Sivananda Yoga
- Sivananda Yoga: This type focuses on breathing and meditation as a path to spirituality. The 12 basic poses of this type help fight respiratory problems and psychological disorders. The 5 principles of Sivananda Yoga extend beyond the exercise and mediation, it is all about improving the lifestyle and habits that have a negative impact on the body.
Swami Sivananda Saraswati, born Kuppuswami (Pattamadai - Tamil Nadu, September 8, 1887 - Shivanandanagar, July 14, 1963), was a Hindu spiritual leader in yoga and Vedanta. He lived most of his life in Rishikesh. He is the founder of the Divine Life Society and author of more than 200 books [1] Swami Sivananda comes from an orthodox Brahmin family and studied medicine at the Medical College in Thanjavur.
After years of working as a doctor in Malaya (Malaysia), he devoted his life to yoga and its propagation. In 1923 he left Malaysia to embark on an extensive pilgrimage through India. After a stay in Benares, he left for Rishikesh where in 1924 he met his guru, Swami Vishwananda Saraswati, who initiated him into the Sannyas order and gave him his monk name Sivananda Saraswati.
In 1936 he founded the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh and the Divine Life Society. In 1945 he developed the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy and organized the All-world Religions Federation. In 1947 he founded the All-world Sadhus Federation and the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy in 1948. He called his yoga the Yoga of Synthesis.
His classes in hatha yoga have been distributed by his student, Swami Vishnu Devananda, under the name of Sivananda yoga. Other students are the Swamis Krishnananda, Chidananda Saraswati, Satyananda Saraswati, Omkarananda Saraswati and Gambhirananda.
Swami Sivananda died on July 14, 1963 in his kutir on the bank of the Ganges, in Shivanandanagar.