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Sivananda Yoga
Swami Sivananda (1887 - 1963)
Swami Sivananda was born in South India into a traditional family with parents whom raised their children with strong spiritual values, in a non-violent environment. As a child Swami Sivananda was extremely open to giving to others and as an adult this quality became more and more developed.
As a young man he trained as a medical doctor and went to practice in Malaysia. He took care of a hospital for 10 years and served the poor. He became very well know as he would not accept money from the poor, only accepting money from the wealthy.
After being inspired by a philosophical book given to him by a sadhu (a wandering Yogi), Swami Sivananda decided he wanted to give people something more than 'medicine' - he wanted to heal more than the physical body. He returned to India and spent time visiting various religious places, leaving everything behind him. He went to Rishikesh in 1924 and settled there. He became a Swami and started practice in a simple hut. Over the years many disciples came to Swami Sivananda and eventually he opened an ashram. In 1932 The Sivananda Ashram was opened and in 1936 The Divine Life Society was established. In 1948 The Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy began, which was a formal structure for teaching Yoga.
Swami Sivananda's mission was first to expand Yoga within India (to bring to the masses), and then to bring Yoga to the West. Throughout his life he also wrote more than 200 books with the intention to give his knowledge to humanity. Swami Sivananda synthesised all Yoga paths into one, teaching "Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise".
Swami Vishnu-devananda (1927 - 1993)
Disciple of Swami Sivananda, Swami Vishnu-devananda was also born in South India into a well-respected family. He was also raised in a spiritual and non-violent environment. As a young man he was in the army for a short period of time before coming across a letter about '20 Spiritual Instructions' by Swami Sivananda. He was very interested in this as he had a very questioning nature.
Swami Vishnu-devananda went to Rishikesh to visit Swami Sivananda's ashram when he was 20 years of age. It was his intention to go for 1 week but he stayed. He continued his Yoga studies and became the hatha Yoga professor at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy. There was no need for him to actually study, however, as when Swami Sivananda touched him at his forehead to initiate him all knowledge came back to Swami Vishnu-devananda.
In 1957 Swami Vishnu-devananda was sent to the West by Swami Sivananda. He set up many Sivananda Yoga centres and ashrams. In 1967 The Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat was set up in Nassau, Bahamas. Swami Vishnu-devananda also founded the True World Order (T.W.O) and the International Sivananda Vedanta Centres. He started the Sivananda Teacher Training Course as a mission to bring peace to our hearts. Another one of his great missions was learning how to fly a plane and then flying to many places of conflict around the world to give messages of peace.
Swami Vishnu-devananda is a world renowned authority on hatha and raja Yoga and author of the bestselling "The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga" and other books. "Health is Wealth. Peace of Mind is Happiness. Yoga Shows the Way." - Swami Vishnu-devananda
Swami Vishnu-devananda synthesised the ancient wisdom of Yoga into five basic principles. Together these principles allow the Yoga aspirant to easily integrate the disciplines of Yoga into their daily life to promote physical and mental health, which is essential for spiritual growth. These five principles are:
- Relaxation (Savasana): Yoga gives techniques for deep relaxation to release tension in the muscles, rejuvenate the nervous system and still the mind. Proper relaxation leads to attainment of inner peace and recharges the body's energy stores.
- Exercise (Asana): Yoga postures or asanas work on all parts of the body - increasing flexibility and strength, building muscle tone, maintaining correct curvature of the spine, improving blood circulation, regulating the metabolism, massaging internal organs, and boosting the immune system.
- Breathing (Pranayama): Yogic breathing exercises teach us to use all parts of the lungs to increase our oxygen intake and to correct improper breathing habits. The most important benefit of proper breathing is to control prana (the universal life force), which leads to control of the mind.
- Diet: The foods we eat not only affect our body but also our mind. A Yogic diet is lacto-vegetarian, based on pure, natural, simple foods that are easily digested.
- Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana): By practising meditation and positive thinking, negative thoughts are removed and the mind is brought under perfect control and turned inward.
It is around these five principles that the Art of Yoga Cards have been based.
