| Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres | |
|---|---|
 Swami Vishnudevananda teaching the 12 basic asanas of Sivananda Yoga | |
| Founder | Swami Vishnudevananda |
| Established | 1959 |
| Practice emphases | |
| Pranayama,asanas, relaxation, diet,vedanta philosophy, andmeditation | |
| Related schools | |
Sivananda Yoga is a spiritualyoga system founded byVishnudevananda; it includes the use ofasanas (yoga postures) but is not limited to them as in systems ofyoga as exercise. He named this system, as well as the internationalSivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres organization responsible for propagating its teachings, after his guru,Sivananda[1] with the mission 'to spread the teachings of yoga and the message of world peace'[1] which has since been refined to 'practice and teach the ancient yogic knowledge for health, peace,unity in diversity and self-realization.'[2]
Some other yoga organizations follow Sivananda's teachings, including theDivine Life Society,Bihar School of Yoga,Integral Yoga (Satchidananda) and theChinmaya Mission, but use different names for their yoga systems. Sivananda Yoga is the yoga system of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre organization and is based on Sivananda's teachings to synthesize the principles of the four paths of yoga (Yoga of Synthesis) along with the five points of yoga compiled by Vishnudevananda.[3] The four classical paths of yoga consist ofKarma Yoga,Bhakti Yoga,Raja Yoga andJnana Yoga.[4] These are Proper Exercise (āsana), Proper Breathing (prāṇāyāma), Proper Relaxation (śavāsana), Proper Diet and Positive Thinking (vedānta) and Meditation (dhyāna).[5]
Starting in 2019, the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres have dealt with widespreadallegations of sexual abuse and rape by its founder Vishnudevananda and at least one other high-level leader of the organization.[6][7]
Sivananda Yoga, and the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre organization that propagates its teachings, is run on the principles of selfless service, or karma yoga.[8] The core belief in the need for volunteer workers propagated by the Sivananda Yoga tradition is that serving others is an essential practice to open the heart, as it diminishes selfishness and egoism, and brings practitioners closer to understanding the unity underlying all of creation.[8] This practice of emphasizing the importance of selfless service was inherited from the teachings on karma yoga by Swami Sivananda.[9]
Swami Vishnudevananda was the head of all operations of Sivananda Yoga and the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre since its being established in 1959 until shortly before his death in 1993, when he assigned the responsibility of spreading the Sivananda Yoga teachings to an executive board of loyal disciples. The executive board now includes eight yoga acharyas, a term that means 'spiritual teacher'. Like many spiritual teachers, these acharyas are referred to by their spiritual names given to them as part of this particular tradition rather than the given names provided to them at birth.[10]
Swami Sivananda established the first Sivananda Ashram in 1932. His mission was to serve humanity by sharing his deep understanding of yoga, and in 1936, he founded theDivine Life Society to publish and freely distribute spiritual material. To make the teachings more accessible, he developed theYoga of Synthesis, a combination of the formal doctrines of yoga – the four paths of yoga – that he summarized as follows: 'Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Meditate. Realize.'[1]
Swami Sivananda ofRishikesh followedSwami Vivekananda's vision of yoga as having four parts, butasanas became more important in his teaching. In 1959, one of his main pupils,Swami Vishnudevananda, was sent to set to the West to continue these teachings.[1] In 1960, Vishnudevananda published his guide to hatha yoga,The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, illustrated with studio photographs of himself demonstrating each pose.[11] The book sold over a million copies by 1989.[12] The Sivananda asana program had "a profound effect"[13] on the development of modernyoga as exercise, which strongly emphasizes asanas.[14] Another of Sivananda's pupils,Swami Satyananda Saraswati, founded the influentialBihar School of Yoga in 1964.[14]
Allegations of sexual abuse and rape of female followers by Vishnudevananda started to become public in 2019 when his assistant Julie Salter posted her testimony aboutsexual abuse committed against her by the guru to Facebook on 10 December 2019.[15] Since then, other followers have come forward with similar accounts.[16]
The Sivananda Yoga training system aims to teach an authenticallyVedic system of yoga and believes that retaining the vitality of the body is a byproduct of the discipline and not the goal. The system philosophies are summarised inVishnudevananda's 5 principles:[17]
Sivananda Yoga identifies a group of twelveāsanas as basic.[23] Emphasis is on mastering these twelve basic āsanas first, from which variations are then added to further deepen into the practice. The twelve asanas in the Sivananda Yoga system follow a precise order, allowing for a systematic balanced engagement of every major part of the body - with the primary intention of allowing the prana, or life force energy, to circulate more freely.[24]
A session of hatha yoga typically starts with practitioners resting inśavāsana, continuing onto prāṇāyāma (breathing exercises)kapalabhati andanuloma viloma, followed by 6-8 rounds ofsūrya namaskār, before the standard program of the 12 basic āsanas. A Sivananda hatha yoga session averages between 90 and 120 minutes.[25]
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