Swami Satchidananda founded Yogaville to provide an optimal environment where people could come to study, and live according to, the principles of Integral Yoga. Years later, that Yoga village continues to grow, still nurtured by Sri Gurudev's vibrant and enduring spirit.

Yogaville is a dynamic community where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together in the name of Yoga. In addition to the more than 2,000 guests and program participants who visit each year, 150 residents make Yogaville their home. There is a monastery for the monastics, as well as dormitories for guests and single residents.

Yoga seminars and workshops run each weekend, along with certified Yoga Teacher Training programs. A large residential Yoga community surrounds the Ashram. Facilities in Yogaville include: a school, organic garden and orchard, auto repair and other workshops, photo department, Shakticom (audio/video production department), archives, Integral Yoga Publications, Integral Yoga Distribution, graphic design department, Fine Arts Society, Lotus Conference Center, affiliated credit union, and more.

Three shrines at Yogaville—the Light Of Truth Universal Shine (LOTUS), Kailash, and Chidambaram—are often referred to as the heart of Yogaville. But, in truth, there is no particular structure that can hold that special honor. The heart of Yogaville will always be the expansive teachings and presence of Sri Gurudev.

If You Want to See Heaven...
By H. H. Sri Swami Satchidananda

It's impossible for us to transform the whole world overnight. We have to start building a better world somewhere. That is the purpose of Yogaville. Let one little village become a beautiful one, a heaven on earth. Of course, that doesn't mean that you should not do anything for other parts of the world. But remember, charity begins at home.

That is why in Yogaville we are trying to lead a life filled with caring and sharing—and a life with the recognition of our spiritual unity. We are trying to prove in Yogaville—in this one little miniature world—that people from various places come together and can live together harmoniously as one family. If we can't make this little world a happy place to live, a harmonious place to live, then there is no point in talking about global harmony or global peace.

Here, in Yogaville, all are in good company: the company of like-minded people seeking to live easeful, peaceful, and useful lives. If you are in this kind of good company, your mind is more calm. When your mind is more calm, you experience your own inner Self. It's as simple as that. Those who find it difficult to follow any spiritual practices will find an immediate benefit by living in such an environment. They will get great benefit just by leaving the bad company behind, just by changing the environment, and by finding the good company.

That is the purpose of Yogaville. Here we are as one family. We came from various places. We have various tastes, various temperaments, various faces, various beliefs, but we are living here as one family, helping each other. Everyone is growing and helps others to grow. It takes a lot of understanding, a lot of cooperation, and coordination. That's why, when I travel around the globe, I say, "If you want to see a heaven, come to Yogaville."

Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi