by Rev. Premanjali and Chandra Sgammato

The Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco reaches a milestone in 2020: Fifty years of service on Dolores Street in San Francisco. Fifty years ago, Americans knew almost nothing of Yoga. There were no Hatha classes at the local YMCA. Health food stores contained only bottles of vitamin supplements and photos of bodybuilders. Few understood the meaning of karma. When most people thought of a yogi, they remembered a popular cartoon man sleeping on a bed of nails. All that changed when Sri Swami Satchidananda arrived in America in 1966. He was one of a handful of teachers to bring yoga to America during those early years before yoga became more mainstream, and his influence has blossomed all over the United States and internationally.

He taught what he termed Integral Yoga, a combination of physical and spiritual practices, of psychological and philosophical approaches to life. He encouraged selfless service to others, which would help anyone discover and maintain the peace and happiness that were, he said, the birthright of all. His message resonated with many people in the 1960s who were looking for something greater and deeper than what they perceived as a superficial, materialistic, and unjust society. His talks drew crowds of young seekers.

Swami Satchidananda first taught classes in Hatha Yoga, led kirtan chants, and offered Yoga in the living room of a large apartment at 500 West End Avenue in New York City. Soon the classes and lectures moved to a larger venue, the Universalist Church on Central Park West. In August 1968, a group of students, mostly hippies, took up residence in an apartment adjacent to 500 West End Avenue so that they could immerse themselves in a Yogic lifestyle.

This initial group of students was trained by Swami Satchidananda to first practice Hatha Yoga and then to teach it. With some good experience under their belts, several of those students set their sights on the West Coast. If Integral Yoga was beginning to take root in the Big Apple, why not spread the love to the City by the Bay? And so they did. Setting out in a VW bus, they headed west in 1969 and began teaching Yoga classes from a house they rented in Berkeley. In 1970, the building on Dolores Street was purchased and the rest is history, as they say…

In 1972, Swami Satchidananda spoke to his students about his vision for Yogaville, a Yoga village where seekers would live together practicing Yoga. It would be a large community where they could grow their food, educate their children, and create an economy based on yogic values and high ideals. In 1972, Yogaville West was founded in Lake County. Later, a second Yogaville West was formed near Santa Barbara. These properties were later sold when it became clear they couldn’t accommodate the vision for a larger Yoga village and, eventually, an interfaith shrine. After singer/songwriter Carole King donated her Connecticut estate called “Music Mountain” to Integral Yoga, that property was sold (with her blessings) so that a larger piece of land could be purchased. In 1979, Yogaville Virginia was established. While many students flocked to central Virginia to be part of this dream, Swami Satchidananda felt it was important to have city centers, such as the IYI in San Francisco, in order to serve its residents.

Few organizations of any kind can claim to be 50 years old, and in the Yoga world, there are even fewer. So, the SFIYI’s golden anniversary is a significant milestone—the kind of marker that offers an opportunity to take a step back and to reflect on the impact the organization has had on the local community and the western Yoga world at large. The Integral Yoga practices and philosophy have influenced a generation and spawned a Yoga culture that is flourishing today.

So, during this anniversary year, we remember and reflect on the teachings of Swami Satchidananda and Integral Yoga. And as we celebrate the dedication of active IYI practitioners, we also hope to inspire those who may be new to Integral Yoga. We hope you will join us for the cornucopia of anniversary events planned for 2020 and wish us well for the next 50 years and beyond!