Living Yoga: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda
Format: DVD
Running Time:  62 minutes

How the ancient teachings of Yoga were brought to the West and the far-reaching effects on society of the modern Yoga movement is a story told for the first time on film in an hour-long documentary that informs, entertains and provokes self-inquiry.

Yoga is over 5000 years old, yet is relatively new to Americans. Just forty years ago, the philosophy and practices of asanas (Yoga postures) that originated in India were initially popularized in the United States. Swami Satchidananda was one of the first Yoga masters to bring the classical Yoga tradition to the West. He taught Yoga postures to Americans and introduced them to meditation and a vegetarian and more compassionate lifestyle after he was invited to America in 1966 by the iconic pop artist Peter Max. During this period of cultural awakening, a small circle of Peter Max's artist friends beseeched the swami to extend what was supposed to be a brief stop in New York City so they could learn from him the secret of finding physical, mental and spiritual health, peace and enlightenment. Three years later, he led some half a million American youth in chanting OM, when he delivered the official opening remarks at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival, and he became known as "the Woodstock guru." The distinctive teachings he brought with him blend the physical discipline of Yoga, the spiritual philosophy of Vedantic literature and the interfaith ideals he pioneered. These techniques and concepts influenced a generation and spawned a Yoga culture that is flourishing today.

Today, an estimated twenty million Americans practice Yoga as a means for managing stress, promoting health, slowing down the aging process and creating a more meaningful life. The teachings of Swami Satchidananda have spread into the mainstream and thousands of people now teach Yoga. You can buy Yoga gear (or mats) at Target, pick up Yoga for Dummies at the local library and catch some Yoga moves on television and in classes offered at spas, health clubs, community centers and offices of major corporations.

Yoga has been instrumental in:

• Medical therapy applications and breakthroughs proven by Dr. Dean Ornish to reverse heart disease (new studies in prostrate cancer underway)
• Improvement in grades, attitude, focus, flexibility and adaptability of children, including those with special needs
• Peacemaking efforts and bringing people of all faiths together in respect and appreciation for the unity within our diversity.

These breakthroughs in consciousness and others areas brought to light in Living Yoga: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda, a film written and co-produced by Joshua M. Greene and directed and co-produced by Shiva Kumar.

"Swami Satchidananda enriched the lives of countless others and his efforts made a positive difference to our world and our future." - President and Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton

"I consider Swami Satchidananda one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time." - Richard Gere

Testimonial footage from

• The Dr. Phil Show
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• The Oprah Winfrey Show
• Good Morning America

The film features archival footage from around the globe and interviews with Larry King and others who have been deeply touched by Yoga and the teachings of Swami Satchidananda.

Segments with Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Mehmet Oz highlight the positive impact of Yoga practices and vegetarian lifestyle on health and wellness.

Pop artist Peter Max, Felix Cavaliere (lead singer, The Rascals), Dr. Bhagavan Antle (founder, The Institute of Greatly Endangered & Rare Species), Sharon Gannon and David Life (Yoga teachers to Sting, Willem Dafoe and Russell Simmons) and Swami Asokananda (president, Integral Yoga International) are among others also interviewed.

Swami Satchidananda, a disciple of the renowned guru, Sri Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, was known for his combination of practical wisdom and spiritual insight. He lived a life of service, demonstrating by his own example the means of finding abiding peace. Born to a devout family in South India in 1914, he gave up a personal life for a life dedicated to inner peace and spiritual knowledge. In 1966, he was invited to visit the West, where his deep spiritual realization made a profound and lasting impression.

Avant-garde filmmaker Conrad Rooks (Chappaqua, Siddhartha) first studied Yoga with Swami Satchidananda in Sri Lanka and then flew him to Paris. On the voyage back to Sri Lanka, in July 1966, Swami Satchidananda was to make a 2-day stopover in New York as a guest of Peter Max. America’s preeminent pop artist narrates stories about how he and his art friends beseeched the swami to extend his stay in New York so they could learn from him the ancient teachings of the East. To serve these sincere students, Swami Satchidananda consented.  The organization founded on his teachings, Integral Yoga® International (IYI), now has more than fifty centers and offers some of the most highly respected programs for Yoga teacher certification. Integral Yoga combines various methods of Yoga that help one find the peace and joy within.

The role of spirituality in wellness and the link between inner peace and outer peace is explored in the film. Swami Satchidananda was a pioneer in the interfaith movement and promoted world peace by bringing together people of all backgrounds and beliefs so they could learn respect for all the different paths and realize their common spirit and the universality of their spiritual foundation. He built the world’s first interfaith shrine. Rev. James P. Morton (former dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine), Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB and Rabbi Joseph Gelberman - all leaders in the interfaith movement and close friends of Swami Satchidananda - are also interviewed.