History of YogaZone

Founded by Sri Swami Vishnudevananda, disciple of Sri Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres organisation with locations around the world is dedicated to the teaching of classical yoga and vedanta to promote physical, mental and spiritual health. The Organisation is recognised internationally as one of the most important and authentic yoga institutions in the world. A global network of Ashrams and City Centres offer teachings on all aspects of yoga and meditation-including our world-renowned teacher training courses-yogic studies including raja yoga and vedanta and sacred culture programmes. Our founder Swami Vishnudevananda synthesised the essence of yoga into five principles that could be easily incorporated into daily life. These comprise the core teachings of the four paths of classical, traditional yoga and make the wisdom of the ancient sages easily accessible to beginner and the more experienced alike. The YogaZone, part of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and founded in 1991, is situated on the banks of the holy river Ganga, against the stunning backdrop of the majestic Himalayas. The Ashram is located in the small village of Netala, eight kilometres north of Uttarkashi. The high altitude and spectacular snow-clad Himalayan peaks provide the most perfect natural setting for the practice of yoga. The area, called Devbhumi, meaning the ‘Land of the Gods’, is renowned for its exceptional natural beauty and revered for its sacred heritage, with a vast history of spiritual practice going back thousands of years. Here sages and saints throughout the ages have found solace, peace and inspiration.

The mission is to spread the teachings of classical yoga, integrating the Four Paths of Yoga through the Five Points of Yoga of Swami Vishnudevananda into a means to achieve physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing, and self-realisation. We uphold the practice of all aspects of the classical teachings of a synthesis of yoga with a strong emphasis on practical experience. Swami Sivananda’s dictum ‘an ounce of practice is worth tons of theory’ is strictly followed. Many of the teachers dedicate their lives to the study and practise of yoga, living within the Organisation as renunciants or swamis. With headquarters in Val Morin, Canada, the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres is represented in over twenty-six countries with headquarters in Quebec, Canada, and overseen by an executive board of senior disciples of Swami Vishnudevananda. In India we have four Ashrams situated at Neyyar Dam (headquarters), Madurai, Uttarkashi and Gudur and five Centres—Kailash Colony (New Delhi), Dwarka (New Delhi), Chennai, Madurai and Trivandrum. Our Ashrams provide a spiritual retreat to live and study under the guidance of a teacher. Our Centres are an oasis of peace in the midst of the bustle of city life. They provide a calm environment conducive to the study and practice of yoga. Each of the Centres and Ashrams offers the opportunity to learn and practise Swami Sivananda’s Synthesis of Yoga and Swami Vishnudevananda’s Five Points of Yoga.