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Located amid the serene hills and tropical forests around Neyyar Dam , 28km east of Thiruvananthapuram, the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari is one of India's leading yoga ashrams. It was founded by Swami Sivananda - dubbed the "Flying Guru" because he used to pilot light aircraft over war-stricken areas of the world scattering flowers and leaflets calling for peace - as a centre for meditation, yoga and traditional Keralan martial arts and medicine. Sivananda was a renowned exponent of Advaitya Vedanta, the philosophy of non-duality, as espoused by the Upanishads and promoted later by Shankara in the eleventh century. Aside from training teachers in advanced raja and hatha yoga, the ashram offers excellent introductory courses for beginners. These comprise four hours of intensive tuition per day (starting at 5.30am), with background lectures that provide helpful theory. During the course, you have to stay at the ashram and comply with a regime that some Western students find disconcertingly strict (smoking, alcohol, drugs, sex and even "rock music" are prohibited, the diet is pure veg, and you have to get  © 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here!
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up at the crack of dawn). However, if you are keen to acquire the basic techniques and knowledge of yoga, this is a good place to start. For more details, contact the ashram itself (tel 0471/290493), or their branch in Thiruvananthapuram (37/1929 Airport Rd, West Fort; tel 0471/450942). For more information look at their publication, Sivananda Yoga Life , published by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, 51 Felsham Rd, London SW15 1AZ (tel 020/8780 0160, siva@dial.pipex.com ).
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