Founder (1897 - 1989) Shri Yogendra ji
Shri Yogendra Ji laid the foundation of The Yoga Institute, the world’s oldest organized yoga center, in 1918. He pioneered the evolution of Yoga across the world over the past 100 years. Yogendra Ji set up the first yoga center in New York, America in 1920 and initiated the Western world into the tenets of Yoga.
Yogendra Ji’s work drew the attention of researchers and scientists from all over the world. Yogendra Ji adopted a scientific and empirical basis for the study and practice of Yoga. His scientific yet humane temperament attracted much intellectual and academic interest in The Yoga Institute from Universities across the globe. The Yoga Institute has guided Harvard, UNESCO and several other organizations of world renown in their study of Yoga.
But the heart and soul of Shri Yogendraji’s mission was always focused on introducing Yoga to the common man. He believed that Yoga was meant to be in service of the common man and not meant to be confined to ascetics or kept as a cultural secret This was truly revolutionary for the day and age He simplified complex yogic practices so that every common people could adopt and practice it safely. Some of his greatest works are Hatha Yoga Simplified, Asana Simplified, Hygiene Simplified, Facts about Yoga, and Guide to Meditation.
He was a true yogi with total control over all aspects of being. He had been in a state of Samadhi for a considerable part of his life. Guru Shri Madhavdas Ji had trained Shri Yogendra Ji learned to use his prana to heal disease in others.He was a person of true siddhi, that is, metaphysical and spiritual gifts. He believed that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. He was a yogi who demonstrated that being a householder can also enable you to achieve mastery over your physical and mental senses.
