Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda (C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder) was the Sivananda-lineage teacher who opened the Woodstock festival (1969) — “my children” — and built the Integral Yoga movement bridging classical practice and the American counterculture.
Life
A manager in his family’s? — a businessman in Coimbatore who took sannyasa after his wife’s death, he studied under Sivananda and served in Sri Lanka before coming to New York in 1966 at artist Peter Max’s invitation. Woodstock’s opening invocation made him a public figure; he founded Integral Yoga Institutes across America and the Yogaville ashram (Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, Virginia, with its interfaith Light of Truth Universal Shrine LOTUS).
Teachings/Works
Integral Yoga — the synthesis of postures, breath, meditation, and interfaith devotion — was taught through his institutes and books (Integral Yoga Hatha, The Golden Present). He framed yoga as ease in body, peace in mind, usefulness in the world.
Legacy
LOTUS remains American yoga’s interfaith landmark; the Integral Yoga network and his teacher-lineage shaped the U.S. yoga and wellness world.
Verification notes
- Life and institutions are documented.
- Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).