My stay at Sivananda Ashram.
I was there for a "Yoga Vacation" for 4 nights.
If I was to go back I would change the following things:
1. I would not share a room with a stranger. The woman I roomed with was staying there for 3 weeks and it felt like I was staying in her room. There was only one small window that opened to an outside hallway. My roomie was very afraid of being cold and therefore only cracked the window and didn't want the fan on. It would get really stuffy and smelly. Also, I've realized that I like my solitude. So, I would either pay the extra money for a single room (apparently they go quick and you have to book far in advance) or I would book a Tent Hut, or bring a tent.
2. I would go for some type of workshop. I apparently yearned for something that was not part of the regular Yoga Vacation. I can't put my finger on it, but something to work on my emotional well being. I'm still in a period of grieving the loss of someone close to me, and I was emotional. There wasn't any place to really talk about your feelings, unless you connected with someone over a meal.

I thought the meals were awesome. I'm a Vegan, and although there was not a morsel of vegan chocolate to be found anywhere, I ate very well. I brought some cookies from home, that helped.

Although they expect you to attend Yoga twice a day and Satsangs (meditation and chanting) twice per day, I found that attending about 1/2 that worked better for me.

The Yoga: I attended only beginners classes. All the instructors seemed knowledgable, however I found it to be repetitive. I know that some people find comfort in the consistency, however, I found it a bit frustrating. It wasn't my favorite Asanas that were being repeated.
There was a particular instructor that appeared to be a "big wig" within the Sivananda Community who's style I did not appreciate, at all. He verbally instructed the class, however, he had an assistant who would get into the poses to demonstrate for us. There was nothing gentle or helpful about his approach. Given my emotional state i was too sensitive for his type of boot camp style instructions. The one thing he did demonstrate was going from a seated position to standing, in one move with his arms stretched in front of him, and he instructed us to do it without telling us how. He insisted that we do balancing poses with our eyes closed, which I tried, and fell. So, I kept my eyes open and he kept telling us over and over to shut our eyes. I left at that point.

The Workshop offered recently with Dr Raymond Moody on Grief and Life after Life prompted me to visit this Ashram. I am a long time yoga and Qigong practitioner and Taoist in belief, and did not know about Sivananda yoga or the Ashram. I was pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed the yoga flow (pretty much the same every time, but teachers add a bit of differences), the meditation with chanting and satsang. Even though the chants included "hari krishna", it all added to the experience of a life of ritual and devotion and discipline.
The food was amazing - all vegan, home baked bread hot out of the oven and fresh made peanut butter - and abundant! Eating twice a day was not an issue since the fulfillment of spiritual nourishment made up the difference in the normal 3 meals a day.
I stayed in the OM huts in the garden and it was clean, basic, comfortable and it was all that was needed.
There were people from all over the world, each with their own story of why they were there. Some wanted to share and others did not, all were respected in their journeys. How wonderful to be around people who were there for various reasons, but all together in the need for spiritual growth.
The beach was beautiful with white sand and turquoise water and snorkeling right off the surf. The water was a bit chilly for me but many were enjoying it.
I will be back.

Great stuff, healthy food and healthy spirit, on a the beach
can't be more peaceful and tranquil. people like you from all over the world - a dream!
Make sure you come in good shape, they are going to kick ....
What else can you ask for?

Don't even consider the tent huts. I have stayed at lovely ones in other places that were on their own floors with separation between the permanently installed tents for the same price or less. The pics on their web site don't show the rabbit warren nature of the accommodations - it's a long, two-floor building with 12 thin dome tens on each floor, so when anyone walks down the center aisle the whole place shakes. No acoustic privacy. In addition, right over the fence - maybe 30 feet away - is the sewage treatment tank, etc. for the huge Atlantis resort 1/4 mile down the beach and it makes noise like a generator 24/7. No ocean breeze, no sound of waves, and an undercurrent of sewage smell. And speaking of smell - bathrooms were inadequate and apparently needed to be cleaned more than once a day with the demands on them.

I was able to move to a double room on the beach which was much better - after all I came to the Bahamas for the environment as well as the yoga or I could have gone more easily to Satchidananda ashram closer to home. Some of the office staff were kind and helpful, others should not be serving the public. I assume they are doing karma yoga work and are not paid and it must not sit well with some of them.


Because some "enlightened" guy (Sivananda) gave a yoga form way back does not mean it is particularly good in light of longer experience, anatomical, physiological, and kinesthetic understanding over the years - there are many forms in which the sequencing builds on earlier poses and which make much better sense than the Sivananda flow. I was disappointed in the classes, which are mandatory twice a day, along with 2 two-hour satsang/meditation sessions daily. With a continuing education class to attend, I beg to differ with the reviewer who mentioned time to lounge around on the beach.

My continuing education hours were high priced and were bodywork oriented. The presenters had offered it before at the ashram and requested the ashram make provisions for massage tables, but instead we did the bodywork on picnic tables that did not sit level and which were outdoors - had it rained I'm not sure what we would have done. It seemed the facilities were over-booked as we had to change locations for class due to conflicts. And it seems the ashram will take everyone who will pay for tent space - I met people who kept having to move their tents due to over-crowding and conflicts over space.

The vegetarian food was good, but if eggs are not included as a source of protein, yogurt shouldn't run out before many folks can get some in the mornings, and more nut and cheese options need to be available.