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Heritage
Asana Andiappan College of Yoga and Research Centre, Chennai, India (previously called as Andiappan Yoga Training Centre) was established in 1950 in the remote village of Southern Tamil Nadu. Run by a family of dedicated yoga practitioners who have devoted their lives to the practice, the college has, over the years, helped develop and raise awareness of yoga to the people of India.
The Founder of the institution, Guruji Dr. Asana Andiappan, has been a practising yogi for over 70 years. His dedication to the ancient system is anchored in more than just an interest in its spiritual side: it is its curative effects; in particular, that has made yoga a lifetime vocation for the Guruji.
Guruji Dr. Andiappan has served a critical role in yoga’s evolution, shaping it into the practice it has become today. He has contributed a large body of knowledge to the field through research, where he has uncovered numerous secrets within ancient yogic texts that reveal the therapeutic benefits of the practice. These include the seminal text in Thirumoolar’s Thirumandiram, about the curative effects in yoga practices. Moreover, based on such texts, Guruji Dr. Andiappan has been able to develop his own sequences of curative asanas—all of which have made such therapeutic benefits accessible, and helped thousands of yoga practitioners in the process.
Guruji Dr. Andiappan’s yogic influence spans the entire world, though earlier ripples of his study and teachings began in his own family. The Guruji’s sons and daughters are all yoga masters backed by a lifetime of practice, and all run their own yoga centres in India. Guruji’s son, Yogananth Andiappan, is a world-renowned yogi who has spearheaded the propagation of knowledge and teachings of his father to people across the world.
Today Guruji openly shares his knowledge and life experiences with those who are willing to learn. He has written over 25 books on yoga therapy for various ailments in Tamil, the regional language, as well as published numerous research papers on the curative effects of yoga.
Today, Asana Andiappan College of Yoga and Research Centre stands as one of the few remaining yoga institution dedicated to authentic yoga traditions and promoting the values of yoga without any commercial motives. There is never a shortage of knowledge and inspiration for students aspiring to become living examples of yoga’s principles and practices. The College is run by a charitable trust, and all funds go into conducting free awareness programmes and yoga teacher trainings for young people who aspire to become yoga teachers. The college is recognised and appreciated by India’s state and central governments for its contributions to the development and awareness of yoga in India.
About Thirumoolar’s Ashtanga Yoga
Yogi Thirumoolar is a Tamil yogi who is one the main 63 Nayanars and one of the 18 Siddhars.
Thirumoolar has authored this seminal yogic text called Thirumandiram which consists of 3000 verses, and it forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta. This is considered one of the best and most important scripture in Tamil language.
Thirumandiram is comprised of nine Tantras. The nine Tantras consist of various aspects of human life. Tantra three explains in great details about Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs of yoga path. No other yogic literature or yogis has explained so much detail about the therapeutic effects of the yoga practice. In many sutras he elaborates how regular practice of Ashtanga Yoga helps balance all three elements in our body, preventing and curing various ailments in our body and mind.
Sage Thirumoolar explains yoga and sex under the name of pariyanga yoga- the yogic practices for men and women to enjoy their sexual life, tridhosa and its imbalance and how to balance the tridhosa in our body.
His message to the whole humanity and the essence of this yogic text is very simple, which is god is love and love is god. Every yoga practitioner should read Thirumandiram to learn not just about yoga but about the vast depth of knowledge about human life itself and to understand the path of self-realization.
Our Vision
- To promote the value of Yoga and Naturopathy both in India and abroad
- To open a yoga ashram in India, with all the facilities and run regular full time/ part time yoga teacher training courses and to give free yoga training to school students and financially backward youth and train them to become yoga teachers and get job placements as yoga teachers in India and abroad.
- To educate people with benefits of Yogic therapy benefits, beyond the common belief that Yoga is for spiritual enlightenment only
- To continue to spread the ancient art of Yoga, by ensuring graduates of the Centre with the highest standard who will pass this on to others
- To upgrade the current College status to an autonomous College or a deemed University specializing in Yoga and Naturopathy, offering all level of courses from Certificates to Doctorate.
- To lobby to the Health Department of India to build world class Yoga and Naturopathy hospitals to treat patients suffering from various ailments which can be treated by the practice of Yoga and Naturopathy
- To expand Yoga research by partnering with various hospitals to scientifically prove the medical benefits of Yoga and Naturopathy
- To lobby with the Olympic Committee to include Yoga as a bonafide sport in the Olympic game.
- To continue the research on the Ancient Art of Yoga to discover all the 8,400,000 Asanas in order to publish a comprehensive encyclopedia in Yogasanas.
