Established in 1916, the mission of Yog Sadhan Ashram is to provide all individuals, regardless of income or religious background, the traditional and complete teachings of Yoga philosophy and practice free of charge.
The Ashram holds a philosophy class every Sunday at 10am. Over the past few years, we’ve studied the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and just recently completed Vivek Chudamani. It took us roughly 2 years to get through it, but it was definitely worth taking the time to fully absorb such a deep scripture.
Beginning October 11th, we began studying Yoga Vasisth. While the original work is 32,000 verses of dialogue between Sage Vasisth and Lord Rama, overtime it has been condensed considerably. Anyone is welcome to attend the classes if they’re interested in learning about Yoga from one of the original sources.
Below are some pictures of our last day studying Vivek Chudamani, where we each offered flowers to the scripture.
Below is an article about a devotee’s trip to the main ashram in Hoshiarpur, Punjab:
On March 23, 2007 I set out to discover yoga as it is practiced in the country where it was originated. A group of 14 from eclectic backgrounds, from a poet to a school principle to a dentist, all affiliated with Yog Sadhan in Chicago Ashram in one way or other, had arrived a day earlier than I did. After a 15 hour flight and a 10-hour car ride I stepped inside a true Indian ashram where no Westerner had ever visited.
Soon after my arrival, someone escorted me into a small room where aarti was taking place. The members of my group were already settled in what would be their new home for the next three weeks, chanting along with the locals. Hersh’s father, Satgurudev Shri Chaman Lal Kapur, called “Guruji” by his students was in deep meditation with his eyes closed.
Below is an article written about the Ashram in Yoga Chicago
I never knew that my visit to Yog Sadhan Ashram in West Chicago two years ago would lead me to the main ashram in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India, in March 2007.
It is unbelievable to me that a yogic sanctuary of this kind existed less than an hour away from downtown Chicago. On the crisp Sunday morning of my first visit, I saw aspiring yogis practicing asanas, studying scriptures and learning internal cleansing techniques. Nested in the outskirts of the town of West Chicago, the vast property houses several buildings and many acres of green land and tall trees.
A few months ago, a local filmmaker made a short documentary about the Ashram – its history, mission and teachings. Not only is it a short introduction to the Ashram’s philosophy of teaching yoga in its entirety, as opposed to just asanas, but it’s also serves to inspire and encourage anyone on the yoga path. Please let us know what you think!
Welcome to the Yog Sadhan Ashram of Chicago blog! We are a yoga ashram located in West Chicago, IL. The Ashram was originally founded in 1916 in India by Prabhu Ram Lal Ji. The Chicago branch was founded in 1992 and has been providing complete yoga teachings and practices free of charge since that time.
This blog will be used to provide articles, videos, podcasts and pictures related to yoga in its entirety. This includes shat karmas (yogic cleansings), pranayama, asanas, dhyana (meditation) and the teachings from Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras, etc.
