Swami Ramakrishnananda, the founder of the Ramakrishnananda Yoga Vedanta Center, is a master of Hatha yoga, one of the main yogic paths within the Vedic system. He is a Hindu monk and an enlightened yogi who follows the mystical paths of Hinduism. He studied this classical form of yoga under the guidance of Swami Vishnudevananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda of the Divine Life Society.

While the physical aspect of yoga and breathing techniques that have been practiced for centuries in India are now well-known in the West, Swami Ramakrishnananda has always focused on the spiritual element of this ancient yogic path. As Swami Ramakrishnananda states in his book Yoga … Union with Reality: "The hatha yogi recognizes in the carnal, a door toward the spirit; from the material he becomes established in the spiritual. In his body, he begins a long path that leads to the soul."

Over the years, he expanded his knowledge of raja yoga and hatha yoga by studying at well-known institutions in India and the United States such as the Yoga Research Foundation under Swami Jyotirmayananda, the Swami Sivananda Yogasana Research Centre, the Integral Yoga Institutes of Swami Satchidananda, Pathanjala Yoga Kendra, Rishikesh Yog Peeth, Ma Yoga Shakti International Mission, World Yoga University and Sri Vivekananda Yoga Pratishtan.

He developed Ramakrishnananda Yoga, which focuses on the 12 main asanas, or postures, and their many variations. The system puts an emphasis on relaxation, the opening of energy centers known as chakras, and the integration of breathingtechniques. Although Swami Ramakrishnananda does not currently give public hatha yoga classes, he has trained his disciples who teach at the Ramakrishnananda Yoga centers around the world.

Mastery in hatha yoga came decades after his first powerful and rare spiritual experience when he was a young child. This set in motion his spiritual search that caused him to seek guidance from some of the greatest yoga masters of his time. After years of study, practice and meditation, thirty years after his first blissful encounter as a child, he realized the state of the undivided Self, the pure consciousness, one’s real and original nature.

In 1994, Swami Ramakrishnananda opened his first hatha yoga center, which was unique in that it was also his home where he lived a life dedicated to spirituality, a place of meditation and venue for lectures. After many expansions, he founded the Vishwa Dharma Mandalam in New York City. This nonprofit organization offers Ramakrishnananda Hatha Yoga classes, philosophical courses, workshops and retreats on the many different aspects of yoga and Hinduism, and a place for daily worship.

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