• About Us

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center

A haven of peace in Putney

A haven of peace in Putney | Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center | Yoga | London

Welcome to a haven of peace – a spiritual oasis among the pressures of city life. The London Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre is a place where you can recharge, reconnect with yourself and develop your yoga practice in beautiful, serene surroundings.

Here you will discover the benefits of classical yoga, whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi, young or old, fit or struggling with health problems. The centre teaches yoga as a complete system for physical, mental and spiritual well-being and shares techniques to cope better with the stresses that life brings, find increased health and connect to inner peace.

We are part of a global organisation that brought authentic yoga to the West 60 years ago. Our teachers are fully committed to the yogic way of life, blending the practice of yoga postures, meditation, mantra chanting and selfless service.

The centre in London started in 1970. Over the last 47 years, it has become a source of inspiration and a spiritual home for many generations of yoga practitioners in the UK. For us, it is more a way of life than a form of exercise. We would be happy to share it with you.

Sivananda Lineage

International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres

The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers is a not-for-profit organization named after Swami Sivananda – one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the 20th century. It was established in 1957 by Swami Vishnudevananda, a close disciple of Swami Sivananda, to practice and teach the ancient yogic knowledge for health, peace, unity in diversity and Self-realization.

Swami Sivananda

(1887-1963)

Swami Sivananda is a great saint of modern India. After a successful career as a medical doctor, he renounced the world, practised intense meditation and attained self-realisation. Through over 200 books, he made the timeless wisdom of yoga and vedanta known to the whole world. He summarised the essence of his teachings as “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise.” Swami Sivananda was the founder of the Divine Life Society Ashram in Rishikesh, Himalayas. He trained many outstanding disciples in his ashram, one of whom was Swami Vishnudevananda. In 1957, Swami Sivananda sent Swami Vishnudevananda to teach yoga in the West with the words “People are waiting”.

Swami Sivananda | Sivananda London | Classical Yoga

Swami Vishnudevananda | Sivananda London | Classical Yoga

Swami Vishnudevananda

(1927-1993)

It was the life’s work and mission of Swami Vishnudevanada to teach yoga in the name of his master, Swami Sivananda. He was sent to the West in 1957 and established the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres at the heart of many of the world’s capital cities. Swami Vishnudevananda was a master in hatha and raja yoga and brought the teachings of yoga and vedanta in its purest form to the West. He was also a great activist for world peace, bringing the message of peace to many troubled spots. Thousands of students were personally trained by Swami Vishnudevananda as yoga teachers and many more have been inspired by his books, The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga and Meditation and Mantras.

  • "The experience: "I am universal Space; I was never bound by this body and mind..."

    This is Yoga."


    – Swami Vishnudevananda

Our Spiritual Guides

Sivananda Europe Acharyas

Our mission at the London Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre is to spread peace, health and joy through yoga. All are welcome to come to our centre to learn not only about how yoga can help maintain a healthy body but also how Yogic philosophy, applied in daily life, can help maintain a peaceful mind and spirit. The goal of yoga is inner and outer peace and the realization of unity in diversity.

Yoga-Acharyas of Sivananda Europe

Yoga Acharyas of Sivananda Europe | Sivananda London | Classical Yoga

Our Teachings

The Five Points of Yoga

After closely observing the lifestyles and needs of people in the West, Swami Vishnudevananda, the founder of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, noted that the ancient wisdom of Yoga can be synthesized into five basic principles, which can easily be incorporated into our own lifestyles to provide the foundation for healthy living. It is around these five principles that the activities at the London centre are based.


Proper Exercise Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of Yoga(Asanas)

Enhances the flexibility of the joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments and stimulates circulation. Flexibility and strength of the spine keep the body youthful.

 

Proper Breathing Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of Yoga(Pranayama)

Connects the body to its battery, the solar plexus, which is an storehouse of energy. Stress and depression can be overcome by breathing more deeply with increased awareness.

 

Proper Relaxation Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of Yoga(Savasana)

Relieves the body of existing stress symptoms (including muscle tension and breathlessness) and also helps develop resistance against external stress factors. Once body and mind are freed from constant overload they are at ease and perform more efficiently.

Sivananda London | Meditation | Our Learning Centre

Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of YogaProper Diet (Vegetarian)

Promotes health and has a positive effect on body and mind. It is natural, simple to prepare, easy to digest and absorb. It is based on proper food choices and causes the least harm to other living beings and the environment.

 

Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of YogaPositive Thinking and Meditation (Vedanta and Dhyana)

Eliminates negative thought patterns and provides an experience of inner peace by controlling the mind through meditation. This is the key to peace of mind.

  • “You can have calmness of mind at all times by the practice of yoga. You can have restful sleep. You can have increased energy, vigour, vitality, longevity, and a high standard of health. You can turn out efficient work within a short space of time. You can have success in every walk of life.”

    – Swami Sivananda

Our Teachings

The Four Paths of Yoga

Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of YogaKarma Yoga

(Path of Selfless Service)

Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of YogaBhakti Yoga

(Path of Devotion)

Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of YogaRaja Yoga /
Hatha Yoga

(Path of Mind Control /
Yoga Postures)

Sivananda Yoga | 5 Points of YogaJnana Yoga

(Path of Knowledge)

Our Teachings | Sivananda London

Classical Yoga Teachings

Deepen your practice