Swami Vidyanand

Sri Swami Vidyanand is a renowned yoga master and the founder of Transformational Yoga , a new yogic system that synthesizes techniques of hatha, white tantra, raja, mantra, astanga and kundalini yoga to bring about rapid transformations in practitioners. His signature system is inspired by the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother and was developed when he taught yoga for more than a decade at the Sri Aurobindo Society, Adchini, Delhi, where he continues to teach. After establishing YOGA ALLIANCE ASIA-PACIFIC, he has established the YOGA ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL and YOGA ALLIANCE INDIA to foster a community of dedicated Yoga practitioners. Swami Vidyanand is also a LIFE MEMBER - SRI AUROBINDO EDUCATION SOCIETY,Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, Delhi. 

Swami Vidyanand mastered yoga in the traditional Indian yogic way, through apprenticeships under enlightened yoga masters in India and anonymous ascetics in the Himalayas. Hailing from a long line of renowned Bhakti yogis, he was born into the deeply spiritual environment of Datiya, an area in Madhya Pradesh, India, recognized as being one of the 17 sacred centres of tantra in India . His first guru was his father, Sri Harihar Goswami, a highly respected devotional yogi and founder of the Yoga Mandir of Datiya. Later on, he studied Kundalini Yoga with Paramhansa Swami Satyanand, the famous founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. He has also enjoyed Satsang with Swami Rama, the late founder of the Himalayan Institute. In the Himalayas, Swami Vidyanand learnt esoteric meditation techniques from Tibetan masters.

Swami Vidyanand's techniques are well recognized in India, evident from the respect he has received from cultural bodies such as the prestigious Bharat Nirman, an organization that recognizes individual efforts to promote ancient Indian wisdom, systems and practices. Among the awards and titles he has received are the Bhaskar Award, the highest award conferred by Bharat Nirman. He is also the Honorary President of the World Yoga Council of the International Yoga Federation, the world governing body of yoga that provides standards and recognition for yoga professionals internationally. In Hong Kong, Swami Vidyanand  taught Transformational Yoga courses at the Centre on Behavioral Health of the University of Hong Kong.

He operates today as an urban master, using the yogic system he has developed to help individuals in big cities rid and heal themselves of stress.

K.M.Chandrashekaran

Shizuyo Okada

Shizuyo Okada – Regional Director of Yoga Alliance America:

Shizuyo was first introduced to rudimentary elements of Yogic philosophy at the age of 16.  Since then she continued practicing a mild form of hatha yoga until she began the dynamic and challenging ashtanga yoga in 2006.  She is now an advocate of transformational yoga, having completed the master-level course directly under Swami Vidyanand at the SriMa International School of Transformational Yoga in New Delhi, India.  There she decided to devote her life to help as many people as possible through yoga, and was given a new name: Yogini Ishwari.

Though born and raised in Japan, Shizuyo has spent half of her life in North America and the UK.  Interested in world religions, mythology, and ancient history, she holds a bachelor degree in Egyptology and a master’s degree in Theological Studies, and is currently completing her doctoral degree in Classics.  Shizuyo was appointed as the Regional Director of America in August 2009.