Yog-Ganga Centre For Yoga Studies

Swati and Rajiv Chanchani founded the Yog-Ganga Centre for Yoga Studies in June 1988 under the guidance of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar. The centre’s aims are fivefold:

1. To promote the study of yoga philosophy and practice in the tradition of the revered sage Patanjali and as elucidated by Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar, Geeta S. Iyengar, and Prashant S. Iyengar.
2. To learn yoga within the broader fabric of Indian culture especially through art, architecture, dance, language, literature and music.
3. To situate yoga as a subject that is in harmony with nature, and to endorse action that leads to protection of the earth’s environment.  
4. To advance public health and community well being through the study of yoga and Ayurveda.
5. To create a space where like-minded people can gather to discuss and advance all the above.

The Yog-Ganga Centre was initially based in Mussoorie, which is in the lower Himalayas. In 2002 the centre was shifted to a quiet, forested locality of neighboring Dehradun.

This centre comprises of a specially designed building constructed of brick and locally mined limestone. This building encloses a 1500 sq.ft. well equipped yoga hall, a library, a venue for lectures and demonstrations, a reception and other spaces. A small amphitheater, well-landscaped gardens on terraced slopes abounding in fruit trees, shrubs, medicinal plans, and flowers make the situation idyllic for the reflection, study and the practice of Yoga.  Eighty species of birds, monkeys, deer, pine martens, mongooses, and other wildlife frequent the gardens.

Lessons at Yog-Ganga are an innovative blend of interdisciplinary training. Asanas, pranayama, classical Indian philosophy, cultural studies, environmental studies, and health and healing sciences are harmoniously melded. Ongoing general classes for local students and short and long courses for out-of-station students are held.

Talks and presentations are regularly given by the centre’s directors and by visiting scholars. Important days in the calendar are marked by special events. On occasion, short outings are organized to attend concerts, fairs, festivals or to visit places of archaeological significance, religious importance, or natural beauty.

The directors of the Yog-Ganga Centre also conduct Yoga courses at other venues in India and overseas.