Four Yoga Centres of Excellence in India

 

India is the home of yoga. It is the land where yoga originated. Patanjali, the great saint, is the legendary figure from ancient Indian times, who propounded and recorded in great detail the art and the science of yoga. Thereafter, its practice has been passed on to the people from one generation to another. This practice continues till date with the only difference being the fact that this is now being done on mass scale and many people are opening up their centres or studios in different parts of the city. Among the mushrooming of these centres, there are some pillars of yoga teaching which can be considered as institutions which have been successful in bringing yoga to masses. These are also instrumental in conducting research in yoga and yogic sciences. We list these four pre-eminent yoga centres in India.

1.  Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), New Delhi- One of the foremost centres to be set up in national capital, New Delhi, MDNIY is an autonomous organization which comes under the Department of AYUSH in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

It was started in 1970 as a hospital and in 1976 it was named as the Central Research Institute of Yoga for imparting free yoga training to people and for organizing research on yoga. In 1988, it was further renamed an MDNIY.

The Institute has 8 departments or sub-sections, 4 therapy centres, conducts research and comes up with publications from time to time. It conducts courses in yoga for the general public which include foundation courses, certificate courses, diploma courses, BSc and MSc courses in yoga.

2.  Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar- This is one the largest centres of yoga learning in India. Established by Swami Ramdev in 2006, this centre is focused on imparting yoga courses, conducting research in yoga and also offering courses and making medicines of Ayurveda. The centre is located precisely in Kankhal which is a good 20 km away from the Haridwar.

It shall be noted that the credit for bringing yoga to the common man through the use of mass communication channels goes to Baba Ramdev. The fact that many people actually benefited from doing yoga following his discourses was instrumental in giving him a large following. This led to a revolution in adoption of yoga and generation of awareness about its benefits.

3.  Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune- One of the most respected and legendary figures of yoga in India was Late Shri B.K.S. Iyengar. Having adopted yoga at an early age despite many physical problems, BKS emerged stronger in his practice of yoga to defeat all physical ailments and also to provide the instruction of yoga to the people in Indian and in foreign lands for many decades.

His method of teaching yoga was unique in that it focused on emphasizing correct posture and alignment while practicing yoga. To this end, he even advocated the use of props. These props are articles made of different materials and provide support for attainment of right alignment and posture for the body.

4.  Shri K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute, Gokulam, Mysore- Contemporary of Shri Iyengar and an equally legendary figure in the field of yoga is Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. He is credited to have started the Ashtanga yoga style of instruction which established that correct way of breathing while doing asanas can be immensely beneficial for the body. He outlined a series of asanas which, when done in the given order, are likely to be immensely beneficial for the body. For those who are looking for Ashtanga yoga teachings in its true sense, this is the right institute to go for.

These are some of the top centers of yoga learning in India which can also be described as the pillars of yoga in India. We have left out some other popular names, such as Sivananda yoga and Paramath Niketan to quote a few, which have also been spreading the knowledge and practice of yoga for many decades now. However, the above four still remain the major yoga centres in India.