Sivananda Yoga Vedanta was founded in Canada by Swami Vishnudevananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda of the Divine Life Society. It has since established ashrams and Yoga centres in India, too. In the teaching of Sivananda, the body is seen as a vehicle. Just as a car requires lubrication, a battery, a cooling system and a responsible driver behind the wheel, a human being also has certain requirements.

To meet these requirements the Sivananda Yoga Centrefocuses on five cardinal points of Yoga: Exercise (asanas), Proper Breathing (Pranayama), Proper Relaxation (Savasan), Proper Diet (Vegetarian), and Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana).

According to Sivananda's teaching, asanas act as a `lubricating' routine for the joints, ligaments, tendons and other parts of the body by promoting increased circulation, flexibility and optimum good health. Pranayama aids the body in connecting to its `battery', the solar plexus, where tremendous potential energy is stored. When tapped through specific Yoga breathing techniques, this energy is released for physical and mental rejuvenation.

The system also advocates proper diet to provide the correct `fuel' and promote physical health and mental balance. Lastly, positive thinking and meditation puts you in control. Through this process, the mind is `purified' and the lower nature is brought under conscious control. Meditation also develops your concentration and steadiness of the mind. ``The energy of themind moves outward, like centrifugal force. In Yoga we draw it inward,'' says Vishnudevananda.

The centre offers various types of courses, which include stress management workshops for corporates such as ABB and IIS Infotech. If you are new to Yoga, you could take the Yoga 1 course for a step by step introduction to the theory and practice of Yoga. The course has classes three days a week for three weeks. There are also special summer classes separately for kidsand adults, which are held five days a week for two weeks. The course fees are Rs 600 per course, which includes a copy of the Sivananda Training Manual.

The Yoga 2 course teaches intermediate level asanas with pranayama and kriyas. This course is a gentle progression from Yoga 1, with simple variations of the postures being introduced as well as the gradual lengthening of the time actually spent in the asana positions. In Yoga, control of the body starts with cleansing processes known as kriyas, which have been recently introduced in the course.The classes for this course is held twice a week for three weeks and costs Rs 600.

The centre also provides a meditation course to improve steadiness and concentration of the mind. Classes are held twice a week for three weeks, where participants are taught the theory and practice of meditation and mantras and their use and meaning. This course is recommended only for graduates from the Yoga 1 course.

There are also `open classes', which are based on 12 basic postures, pranayama and relaxation. The classes are open to graduates of Yoga 1. The first open class is for free. After that you have to pay Rs 80 for a class. A monthly pass costs Rs 600. There are classes for pregnant women which teaches modified and special poses for a better pregnancy and delivery.There are also advanced classes on Sundays for students competent in the basic asanas, including the head stand. The centre in Delhi also conducts Saturday cooking workshops for Rs 150 to introduce participants into the intricacies of the Yogic diet.