Swami Swaroopananda's Birthday Celebration

Swami Swaroopananda is a senior disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda. A practicing yogi from a very young age, Swami Swaroopananda has dedicated his life to the practice and teaching of yoga. He taught in Yoga Teacher Training Courses around the world and is currently teaching advanced yoga philosophy courses and lectures internationally. He is Director of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat and acharya (spiritual director) for the Sivananda centers and ashrams in the Bahamas and the Middle East. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.

Dr. John Douillard, DC, CAP, is a globally recognized leader in the fields of Ayurveda, natural health, nutrition, and sports medicine. With 40 years of experience, he has helped over 100,000 patients. Dr. John is a renowned Ayurvedic educator, host of the Ayurveda Meets Modern Science podcast, and bestselling author of seven health books, including Eat Wheat and 3-Season Diet. He is the creator of LifeSpa.com, where he proves ancient Ayurvedic wisdom with modern science in articles published weekly. With its thousands of free educational articles and videos, LifeSpa.com is the leading Ayurvedic health resource on the web with 500,000+ social followers and newsletter readers.

Amoda Maa offers a profound invitation to all those who wish to embody the truth of awakened consciousness in the midst of everyday life. Her teachings are free of any ideology and are not affiliated with any lineage or tradition, and yet the luminous truth expressed through these teachings is the same nondual understanding at the core of many spiritual traditions. Arising from her own direct experience and expressed in a contemporary language, these teachings are relevant and accessible to all people from all backgrounds and cultures.

She has been a speaker and guest teacher at a variety of conferences, featured in several magazines, interviewed for numerous broadcasts and podcasts, and is the author of several books including Embodied Enlightenment and Falling Open in a World Falling Apart. Her life and work are dedicated to supporting an “inner transformation of consciousness” and envisioning a new world of peace and enlightened living. She offers online and in person meetings and retreats to a growing global community, and is the Founder and Spiritual Director of the Amoda Maa Foundation, dedicated to supporting spiritual self-realization in those who seek peace and freedom amidst an ever-changing and turbulent world.

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Swapan Chaudhuri is considered one of the top masters of tabla in the world. He is the Director of Percussion at Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. He developed his skill through years of accompanying Ali Akbar Khan and other leading musicians of India.

Pankaj Mishra is a Sarangi artist born into a lineage of exceptional musicians. He was trained from an early age by the renowned Sarangi player Pt. Mahesh Prasad Mishra of the Benaras Gharana. He is a highly regarded soloist and accompanist, performing with such renowned artists as Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri, Pt. Kumar Bose, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee, and Ustad Taufiq Quresh.

Pankaj regularly tours the US, Japan, West Indies, Kenya, and European countries. He recently visited Turkmenistan for a tour conducted by the cultural department of India. He has performed music for film and television in India and in Hollywood including in the movie The Jungle Book.

Swami Paramananda Giri joined the prestigious Sri Kailas Ashram Brahma Vidya Peetha in 2001 and was initiated into Naishtika Brahmacharya by Shrimat Swami Vidyananda Giriji Maharaj. He was initiated into Sannyasa shortly after. He studied Panineeya Sanskrit grammar, Nyaya of Kapil, Patanjali Yoga Darshan, Prasthana Traya of Advaita Vedanta, and other subsidiary texts of Vedanta. Swami Paramananda Giri currently resides in the Tattvamasi ashram, and teaches Vedanta and Sanskrit to his students.

Menas C. Kafatos, PhD, is a quantum physicist, cosmologist, his work also emphasizes natural and anthropogenic hazards for the Earth. He works as researcher and philosopher extensively on consciousness and the nature of the mind. He studied with renown physicist Philip Morrison at M.I.T., who was a student of J. Robert Oppenheimer. He has 50 years of experience in undergraduate and graduate teaching and research.

Menas is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics and Director, Institute for Earth, Computing, Human and Observing at Chapman University in California. He is foreign member of the Romanian Academy of Science and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST); an international scholar working with the Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering also having served as an advisor on the BK21 Plus Eco-Leader Education Center at Korea University in Seoul, Korea and in the past, an affiliated researcher at the National Observatory of Athens, Greece.

Menas has authored 350-plus articles and published or co-authored 26 books, including The Conscious Universe, Looking In, Seeing Out and Science, Reality & Everyday Life and has many social media and blogs. He is often interviewed for international television networks, newspapers, and radio.

Suzanne Bryant is a visionary leader in the wellness space, dedicated to helping people cultivate greater peace, joy, and personal transformation. Drawing from a rich background in psychology, yoga, mindfulness, and spiritual development, she has empowered thousands to overcome anxiety, reconnect with purpose, and live more fulfilling lives.

Suzanne began her career in journalism, working for the legendary producer George Crile at the iconic 60 Minutes, before moving into documentary filmmaking. She is the creator of Yoga Is: A Transformational Journey, an acclaimed documentary released by Magnolia Pictures that explores the profound healing and transformational power of yoga.

As founder of YogaIs.com, Suzanne has built a global online community featuring leading voices in yoga, meditation, and personal growth. With more than 27 years of study in psychology, mindfulness, neuroscience, nutrition, and spiritual psychology—including a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology—she brings a unique blend of ancient wisdom and modern science to her teaching and coaching.

Through her courses, coaching, and transformative programs, Suzanne offers practical tools for living with greater clarity, resilience, and authentic well-being.

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Our beloved senior teachers play a central role in teaching at the ashram. Please note that their participation depends on their availability and cannot be assured for every program.

Swami Hridyananda

Swami Hridyananda is a direct disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda and senior staff at the  Yoga Retreat. She has spent over 35 years teaching different aspects of yoga, as well as teaching in Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses. She also teaches meditation, thought power, chanting, and supports individuals on their inner transformative journey.

Swami Brahmananda

Swami Brahmananda is Manager of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat and senior staff of the Sivananda organization. A long-time practitioner of yoga, he regularly teaches yoga philosophy and meditation for the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses as well as meditation immersion courses. He is a much-loved, inspiring, and knowledgeable teacher.

Swami Shambhudevananda

Swami Shambhudevananda is a senior staff member at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas and a practitioner of yoga and meditation for more than 30 years. A member of the Sivananda organization since 1995, Swami Shambhudevananda regularly teaches Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga philosophy for the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Courses and advanced courses. He is a much-loved, knowledgeable, and inspiring teacher.

Swami Paramananda

Swami Paramananda is a monk and senior teacher of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. Swami Paramananda joined the Sivananda organization in 2006 and was initiated into Sannyasa (monasticism) in 2016.

A long-time practitioner of yoga, meditation and philosophical studies, he regularly teaches in the Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Courses as well as the Advanced Yoga Teachers’ Training Courses. He also teaches online courses and guides students from around the world in their practice and study.

A much-loved teacher admired for his humor, warmth, and devotion to the practice, he seamlessly weaves classical yoga teachings into modern daily life.

Rukmini Chaitanya

Rukmini Chaitanya is a senior staff member of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas, and the personal assistant to Swami Swaroopananda, the Acharya, or spiritual director of the Ashram. She regularly teaches the Bhagavad Gita during the Sivananda Yoga Teacher training as well as other courses on the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta, positive thinking, meditation, and yoga philosophy.

Rukmini Chaitanya is known for her enthusiastic and inspiring teaching style as well as for her devotion to the lineage and the scriptures. She is dedicated to each of her students and has an innate desire to share knowledge with them. She brings a great deal of clarity to every topic and is highly appreciated for her capacity to unfold complicated topics and present them in a coherent and pure way.

Rukmini Chaitanya was interviewed on The Spiritually Inspired Show

Jnaneshwari Chaitanya

Jnaneshwari Chaitanya is a senior staff member and teacher of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat. An experienced and devoted practitioner, she is an inspiring and insightful teacher of Yoga and Vedanta in Yoga teachers training courses and many of the ashram programs. Jnaneshwari Chaitanya is known for her clear and pure way of communicating the knowledge and its application in daily life, and is especially known for her skill in teaching the Bhagavad Gita.

Parvati Chaitanya

Parvati Chaitanya is a senior staff member of the ashram with many years of experience teaching, studying, and practicing yoga. She currently serves the ashram as caretaker of the gardens.

Krishna Chaitanya

Krishna Chaitanya is a physical therapist, senior staff member of the Yoga Retreat, and senior instructor of Hatha Yoga in the Teacher Training Course and other courses. He has taught for more than 20 years and specializes in working with the elderly population. He teaches Adaptive Yoga, Chair Yoga, and has many years experience helping individuals with all kinds of physical limitations.

Bhargavi Chaitanya

Bhargavi Chaitanya is an experienced yoga teacher and has been a staff member in the Sivananda organization since 2006.  Bhargavi Chaitanya teaches courses on yoga, meditation, positive thinking, the power of thought, cooking workshops, advanced yoga courses, yoga for adolescents, and more. She is known for her gentle teaching style and for the inner peace and love her students are experiencing while taking her classes.