionate, Bear Insult, Bear Injury. This is very difficult, but it is the highest sadhana. “Sivananda Math” is named in memory of Swami Sivananda Saraswati, one of India’s great saints and the Guru of Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

Foremost authority and inspirer of the modern yogic and tantric renaissance.
Born in the foothills of the Himalayas in 1923.
Left his home at the age of nineteen in search of spiritual truth.
Joined his guru, Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh, and adopted the sannyasa way of life in 1943.
Served his Guru for twelve years, broadening his own understanding of the spiritual sciences.
Travelled the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent for nine years as wandering ascetic, to assess the needs of modern man.
Founded the International Yoga Fellowship Movement at Rajnandgaon in 1956.
Founded the Bihar School of Yoga at Munger in 1963
Conducted numerous programmes for training sannyasins and householders alike in the techniques of yoga; and toured internationally, propagating yoga among people of all countries, races and religions.
Authored over eighty books on yoga and spirituality.
Founded Sivananda Math, a social, charitable institution at Munger in 1984.
Founded the Yoga Research Foundation, a medical and scientific research oriented institution, at Munger in 1984.
Renounced all that he had created in 1988, and now leads the life of a Paramahamsa sannyasin, not working for his flock and mission alone, but having a universal vision.