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Volunteer & Work-Study Service

Thank you for being interested in serving at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram, Neyyar Dam.

Apart from the Yoga Vacation programme, aspirants have three options to stay and serve in the ashram/centre.

They are Work-study, Full-time Volunteer and Course Assistant.

We are pleased to introduce a Remote Volunteering option. Now, you can support the Ashram’s mission from anywhere in the world. Help with selected tasks, make a difference, and be part of our community, all from home. Click here to register for Remote Volunteering.

1. Work-study programme

For those who wish to be more involved in the ashram without being fully committed as a full-time volunteer. Learn and experience the four paths of Yoga as part of the ashram’s daily schedule. The minimum stay is three months.

Terms & Conditions

  • Three months commitment.

    Total cost, including food and accommodation is 60% of the Yoga Vacation. This is payable in advance and non-refundable in case of premature departure.

  • Meals and the simplest accommodation (dormitory or your tent) are free of charge. You will pay the difference between the shared room rate and the standard dorm rate for a shared room.
  • Work studies can perform up to four hours of karma yoga (selfless service) daily, including teaching and assisting yoga classes (TTC graduates).
  • Attendance of morning & evening satsangs and minimum practice of one yoga asana class per day is expected.
  • There is one day off per week for work studies.
  • Work studies must provide for all their personal needs.
  • Acknowledge and follow the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre rules (see below).

2. Full-time volunteer

With unconditional service in the ashram for a minimum period of 6 months.

Terms & Conditions

  • Six months minimum commitment.
  • Volunteers are expected to serve unconditionally at any of our centres or ashrams at the Director’s discretion.
  • Meals and the simplest accommodations (dormitory or your tent) are free of charge.
  • Attendance of morning & evening satsangs and minimum practice of one yoga asana class per day is expected.
  • There are no official days off for volunteers.
  • The volunteer must provide for all personal needs.
  • Acknowledge and follow the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre rules (see below).

If you are interested in options 1 or 2, first come for a two-week stay as a Yoga Vacation paying guest. The two-week stay is a trial period to see whether you will be comfortable in the ashram. After completing this period, you can apply to the Director for an extended stay. You may be asked to provide a police clearance certificate or references from the responsible members of the society. Any decision taken by the Director will be final. Please note you should take full responsibility for the costs of your travel to and from the ashram and any visa formalities during your service period.

3. Course assistant

Suitably qualified volunteers can apply to assist with short-term courses such as TTC and Kids Camp. Interested volunteers should directly contact the host ashram.

Terms & Conditions

  • Assistants should plan to arrive a week before the course for training and stay for the entire course duration.
  • Assistants should be prepared to do any work unrelated to the course in the ashram.
  • Meals and the simplest accommodation (dormitory or your tent) are free of charge.
  • Although we endeavour to ensure time for personal practice, we cannot guarantee a protected practice time.
  • There are no official days off for assistants.
  • The assistant must provide for all personal needs.
  • Acknowledge and follow the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre rules (see below).

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre (SYVC), India rules

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre (SYVC), India rules

  1. The SYVC is a monastic order dedicated to the dissemination of the disciplines and philosophy of Yoga, both theory and practice. All aspirants who come to serve, learn, and practice the teachings come to develop the spirit of renunciation through selfless service.
  2. To further instil the values of selfless service, all aspirants must bear the expenses for personal items needed for daily living, including any treatment from the Sivananda Institute for Health and items purchased from the Boutique or the Sivananda Health Hut.
  3. If an aspirant has personal possessions upon joining, these holdings must be kept apart from all Organization properties unless offered as a donation to SYVC. All contributions made and work performed, whether material or intellectual, are done so with the knowledge that they are irrevocably offered to the SYVC, India, without any specific remuneration or compensation at any time.
  4. A student member must perform ungrudgingly duties assigned according to the discretion of the Ashram Director or his duly appointed representatives. Aspirants should work humbly with an attitude of service to the Divine and our spiritual masters.
  5. All student members must follow the spiritual discipline of the SYVC: vegetarianism, no tobacco, no alcohol, no drugs, and regular attendance at morning and evening meditation sessions. A student should participate in a Yoga Asana class daily. The aspirant agrees to sincerely practice the ethical and moral disciplines of Yama and Niyama (see below). The aspirant is also encouraged to maintain and share a Spiritual Diary with the Director of the centre or ashram where they are assigned.
  6. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers of India disapprove of and condemn any form of harassment directed at guests, staff or visitors. Specifically, no harassment, proposals or innuendos with a sexual connotation will be tolerated during any program or activity organized by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers of India. Students participating in such programmes are accordingly made aware of this policy and invited to apply it in their personal behaviour whilst on our premises. Any student who thinks she (he) may be the victim of unsolicited advances or any other form of sexual harassment is asked to notify the Director immediately in order for corrective action to be undertaken without delay. Complaints made to the Director will be treated confidentially and the alleged violator or any third party will not be advised of the complainant’s identity without the latter’s consent.
  7. If the above conditions are not met in the opinion of the ashram Director or a majority of the Board of Trustees of the SYVC, India in his absence, the aspirant/student member can be requested to leave the SYVC, India immediately without notice. All leases, contracts, bank accounts, and all other legal engagements of the SYVC may be made only in the name of SYVC and not in the personal name of any student member. The undersigned has read all the above rules and conditions contained herein and agrees to honor them and to devote him or herself for the duration of this commitment to the rigorous discipline of a yoga aspirant in the service of the SYVC pursuant to this agreement.
  8. *Yamas and Niyamas are the ethical and moral precepts of Raja Yoga.

The Yamas consist of:

  • Ahimsa (Nonviolence);
  • Satya (Truthfulness);
  • Brahmacharya (sexual continence);
  • Asteya (Nonstealing); and
  • Aparigraha (Non-covetousness).

The Niyamas consist of:

  • Saucha (Internal and External Cleanliness and Purity);
  • Santosha (Contentment);
  • Tapas (Austerity of mind and body);
  • Swadyaya (Study of scriptures and religious books); and
  • Ishvarapranidhana (worship and self-surrender to the Divine).

To apply online for Work-study programme, Full-time volunteer or Course assistant click here

For more details about our centres in India, please visit http://sivananda.org.in/

In case of any queries contact [email protected]