Swami Sivananda Saraswati, a great yogi master at the origin of Sivananda Yoga

The master yogi Sivananda , guru of the creator of Yoga Sivananda .

Swami Sivananda Saraswati was born in Pattamadai, India, on September 8, 1887. He was born, under the name of Kuppuswami, in a family of orthodox Brahmins. 76 years later, he died on July 14, 1963 in Rishikesh. This Hindu man is known, in the history of yoga , for having been a doctor, but also for his great wisdom and his devotion to others, notably through his teaching of the yoga of synthesis or Integral Yoga . Wishing to spread the practice of this art to the greatest number, he sent his disciples to the 4 corners of the world and wrote various books in English. It was then that he trained Swami Vishnudevananda who created Sivananda Yoga .

Sivananda was first a doctor

During his childhood, Shivananda was already attracted to spirituality and felt compelled to help others. Later, he moved to Malaysia where he discovered many workers living in poverty. It was at this time that he became a doctor, also running a hospital. He cured the poor inhabitants for free and even more, because he gave them money to make up for the loss of their income.

Then, the yogi master Shivananda practiced and taught yoga in India

It was through studying the teachings of Vedanta that the yoga master discovered the true purpose of life. He wanted to follow the path of the wise and help others physically and mentally. In fact, he himself said: "Any type of work that serves to heal and relieve human suffering fills me with great joy."

It was then that in 1923, Sivananda left everything to become a monk traveling in the Himalayas, without money and devoting himself to the practice of yoga and meditation. It was there that he met his guru Swami Vishvananda who taught him the art of yoga. Thus, he took the name Swami Sivanada Saraswati .

In 1932, the spiritual master founded the Sivananda Ashram in Shivanandanagar, on the banks of the Ganges. 4 years later, he created the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, training students in Integral Yoga . This yoga teacher taught the yoga of synthesis, mixing various types of practice and being at the origin of modern yoga in the West. Finally, in 1948, he inaugurated the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy, the objective of which was to share the practice of yoga and the philosophy of the Vedas. Its slogan was "Serve, love, give, purify yourself, meditate and realize yourself".

Swami Sivananda is the author of many books on yoga

To spread spiritual knowledge throughout the world, yoga teacher Sivananda wrote several books in English, that is, no less than 200 works, especially on the practice of yoga. It was also a way to help people in a lasting way. For Swami Sivananda , writings were important because speech could be forgotten while printed words remained.

The spread of yoga throughout the world through its disciples

In Rishikesh, the yoga master had many disciples who collaborated in spreading yoga in the West, such as Swami Satchitananda who, at the request of Sivananda, left India to teach Integral Yoga throughout the world. During the year 1957, he told his student Swami Vishnudevananda: "Go to the West. People are waiting for you." The latter therefore went to the United States and then to Europe to spread the teaching of yoga.

The Creation of Sivananda Yoga

It was Swami Vishnudevananda, a disciple of Shivananda , who created Sivananda in the 1960s. This art is practiced according to the following principles:

• Asanas performed gently,
• Breathing exercises (Pranayama),
• Relaxation of body and mind through letting go,
• Vegetarianism,
• Positive thoughts and meditation.

Nowadays, you can find 9 ashrams teaching Sivananda Yoga . Discover all our yoga mats on the Tayronalife store.