Take Your Yoga Journey to the Next Level — Traditional Yoga with Sivananda, Natha Yogis & Naked Babas

When yoga flow in a hot room just isn’t enough

You need to give up the comfort of your local yoga studio to take your practice to the next level.

Like a ripened golden apple falling from a tree, I knew my time was up on the local yoga classes.

It was time to move on. I had gotten all that I could from this yoga teacher.

Are you feeling like you need to go to the next level with your yoga journey?

Have you had enough nature-based soundtracks playing during your yoga class?

Do you know you want more, but are not sure where to find the traditional roots of yoga?

Maybe it times to go hardcore with your yoga. While this can be scary venturing into the unknown, the exhilarating freedom that comes from traditional yoga is a natural high.

It has to be experienced to be known.

Buckle up yogis and yoginis. Be one of the select few and up your yoga game.

Discover the Core Yoga Styles of India

A gateway to modern yoga is booking your yoga class online at your local yoga class.

If you are like me and want something more traditional. There is another path. A path less trodden by the modern-day yogi.

The home of yoga is India. So which better place to look?

Bihar and Beyond: Yoga’s Premier Learning Hub

I first found my way into the world of classical yoga through the Bihar School of Yoga.

This yoga teacher was rather eccentric.

“Damian, have you spent much time around yogis? They burp and fart without a hint of self-consciousness!”

The yoga teacher was telling me about her experience in India with yogis. I am still unsure of the relevance of her sharing.

Until this point, my life was:

• getting poor grades at school
• smashing it out at the gym 4–6 times a week
• playing football on Saturdays
• then going out that night to get drunk and pick up girls.

The world of yoga and monks was completely foreign to me.

Swami Satyananda started the The Bihar School of Yoga.

Swami Satyananda left home at 18 years old, with a desire to realize his true nature. When he was 20 years old, he met Swami Sivananda. With whom he stayed for 9 years. Swami Sivananda then sent him away to study by himself.

Eight years later, in 1964, he started the Bihar School of Yoga.

They run yoga courses and yoga teacher training from their ashram in Bihar, India.

Sacred Asanas: Embracing Yoga’s Ethereal at Divine Life Society

The Divine Life Society was started by Swami Sivananda.

Before becoming a monk, Sivananda was a doctor that had left India to work for several years in Malaysia.

Shortly after arriving back in India, he became disillusioned with a world ruled by money, power, and greed.

In a search for meaning and purpose, he took to a life of being a renunciant.

The Divine Life Society grew from his tapas (spiritual practice) and the service he gave to others.

Their main ashram is located in Rishikesh, India.

The focus of their teachings is yoga asana (postures), meditation, and Vedanta.

It started with a “Vish”

Swami Vishnudevananda named this organization after his guru, Swami Sivananda — The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.

Swami Vishnudevananda left the army to visit his guru in Rishikesh. And the rest is history. He gave up the householder lifestyle to become a monk.

After becoming the head of hatha yoga at the ashram Divine Life Society, Sivananda told him to go out into the world and spread the teachings of yoga.

They run various yoga courses and yoga teacher training courses. Including advanced yoga courses.

Locations in the Bahamas, India, and Canada.

Yoga Intensified — Challenge for Die-hard Yogis

To take things up a notch, specific yoga traditions, with their roots directly from Lord Shiva.

A fish, Mastya, near the side of the river bank, overhead Shiva imparting the knowledge on yoga to Parvati.

Transcending Boundaries — The Natha Yogis’ Spiritual Quest

Gorakhnath started the Nath tradition in the 11th century.

His teacher was Mastyanandra, who is said to be the reincarnation of Mastya. Natha yogis focus on Hatha yoga as a means to Moksha, Self-realization (Enlightenment.)

‘Natha’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘protector.’

Modern-day yoga focuses solely on physical postures and flexibility. Natha yoga does too, but also on the mind’s landscape, developing spiritual depth, and invoking inner peace.

Hatha Yoga, with its emphasis on physical postures and breath control (pranayama), could be considered the physical manifestation of the Natha tradition.

Think of Natha yoga as the mystical blueprint that gave birth to the Hatha Yoga we know today.

The Natha yoga tradition has 2 branches:

• Monks
• Householders

Remember, Natha Yoga is about more than mastering poses; it’s a journey of self-discovery, a path to profound peace, and the ultimate mind-body workout.

Naked Yogis

Naga Babas, are an extraordinary group of spiritual seekers known for their radical asceticism, nakedness, and their intriguing role in the evolution of Hatha Yoga.

These ‘naked yogis’ cover themselves in sacred ash, their bodies adorned with Rudraksha beads. The Naga Babas live in the stark wilderness or hidden ashrams.

Their lives are spent in deep meditation and intense yoga practices, many of which are believed to have influenced the development of Hatha Yoga.

Naga Babas and their unyielding dedication to yoga could be credited with refining and popularizing many of the postures you twist and stretch into at your yoga classes today.

The strength, discipline, and spiritual vigor of Naga Babas contributed to the evolution of this yoga form, emphasizing physical mastery as a pathway to spiritual enlightenment.

Exploring the world of Naga Babas is like delving into the heart of a mystery novel, each page revealing another layer of India’s rich spiritual tapestry.

Whether you’re a yogi, a spiritual pilgrim, or just a curious cat, the Naga Babas offer a tantalizing glimpse into the extreme limits of human spiritual and physical endurance. Uncover their secrets and deepen your understanding of the roots of Hatha Yoga!

When you are ready to take your yoga journey to another level, look at the yoga giants of the past.

• Swami Sivananda
• Swami Satyananda
• Swami Vishnudevananda

And if you dare for a walk on the wild side, embrace the age-old traditions of the Natha Yogis or Naga Babas.

When your desire to know the Truth burns deep. And you have gone as far as you can with your local yoga studio.

Darn to dream of learning traditional yoga from the yogi adepts.

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