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“The science of yoga has great physical and psychological potential. The effect of yoga techniques on human physiology is an inviting field for research for modern physiologists, and scientific investigations into yoga psychology are a challenge for modern psychologists.” - Swami Satyananda
One of the greatest saints of recent times, Sri Swami Satyananda heralded the integration of yoga into society, and encouraged the spiritual evolution of all people, regardless of caste, creed, religion or nationality. He structured the yogic vision of his guru Sri Swami Sivananda – the philosophy, practices, applications and lifestyle – into a practical and scientific system. He elaborated the ancient systems of yoga and tantra and brought them literally to each and every corner of the world.
In 1956 Sri Swami Satyananda founded the International Yoga Fellowship Movement with the aim of creating a global fraternity of yoga. Through the International Yoga Fellowship Movement thousands of yoga centres have been established in countless countries, knowledge of yoga has been disseminated through publications in dozens of languages, research into the benefits of yoga has been conducted across the globe, and yoga has been introduced into the schools of many countries.
In 1963 Sri Swami Satyananda established the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, which became the focal point of yogic experience for people from all over the world. From here Sri Swami Satyananda, with devotion to the ideals of his guru Sri Swami Sivananda matched by his untiring energy, dedicated himself to disseminating this evolutionary yogic culture to the world.
In the course of his tireless efforts to fulfill the mandate of his guru and spread the light of yoga to every corner of the globe, Sri Swami Satyananda embarked upon an immense campaign of printing and publishing. In 1963, the first activity of Bihar School of Yoga was the publication of the magazine Yoga in English and Yoga Vidya in Hindi, and this was followed by an unending stream of books on all aspects of the yogic sciences.
Through these publications Sri Swami Satyananda gave to the present and future generations of the world a complete set of yoga practices and guidance on yogic sadhana and lifestyle.
Browse the complete list on the Yoga Publications Trust web page.
“The science of yoga has great physical and psychological potential. The effect of yoga techniques on human physiology is an inviting field for research for modern physiologists, and scientific investigations into yoga psychology are a challenge for modern psychologists.”
- Sri Swami Satyananda
Sri Swami Satyananda saw the immense potential for, and benefits of, scientific research and experimentation into the effects of yogic techniques, and in the late 1970s he initiated and inspired a range of yogic research projects. This research has provided society with further understanding of how yogic practices affect the human body, mind and emotions, and how the practices can awaken the hidden inner potential and enhance the quality of life.
It has also demonstrated how the various practices and techniques can be used therapeutically to prevent, manage and treat a wide range of conditions, including asthma, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and also pregnancy. In 1984 at Munger Sri Swami Satyananda founded the Yoga Research Foundation, an institute dedicated to the scientific investigation of yoga practices.
Sri Swami Satyananda removed the veil of mysticism that had previously shrouded yoga and presented it as a science of personal and spiritual development to aspirants not only in India, but across every continent of the globe. Yoga was revealed in its pure form as a spiritual science for the evolution of consciousness and reached people from all walks and conditions of life, for their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development.
Under the guidance of Sri Swami Satyananda, the Bihar School of Yoga became the seat of a global yogic renaissance, propagating a blend of yogic practices and principles for cultivating the faculties of head, heart and hands. This system is called the Bihar Yoga or Satyananda Yoga tradition.
