English Instructors

Acharya Harilalji
Yoga-Acharya Harilalji, comes from a traditional family in Kerala, India, and was brought up in a traditional Indian environment with Ayurveda, Vedanta and Yoga. 15 years ago he started practicing yoga.
For five years he studied science and economics at the college in Thrissur before working in India, Saudi Arabia and Emirates in the advertising and marketing fields. In 2000 he deserted his job in order to completely focus on yoga as his way of life. He then completed his Yoga Teachers training course and Advanced Yoga Teacher Training course at Sivananda Ashram in Neyyar Dam, Kerala, attaining the title Yoga -Acharya. Afterwards he lived and tought yoga in Sivananda Ashram both in Kerala and the Himalayas for 1 1/2 years.
In his teaching he easily recognizes both weak and strong areas in his students physicality and accordingly can suggest different asanas or variations depending on the individual.
Specializing in Yoga Therapy, he completed a seven months full-time diploma cours/practice in yoga therapy (Yoga Therapy Instructors Course) at Prasanthi kutir, Bangalore with 'A' grade; the subject of the thesis was INTEGRATED APPROCH OF YOGA THERAPY for Asthma, Nasal Allergy, Artheritis, Backpain, Diabetics, GID, Hypertension, Anxiety & Depression and Obesity. He is director of 'Arsha Yoga Gurukulam' an ashram in the beautiful western ghat hills in central Kerala, South India, which provides residential yoga courses and yoga therapy. He is also the tutor in 'Nagelil' Ayurveda Medical College in Idukki district, Kerala.

Ana Luisa Mendonca
famous portuguese dancer, trained in classic and modern dance and ballet at the "Royal Acadamy of Dance" with additional studies of different dance stiles in Portugal, London and New York. Yoga teacher. Since many years she succeeds in manage an own dance and yoga school in Portugal.

Chandra Cohen
combines intensive practice of yoga, years of discipleship with Swami Vishnu-devananda and Swami Davananda and exact knowledge of the scriptures. He teaches Indian philosophy Hunter College in New York. Chandra has a very humorous and yet clear way to lead you to your inner truth.

Dr. Nalini Sahay
is a disciple of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. Nalini has many facets of experience. Currently she runs TORCH, an NGO working with street children and HIV/AIDS patients in New Delhi. She is a psychologist whose past experience includes teaching therapeutic yoga at schools and hospitals.

Leela Mata
is well-known yoga teacher from Florida and mother of 4 children. She has practised yoga, ayurveda and meditation since childhood. She has taught for more than 20 years with great love and understanding; she gives seminars worldwide.

Madhana Mohan
is a popular, experienced teacher. He is the leader of the “Associacion de Yoga” in Vigo, Spain and has been teaching Yoga for more than 25 years. His seminars have a lot of vitality, humor and power. His yoga lessons are always something to look forward to.

Dr. Ellil Parambath Jeevan
Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery. (University of Bharathiyar- India)

Jeevan is one of Germanys most qualified and experienced teacher in the field of Ayurveda. His classical training at India’s prestigious Coimbatore Ayurveda College for 7 1/2 years along with extensive Sanskrit and yoga study gives him expertise in all areas of this healing science.

After undertaking rigorous teaching work for many years at the prestigious Coimbatore Ayurveda College, Dr. Jeevan undertook the challenging job of teaching international students at the College. Also for six years he practiced as a full time Ayurvedic physician in the Ayurveda Hospital, Coimbatore and was later elevated to the position of the Head of the Dept. of General medicine.

Moving to Italy in 1995 he began a successful practice and conducted workshops offering, one year training in Ayurveda, working closely in association with western doctors. Since then he has established the Ayurveda care in Germany for the education purpose in conjunction with international lecture tours.

An experienced Ayurvedic physician and teacher for over 15 years, Jeevan has a reputation as a gifted and sensitive healer with a warm and compassionate nature. Known for his dynamic teaching style and charismatic personality, Dr Jeevan is a practitioner who exemplifies the benefits of Ayurveda.

Gauri Eckhart
- massage therapist and experienced yoga teacher from Spain, director of the Spanish Sananda Yoga Center in Madrid has instructed yoga teachers for a long time. She has studied many Yoga systems like Sivananda, Iyengar, Ashtanga and Bikram as well as other systems of physical exercise (Feldenkreis, Pilates, Alexander technique) and exact knowledge of human anatomy. Her very clear, exact yet light way of teaching is challenging and thereby very fostering. After her lessons your body will feel as though you were re-born!

Karuna Korz
Bachelor in peace- and conflict research, expert mediator, different educations in the area of environment (e.g. permaculture and deep ecology) and practising yoga since 12 years.

Narayani
Narayani is co-author and model of the newly re-published best selling “Book of Yoga”. A senior disciple of Swami Vishnu Devananda, Narayani has more that 30 years of yoga-teaching experience.
Narayani’s teaching style is characterized by deep love and sensitivity. Her classes have a magic to them – with a playfullness, even in difficult variations. The asanas are complemented by profoundly spiritual stories, poems and talks.

Shanmug Westley Eckhart
was born in Canada, is a practising psychotherapist and the leader of yoga centers in Spain. He has trained yoga teachers for more than 25 years and studied psychology in London.

Shivakami Bretz
Yoga Vidya Acharya, nonmedical practitioner in psychotherapy, aryurvedic health consultant and trained in creative therapeutic hypnosis. She worked many years in social domains. Her knowledge about yoga, meditation and ayurveda comes from leading schools in Germany and Florida. Since 1993 she imparts her wide knowledge to the Yoga Vidya centers.

Sukadev Bretz
is the founder of Haus Yoga Vidya and the Yoga Vidya organisation. From his adolescence he was fascinated by the possibilities of the mind, learned fast reading autodidactically and attended concentration and memory training courses. At the age of 20 he graduated in industrial management from Munich university, with a minor in psychology. In 1981 he did his yoga teachers training with the Sivananda Yoga Centres. Swami Vishnu-devananda gave him the title of “Acharya” (yoga master), charged hin with the building up of yoga centers as well as the training of yoga teachers and assigned him one of his successors. In 1992 Sukadev founded the first Yoga Vidya Centre in order to teach a yoga practice that can easily be

Swami Atma Swaruparamananda
is a senior disciple of Swami Vishnu-devananda. Born in France, he is the founder and director of AYA (Adyaita Yoga Ashram) in California. He has trained many yoga teachers’, a humorous, sensitive and yet demanding yoga teacher.

Swami Muktananda
Swami Muktanandaji dedicates all his time, energy and shining love to the spiritual retreats he leads all over the world several months a year. Swamiji does this in a spirit of service to help us on the path of Divine Life and Self knowledge. The spiritual value of his devotion and teaching cannot be calculated. He guides you on your spiritual path and progress and gives you fresh inspiration.

Swami Muktidharma
Swami Muktidharma is a Yogaarcharya – able to look back on more than 35 years of experience with yoga, in between he lived 16 of these years in India with the Yoga and Tantra Master Paramahamsa Satyananda, an outstanding disciple from Swami Sivananda. Swami Muktidharma’s understanding of the science of Yoga is very practical orientated and at the same time deeply rooted in science and philosophy and is based on many years of personal experience.

Swami Tatvarupananda
is a master of the vedantic art of narration in analogies and stories with deep humour. He comes from Kerala. He got his wide knowledge about vedanta and spiritual truth as a disciple of Swami Dayananda, one of the closest disciples of Swami Sivananda. Swami Tatvarupananda teaches vedanta and Bhagavad Gita e.g. in Sivanada Ashram and by Amma.

Swami Saradananda
is a senior disciple of Swami Vishnu-devananda who has a teaching style that inspires you to want to practice. She teaches yoga and meditation world-wide, and is the author of a number of books including "Yoga Mind and Body", "Teach Yourself Yoga", "Chakra Meditation" and "The Power OF Breath". With a great love of India, she also leads frequent pilgrimages.

Swami Yogaswarupananda
is from legendary Rishikesh and the vize president of the Divine Life Society, a supporting association of the Sivanada Ashram. Since 40 years he follows the spiritual way. He brings high insights by his wonderful easy, clear and catchy modality of telling examples and stories. His whole personality is full of love, kindness, joy, calmness and wisdom. So he will inspire you through his presence. His special interests are repeating mantras, hatha yoga and  indian books like the Bhagavad Gita.

Vishwanath Richter
he is a trainer for seminars, educations and meditation courses - also Yoga Vidya bodywork trainer, trainer for advanced pranayama and kundalini yoga. His calm and clear yoga lessons help to discover possibilities and to disband limits.