It was a great privilege to be invited to interview Swami Saradananda and we thank her warmly for giving us this opportunity and making time to answer our questions.  I had previously met Swami Saradananda at one of Mano’s workshops when she had come to give us a talk about meditation and I still clearly remember the effect that her soft clear voice had on me then as I let the message of her words seep through. 

If initially I had found the prospect of this interview quite daunting, Swami Saradananda’s gentle, down-to-earth and friendly manner soon appeased any of my worries.  And the feel of the warm cup of tea in my hands, together with the beautiful food on offer, were enough to dispel any residual shyness I may have felt about interviewing someone as well-known in the yoga world as Swami Saradananda.

Swami Saradananda came to yoga whilst living in Florida, soon after completing university, prompted by the chance sighting of a poster offering yoga philosophy.  As a child she had been very sick; poliomyelitis had left her paralysed for a year and she had been told by doctors that she would never be able to walk or exercise.  In spite of this sombre picture, Swami Saradananda sensed that yoga might help her somehow and along with many others she began to attend a class given by some students of Swami Vishnu-devananda  in the park.  This first encounter with yoga was to mark the beginning of a lifelong passion and dedication to its study and practice and a turning-point on the road to better health.

Having moved back to New-York, Swami Saradananda attended yoga classes regularly at the Sivananda Yoga Centre for about seven years before enrolling on the Teachers’ Training course and delving deeper into her main interest, the study of yoga philosophy.  From then onwards, she became increasingly more involved with the Sivananda organization, assuming more and more senior positions, with postings in Nassau in the Bahamas, Vienna and Madrid in Western Europe and Grass Valley in California (1974-1978).  Between the years 1976 to 1978, she accompanied Swami Vishnu-devananda in his worldwide travels, acting as his personal assistant and learning directly from this great Yoga Master.  From 1979 to 1980 she was appointed Director of the Toronto-based Sivananda Centre before taking up the directorship of the New-York Centre between 1981 and 1987.  In 1988 she was made Assistant Director of the Quebec Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp before becoming the Director and Charity Trustee of the London and New Delhi Centres for about eleven years, from 1989 to 2000.  In her capacity as Director of these Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashram Yoga Camp, Swami Saradananda was responsible for the management and supervision of the day-to-day operations, the setting up, coordination and implementation of new programmes, the appointment of volunteer staff, the writing, editing and compiling of teaching materials and several yoga publications as well as acted as spiritual advisor to teachers and students.  Between 1989 and 2000, Swami Saradananda also sat on the Executive Board of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.

In 2001, Swami Saradananda took a Sabbatical year to travel to India and focus more intently on the deepening of her own spiritual practice. She then became the “writer in residence” at the Peacemaker Community, an interfaith organisation in Western Massachussetts.

Between June 2003 and June 2004, she worked as a senior teacher and spiritual guide at Haus Yoga Vidya, in Germany.

Swami Saradananda is presently involved in organizing courses and workshops worldwide.  In May 2007, she will travel to Dahab in Egypt to join Barbara Gordon (Sunra Yoga) and teach philosophy to students doing their teacher’s training. Swami Saradananda also runs an annual meditation retreat in the Himalayas, on the banks of the Ganges River which this year will take place between 31 March and 15 April.  In London, she runs meditation classes/workshops at the Jivamukti Yoga Centre in Notting Hill, at Body Primo in Camden, and series of workshops called “Yoga for Yoga Teachers” at The Special Yoga Centre in Kensal Rise.  Swami Saradananda also teaches pranayama at the College of Psychic Studies in South Kensington to show students how to safely use their breath to harness their awakening psychic abilities. 
Swami Saradananda is the President and Founder of BYTA - the British Yoga Teachers Association which offers a supportive network to all its members.

Swami Saradananda is also an accomplished writer and editor.  Her latest book Chakra Meditations is due to be released in the autumn of 2007.  Apart from her great contribution to the Yoga Training Manual (1989) and to the Manual of the Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course (2000) used by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres worldwide, Swami Saradananda has also participated in the writing and editing of many other yoga publications.  She  wrote Dorling Kindersley books (Learn Yoga in a Weekend, 101 Tips of Yoga and Yoga Mind and Body); she has also produced video and audio cassettes on behalf of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres.  From 1978 to 2000, she acted as Managing Editor of Yoga Life magazine. 

We would like to thank Swami Saradananda for sharing her wonderful experience with us and for her on-going work to help others connect with their spiritual nature. 

Swami Saradananda can be contacted by e-mail (swami.saradananda@virgin.net) for any further information about her forthcoming courses/workshops in London and abroad as well as for any general enquiry regarding membership to BYTA. Her website is: www.flyingmountainyoga.org