Classical yoga and Vedanta · Ashrams and city centres worldwide
One of the world’s most authentic yoga traditions— open to everyone.
The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres teach classical yoga and Vedanta to promote physical, mental and spiritual health — for members and guests worldwide, from complete beginners to experienced practitioners.
New here? Choose the route that fits you best
Where would you like to begin?
Four clear routes in
— whichever kind
of visitor you are
Each route leads straight to the programmes, teachings and locations that match where you are now, so you never have to guess which page to open.
01
Start exploring yoga
New to yoga, or looking for a class close to home
Beginner courses and classes teach the Five Points of Yoga step by step. No experience needed, and all are welcome.
02
Deepen your practice
Regular practitioners ready for more
Move beyond the postures into pranayama, meditation and the study of Vedanta, at an ashram or your city centre.
03
Become a yoga teacher
Ready to teach, or to study the tradition in depth
Residential Teachers’ Training Courses in ashrams worldwide, taught in the ancient gurukula tradition.
About teacher training
04
Visit an ashram or centre
Seeking rest, retreat, or a local community
Stay at an ashram on a Yoga Vacation, or join your nearest city centre for classes, courses and satsang.
Programmes and courses
Find your programme
in one step, not five
Teacher training, Yoga Vacations, courses and retreats — choose a category to see what each one is and who it is for.
Teachers’ Training Course (TTC)
A solid foundation in the classical yoga tradition
Life-transforming residential courses held at our ashrams worldwide. You will awaken and strengthen your own practice, and build a firm foundation in classical yoga from which to teach others instinctively and confidently.
- Nearly 50,000 graduates — the largest classical yoga training in the world
- Taught in the ancient gurukula system: you live with the teacher for the course
- Also offered: Advanced Teachers’ Training (ATTC) and Sadhana Intensive
- Continuing education for practising yoga teachers
The teachings
Five points, four paths
— the whole tradition,
made practical
The underlying purpose of all practices of yoga is to reunite the individual soul with the Absolute, or pure consciousness. Observing the needs of modern life, Swami Vishnudevananda synthesised the ancient wisdom into five principles that can be lived day to day — without departing from the classical teaching of the Four Paths of Yoga.
The Four Paths of Yoga
Karma Yoga
The yoga of action
Selfless service offered for the benefit of others — the foundation of all the yoga paths.
Bhakti Yoga
The yoga of devotion
Prayer, chanting and worship, opening the heart towards the divine.
Raja Yoga
The yoga of meditation
Stilling the mind through meditation and turning the attention inward.
Jnana Yoga
The yoga of knowledge
Enquiry and study, discerning the real from the unreal.
The Five Points of Yoga
Yoga is a lifestyle, not an hour on a mat.
The practice begins with the sun salutation and the twelve basic asanas, and continues into breathing, relaxation, diet and the mind
The 12 basic asanas
The classic sequence, practised slowly. Scroll sideways to read all twelve.
01
Headstand
Śīrṣāsan
02
Shoulderstand
Sarvāṅgāsana
03
Plough
Halāsana
04
Fish
Matsyāsana
05
Sitting forward bend
Paśchimotthānāsana
06
Cobra
Bhujaṅgāsana
Locations
Find the ashram or
centre nearest to you
Ashrams — havens of peace offering year-round programmes in idyllic, natural settings, conducive to practice, reflection and study.
Our ashrams sit in some of the most beautiful places on earth, and our city centres are oases of peace in the heart of major cities.
City centres — sanctuaries in the heart of major cities, offering classes, courses, satsang, retreats and workshops. All are welcome.
Ashram ---
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat
Paradise Island, Nassau
Bahamas · North America
Ashram ---
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch
Woodbourne, New York
United States · North America
Ashram ---
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm
Grass Valley, California
United States · North America
Ashram ---
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram
Neyyar Dam, Kerala
India · India
Ashram ---
Sivananda Yoga Vietnam Resort and Training Centre
Da Lat
Vietnam · Asia
City centre ---
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center
New York
United States · North America
City centre ---
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center
Santa Monica, Los Angeles
United States · North America
City centre ---
Centro Sivananda de Yoga Vedanta
Porto Alegre
Brazil · South America
City centre ---
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
India · India
City centre ---
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Nataraja Centre
Kailash Colony, New Delhi
India · India
City centre ---
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dwarka Centre
Dwarka, New Delhi
India · India
All 37 entries above are taken from the official locations directory of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres. Affiliated centres are listed separately on
Resources
Teachings, articles
and material to study
Read at your own pace, then take it further with a course, a retreat or a teacher training course.
“Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realise.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963)
Articles
Yoga Life articles
Browse the repository of teachings, articles and educational material published by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.
Education
Continuing education
Further training and continuing education for practising teachers, alongside workshops and courses at ashrams and city centres.
See programmes --->>
Teachings
The teachings library
The Five Points of Yoga, the Four Paths, the 12 basic asanas and the sun salutation, explained together in one place.
Study the teachings--->>>
Community
Karma yoga and “Serve All”
Free medical camps, prison outreach, nutrition programmes and yoga in schools, supported by the Sivananda community worldwide.
About our service --->>
Heritage and lineage
An unbroken line of teachers, and a worldwide family
The teachings have been passed from guru to disciple in an unbroken chain to the present day, and are the mainstay of our organisation. Today a global network of ashrams and city centres teaches classical yoga and Vedanta — and runs on the principle of selfless service.
1959
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres founded in Canada
25+
Ashrams and city centres worldwide
10
Ashrams offering the Yoga Vacation year-round
50,000
Teacher training graduates worldwide (nearly)
All figures above are as published on sivananda.org. No testimonials, ratings or rankings are shown in this concept.
“Health is wealth. Peace of mind is happiness. Yoga shows the
way.”
Swami Vishnudevananda (1927–1993)
788–802 CE
The teaching lineage traces back to the sage Adi Sankaracharya, who unified the diverse spiritual practices of his time into a cohesive system based on the Upanishads of the Four Vedas.
1932
After years of service as a medical doctor, Swami Sivananda renounces worldly life and establishes an ashram in Rishikesh, north India.
1936
Swami Sivananda founds the Divine Life Society and develops the Yoga of Synthesis, an amalgamation of the Four Paths of Yoga. He is the author of more than 300 books on yoga.
1957
Swami Vishnudevananda is sent to hthe West by his guru with the words “People are waiting…”
1959
He founds the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Canada, in Swami Sivananda’s name, and sets up yoga centres and ashrams throughout the world.
1960s onwards
The first to introduce the concept of a yoga vacation, and the first to establish yoga teachers’ training courses in the West. In the 1970s he flies over war-torn countries in a two-seater plane, dropping flowers and leaflets for peace.
Today
A worldwide network of ashrams and city centres teaches classical yoga and Vedanta, and the network is licensed to use the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre trademark and copyrighted programme materials to ensure consistency of practice worldwide.
Your next step
However you arrived here, there is a
sensible place to start
If you are new to yoga
Begin with the Five Points of Yoga, then look for a beginner course at a centre near you.
Read the teachings--->>
Find a location--->>
If you have practised for a while
Go deeper with a retreat, a course in Vedanta and raja yoga, or a Yoga Vacation at an ashram.
See programmes --->>
Explore retreats -->>
If you want to teach
The Teachers’ Training Course is held in ashrams worldwide, in the ancient gurukula tradition.
About teacher training -->>
Official TTC pages--->>
Back to the four routes--->>
Back to top --->>
Sivananda
Yoga Vedanta Centres · International
A worldwide network of ashrams and city centres teaching classical yoga and Vedanta, and promoting physical, mental and spiritual health.
Programmes
Teachers’ Training Course
Yoga Vacations
Courses and workshops
Retreats and devotional