Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres are the international yoga organization founded by Swami Vishnudevananda (1959, Montreal), carrying his teacher Swami Sivananda’s synthesis as a standardized five-point system that trained a large share of the West’s first yoga teachers.

Overview

Vishnudevananda’s mission (“fly, then teach” — he flew to America in 1957) produced the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres from 1959 and the ashrams (Val-Morin, Quebec 1962; Neyyar Dam, Kerala 1968 among the first), with the classic Yoga Teachers’ Training Course (TTC, 1969 — the first in the West) as its engine.

Core teachings

Five points: proper exercise (asana), proper breathing (pranayama), proper relaxation (savasana protocol), proper diet (vegetarian), positive thinking and meditation; the 12 basic postures sequence; Sivananda’s “serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize” ethos.

Practice and work

Monthly teacher-training courses (hundreds of thousands certified), the ashram schedule (satsang-karma-yoga-teaching rhythm), and publications (The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, 1960).

Modern status

Ashrams and centers across five continents; the lineage continues under its senior acharyas; its TTC remains among the most-copied formats in modern yoga education.

Verification notes

• Founding dates and the TTC’s 1969 start are documented.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).