About Yoga Vidya Mandiram
Yoga Vidya Mandiram is a registered Yoga School centered in the magical Himalayan valley of Rishikesh, India. Our Yoga School is dedicated to restore, explore and impart the purest and traditional form of yogic knowledge and its science in the most holistic approach and relatable context possible for students of both Western and Eastern culture.
We aim to bring forth and maintain the yogic values to their ancient and traditional purity as taught by the yogis of the Himalayan masters. Thus, our Yoga School stands a bridge between pure and traditional form and the contemporary form of yoga and meditation studies. Our deep understanding of the true concepts of yoga and meditation and the ability to interpret it through scientific verification enables us to help people understand its core essence.
Our school promotes, irrespective of class, belief, age, gender orientation or any other individual uniqueness, true human values such as peace, kindness, love and service through the teachings of yoga and meditation. Yoga in its true sense suggests a beautiful and enriching way to connect with each other. No matter from which background you are, WE WELCOME YOU!
Our Mission
The center is dedicated to restore, explore and impart the purest form of knowledge of Yoga and Meditation to their ancient and traditional purity as taught in the long lineage of the Himalayas by the great yogis. We aim to serve humanity through spiritual re-awakening using our ancient inheritance of the spiritual and philosophical sciences of yoga in general, and Meditation in particular as taught by the great yogis of the Himalayas.
Transformation
Helping people create positive change from the inside out…
- We honor and encourage all people and the underlying potential for greatness in their lives. Through the practices of yoga and meditation, we teach skills which support each student’s ability to pursue their full potential.
Truthfulness
- We strive for transparent honesty in our communication with donors, institutions, staff, and students.
- We conduct ourselves with consistency in word and deed, maintaining integrity and professionalism in all our community interactions.
Respect and Compassion
- We encourage non-violent communication, openness, and safety in our classes, compassionately aware of the personal challenges experienced by many of our students.
- We are respectful of the internal cultures of the institutions in which we serve.
Sustainability
- We honor the mission of Living Yoga by maintaining administrative systems, policies, and procedures that ensure the long-term sustainability of our programs.
- We encourage the effective and sustained development of human resources by providing meaningful opportunities, extensive training, mentoring, and support.
Service
- We honor the practice of selfless service, or Karma Yoga, recognizing that the one served and the one serving are both being transformed.
Yoga Education
Education takes place when, the person is open to any new learning experience at any age, time and place with an open mind.
The person who is open to learn Yoga, he has to go through all the stages and learn all the aspects. The Yoga Education is based on four aspects – Bhavas or attitudes: Dharma (Duty and Discipline), Jnana (Knowledge), Vairagya (Detachment) and Aishvarya (Self-realization). These four aspects are related and covered by Astanga Yoga, The Classical Yoga – as Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayam, Pratyahar, Dharna, Dhyan and Samadhi.
The Yama and Niyam: Restraints and Observance cover the Dharma. How to perform once duty and how to live a disciplined life? Asana and Pranayam covers Jnana through awareness and personal practical experiences. Pratyahar and Dharna covers Vairagya. How to detach from the surroundings through controlling the five senses and Dhyan and Samadhi covers Aishvarya, the pure consciousness.
The practice of duties and disciplined life brings awareness. The awareness brings knowledge and wisdom to discriminate good and bad, right and wrong, pure and impure, true and false. So the wise person will easily detach from the things that are not suitable for his personal growth. The virtue of Detachment brings the power of concentration, which, leads to the highest stage of self-realization.
Yoga education takes place much more at sub-conscience level. Your learning experience becomes a life style! It becomes a part of your day-to-day living. Thus the whole process transforms the person from the gross to the subtlest level of experiences and consciousness.
Especial Course
- Hatha Yoga (Classical)
- Ashtanga Vinyasa
- Iyengar Yoga
- Shatkarma (Clensing Practices)
- Pranayama & Meditation
- Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep)
- Yoga Anatomy & Physiology (Workshops)
- Kundalini & Chakra
- Ayurveda
- Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta & Tantra Philosophies
Yoga Vidya Mandiram School aims to restore the ancient purity of the magical technique as initially taught by the Himalayan gurus.
Yogic Science
Yogic teachings and practices have been verified by the scientific community. Over the last half of the 20th and this 21st century people have taken yogic learning little seriously and apply the yogic principles in their day-to-day lives. However it is seen that people have more interest in the physical aspects of yoga, it is may be due to their awareness is limited to the physical contents of the personality. Today as there is growing a physical awareness in society there can be seen an awareness growing towards to inner contents of people’s personality. But still today there need to be cultivated such inner awareness by the educated people-professors, doctors, philosophers, scientists and politicians since they are the central force of a society and all other people believe and follow their words. Today, it is seen that an abundant of people from all over the world have started learning yoga as their profession and they use it an earning tool. Because of which the purpose of yoga as it set originally have changed. The author of the Yoga-sutras mentions several time the purpose of yoga as the kaivalya, liberation or total freedom. Our Yoga School, Yoga Vidya Mandiram in Rishikesh, India offers the yoga courses to fulfil both purposes of yoga; awakening of the inner and outer awareness through the teaching and science of yogis of the Himalayas.
Hatha-Yoga/Ashtanga Yoga
We have expert teachers and brilliant guides in the styles of yoga postures mainly in Hatha-Yoga and Ashtanga-Yoga.Yoga Anatomy/Physiology
In training yoga postures (asanas) of any styles we provide an expert training in Yoga Anatomy and Physiology.
Pranayama/Meditation/Yoga Nidra
We provide and expert and tested training into breathing awareness leading to Meditation & Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep).Yoga/Vedanta/Tantra Philosophy
In theory we provide experienced learning of Yoga, Vedanta & Tantra to our Yoga and Tantra students at the center.
Lineage
An important aspect of classical Vedic traditions is disciplic succession of teacher and student known as parampara. Valid knowledge of the Absolute is only possible through the teachings of a qualified teacher (guru) transmitted to the student (disciple). Formal initiation of a student (diksha) into his teacher’s lineage occurs through a ceremony, including the passing down of a mantra. An authentic line of disciplic succession is unbroken and thus one can trace the lineage of a particular school’s teaching to its original source. There are several different schools of thought within the Yogic system. Yoga vidya Mandiram was founded by Acharya Chandramani to impart yogic knowledge and wisdom of the Himalayan masters.
Swami Rama of the Himalayas
Grand Guru Dev
Swami Rama was born Brij Kiśore Dhasmana to a northern Indian Brahmin family in a small village called Toli in the Garhwal Himalayas. From an early age he was raised in the Himalayas by his master Bengali Baba and, under the guidance of his master, traveled from temple to temple and studied with a variety of Himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster, who was living in a remote region of Tibet. From 1949 to 1952 he held the position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in South India. After returning to his master in 1952 and practising further for many years in the Himalayan caves, Swami Rama was encouraged by his teacher to go to the West, where he spent a considerable portion of his life teaching, specifically in the United States and Europe.
One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama (1925-1996) is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. In addition to his intense spiritual training, Swami Rama received higher education in both India and Europe. In 1969 he came to the United States where he started a Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy. His best known work, Living With the Himalayan Masters, reveals the many facets of this singular adept and demonstrates his embodiment of the living tradition.
Guru Dev
Swami Veda Bharati
Swami Veda Bharati (1933- 14 July 2015) was born into a Sanskrit speaking family and raised in the centuries-old Sanskrit tradition. From the age of four he was schooled in traditional learning by his father, beginning with the Sanskrit grammar of Panini. From the age of nine, he was a popular child preacher in Northern India and captivated audiences with the depth of his knowledge and intuitive insight into the Vedas and other texts of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Having never attended any school, he received his B.A. degree from the University of London, an M.A. from the University of London and a D.Litt. from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands in consecutive years during the 1960s.
Among the greatest living Sanskritists, he was also fluent in Pali, and spoke most Northern Indian languages, many European languages and read many others. He authored many books and articles in both scholarly and popular publications. He was initiated into one of the highest paths of meditation and yoga by his master, the celebrated yogi Swami Rama of the Himalayas.
Dr, Chandramani
Founder & Spiritual Director
Acharya Chandramani believes in the natural flow of life and trusts what it brings for each of us. He trusts that all things are lead and guided by a divine force and he does his best with what life brings each day. He starts his day with meditation for a centered and peaceful state of the mind to welcome the day and to bring presence and mindfulness to his actions throughout the day. Not only does he love to share his vast Vedic knowledge with his students, he also brings the ancient philosophy that he learnt since childhood into his daily life through constant contemplation and translating it into mindful speech, thoughts and actions.
Acharya Chandramani was born in a traditional spiritual family. From his early age, he was naturally inclined and interested in following the traditional spiritual practices of the Vedas. At 8 years of age, he became a serious practitioner of the yogic principles of Swetambara Jaina tradition. Later he was initiated into the Vedic Sanskrit tradition by Swami Vivekananda at the age of 10 in Prabhat Ashram, UP, India. Acharyaji was fully dedicated to the teachings and daily discipline of the traditional Sanskrit gurukulam from childhood to adulthood. Later in 2004, he was initiated by Swami Veda into a meditative lineage of yoga and meditation as passed down by Swami Rama of the Himalayas at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh India. In his pursuit of academic education, he acquired a bachelor and master degrees in Sanskrit Literature and PhD in a well-known Yoga & Vedanta scripture known as Yoga-Vashishtha from Uttarakhand Sanskrit University. Acharyaji also holds 500 E-RYT and RCYT & YACEP from Yoga Alliance USA.
Acharya Chandramani served as a fulltime traditional scholar and yoga guide at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh from 2004 until 2018. He has been guiding worldwide yoga students into the Vedic Sanskrit literature and its philosophy and holding yoga retreats, yoga teacher trainings and yoga seminars for more than 25 years. Apart from his teaching interests, he finds his passion for writing on practical philosophy of life and for sharing his personal experiences. He has authored several books including “Insights into Yoga Psychology”, and “World Peace Prayers”. He also has been the editor of several publications including “The Unadorned Thread of Yoga: The Yoga-sutra of Patanjali”. As a lifetime dedicated practitioner, Acharyaji initiated social welfare to serve humanity through his traditional knowledge and personal experiences. Currently, he is serving at a yoga and meditation center as Founding Director of Yoga Vidya Mandiram Rishikesh, India, and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
“I have the vision to provide yoga to every individual, irrespective of caste, creed, or religion, at no cost. Just as the sun and air are freely available to all of us, the ancient wisdom of yoga should be a birthright.”
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Yoga Vidya Mandiram
(Registered Yoga School in Rishikesh)
Our school is a registered 200 RYS, 300 RYS and 500 RYS at Yoga Alliance USA. We offer certified Yoga Teacher Training Courses (Yoga TTC) for different levels of students Beginner-Intermediate-Advance. The most popular 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Course, 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training Course, and 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training Course are held under the guidance of yoga alliance certified 200 E-RYT and 500 E-RYT yoga experts and trainees. The school also offers other certified Yoga TTC, Yoga Courses and Yoga Retreats including Hatha-Yoga TTC, Ashtanga-Yoga TTC, Vinyasa-Yoga TTC, Meditation Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga Retreats in Rishikesh.
Our Yoga School Yoga Vidya Mandiram is a 200 RYS, 300 RYS and 500 RYS registered with Yoga Alliance, USA and offers certified Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga Retreats in Rishikesh, India. So after the successful completion of the course you will a certification.
Yoga Vidya Mandiram is the educational body under “Yoga Vidya Mandiram Charitable Trust” which time to time organizes charitable activities including “Yoga Training Courses” and “Heath Awareness & Yoga Camps” in different parts including rural areas of India.
Our School Yoga in located in the magical valley of the sacred homes of yogis and the origin of yogic knowledge and its practices in Rishikesh India. Rishikesh is the “Capital of Yoga”. There are holy shrines, mountain, Holy river Ganga and much more to explore.