Welcome. I warmly invite you to join us in the Bahamas for a season of joy, beauty, wisdom and the profound teachings of yoga given to us by our teacher, Swami Vishnudevananda and his teacher, Swami Sivananda.

In 1969, Swami Vishnudevananda had a vision about the world. The gist of the vision was that all the barriers that exist between people — physical, psychological, spiritual, everything that separates us — would be destroyed or broken globally, everywhere on the planet. One of the results of that vision was the creation of the Yoga Teacher Training Course (TTC) in order to train people to become new kind of leaders for humanity. These leaders would bring peace to humanity, not war, strife, and suffering; these leaders would lead from within, from the deep place of love and of compassion and of inner peace; and these leaders could teach other people to do the same thing.

When he created the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course in 1969, Swami Vishnudevananda envisioned millions and millions of people practicing yoga, a far-fetched notion at that time. And now, in 2015, there are millions and millions of people practicing yoga; on June 21st, the world celebrated the first International Day of Yoga, an initiative co-created by 175 individual countries through the United Nations.

As we navigate these times of change that Swami Vishnudevananda foretold, it is yogis who are playing an important role in helping humanity move through the transformation. At the ashram, we train yoga teachers and yoga practitioners at all levels in support of this great vision, of a barrier-free world in which we are united in oneness expressed through our diversity.

Among the programs we are offering this season, you will find many special events and symposia that bring together spiritual leaders, healers, musicians, scientists, and artists from diverse backgrounds, religions, and spiritual traditions. These important exchanges invite us to connect, learn, and share with one another, and great spiritual wisdom emerges — the kind of wisdom needed at this time on our planet to inspire and guide us forward.

Please join us. Come immerse in yoga, become a yoga teacher, attend a course or special event, take a yoga vacation, join our residential study program — and contribute to creating a bright future for all.

Om shanti, Om peace
Swami Swaroopananda,
Director
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas