Yoga for Beginners: A Complete Guide to Sivananda Yoga

This guide describes yoga for beginners as it is taught in the Sivananda tradition: what the system consists of, what happens in a class, which postures are practised and in what order, and what a new student is and is not expected to do.

Sivananda Yoga is a system of hatha yoga organised around five principles and a fixed sequence of twelve basic postures. Because the sequence does not change from class to class or from centre to centre, it is possible to describe a beginner’s first class in some detail in advance. That is what follows, along with the two breathing practices taught to new students, the structure of the final relaxation, and the background of the system itself.

What yoga means

The word yoga derives from a Sanskrit root meaning to join or to unite. In the Yoga Sutras attributed to Patanjali, the classical text on the subject, the practice is defined in the second aphorism as chitta vritti nirodha — the stilling of the movements of the mind. The definition concerns mental activity rather than physical capability.

This is reflected in how the postures are taught. In a Sivananda class each posture is held for a period and followed by a short rest, rather than linked into continuous movement. The stated purpose of the posture is not the shape itself but the steadiness and the regulated breathing maintained while holding it.

What Sivananda Yoga is

Sivananda Yoga is one of the systems of hatha yoga taught internationally since the middle of the twentieth century. It was set out by Swami Vishnudevananda, a student of Swami Sivananda, and is taught through the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, whose headquarters were established in Montreal in 1959.

Two features distinguish it from most other systems a beginner will encounter. The first is the five-point framework, which places the postures alongside breathing, relaxation, diet, and meditation as components of equal standing rather than treating asana as the practice in itself. The second is the fixed sequence: the same twelve basic postures in the same order, in every class, at every centre.

The tradition also groups yoga into four paths — karma, bhakti, raja and jnana, corresponding to action, devotion, knowledge and meditation. Swami Sivananda described his approach as the Yoga of Synthesis, meaning the four practised in combination rather than separately. The four paths of yoga are covered separately; the five points are the part a beginner meets first.

Where the system comes from

Two figures account for the form the system takes. The dates below are the published record.

Swami Sivananda (1887–1963)

Born Kuppuswami in Tamil Nadu, he trained in medicine and worked as a physician in British Malaya before returning to India in the early 1920s and settling at Rishikesh. The medical background is visible in what he went on to establish: a charitable dispensary, an Ayurvedic pharmacy, an eye hospital, and a teaching academy. He wrote more than two hundred books.

1. 1887Born in Pattamadai, Tamil Nadu, India.
2. 1923–24Left a medical career in British Malaya, returned to India and settled at Rishikesh.
3. 1927Opened a charitable dispensary at Lakshman Jhula.
4. 1936Founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh.
5. 1945Established the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmacy.
6. 1948Founded the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy.
7. 1957Founded the Sivananda Eye Hospital.
8. 1963Died at Rishikesh, having written over 200 books.

Swami Vishnudevananda (1927–1993)

A student of Swami Sivananda from 1947 and later the first professor of hatha yoga at the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy, he was sent to North America in 1957. His 1960 book, The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, has sold over a million copies and set out the twelve-posture sequence in the form still taught. In 1969 he held the first yoga teachers’ training course in the West — the model on which most later teacher training programmes, including the 200-hour course taught in Vietnam, are based.

1. 1927Born in Kerala, South India.
2. 1947Arrived at the Rishikesh ashram; later appointed the first professor of hatha yoga at the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy.
3. 1957Sent to North America to teach.
4. 1959Established the organisation's headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
5. 1960Published The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, which has sold over a million copies.
6. 1969Held the first yoga teachers' training course in the West, in Canada.
7. 1978Published Meditation and Mantras.
8. 1985First teachers' training course in Europe, in Spain.

How beginners progress

Progression in this system is defined by how long a posture is held and which variation is used, rather than by moving on to a different sequence.

Points beginners are corrected on

The following are the adjustments teachers most commonly make in beginners’ classes. They are listed here because each one concerns the structure of the class rather than the execution of an individual posture.

What to wear and bring

Clothing should allow free movement and stay in place during the inverted postures. Practice is barefoot. A mat, and a blanket or shawl for the final relaxation, are the two items normally brought; centres usually have mats available.

New students are asked to arrive a few minutes early to tell the teacher it is a first class, along with any injury, blood pressure condition or pregnancy, so that substitutions can be offered. For residential stays, the guest information and during your stay pages set out the daily schedule and what to pack.

Where to practise yoga in Vietnam

Classes and courses are held at four locations. Open classes at the city centres follow the ninety-minute structure described above; residential programmes at the ashram include the diet, the breathing practices and the evening gatherings alongside the daily classes.

Residential options are listed on the yoga vacation page, and the 200-hour teacher training course covers the same material in full. Dates for both are on the upcoming courses page, and further questions are answered in the FAQ or by contacting the centre.