Integral Yoga (Satchidananda)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Swami Satchidananda · 1966 · United States

What it is

Integral Yoga is a modern teaching organisation and lineage, not a psychotherapy. It was founded by Swami Satchidananda (born 1914 in Tamil Nadu; a sannyasin initiated by Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh), who came to New York in 1966, opened the first Integral Yoga Institute there, addressed the…

Format

• Workshops and satsang: weekly Saturday satsang at Yogaville (chanting, recorded talk by the founder, a talk by a senior member, prayers for world peace).
• Silent retreats at Yogaville: WRSP (2011) lists a ten-day retreat in June, a five-day New Year retreat and four-day spring and autumn retreats.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• There is no therapy-phase model in Integral Yoga sources; what follows is the organisation's own structure of practice and training, then a working sequence for the therapist, which is.
• Organisation and authority
• Headquarters: Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, a residential ashram with renunciate swamis, resident householders and visitors; Integral Yoga Institutes (city centres that run classes and teacher certification) and smaller centres (classes, no certification). The organisation reports about 30 centres worldwide and around 5,000 teachers; WRSP (2011) gives different figures.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• retreat-intensity effects (B5, B6); isolation from usual supports.
• pressure to complete regardless of state; minimising history to be accepted.
• the client seeking guru-like guidance from you; your own pull to reassure or debunk.
• a referral that returns the client to a harmful relationship; the client's preference governs.
• perfectionism about calm; shame about anger or sexuality given celibacy norms in residential settings.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.