Saraswathi is a warm hearted and gifted yoga teacher and therapist. She combines a sharp intellect, with genuine warmth, and many years of knowledge and experience applying the ancient teachings of yoga. My time as a student of Saraswathi has a strong influence on my daily yoga practice and my professional work, both as a Yoga Therapist and Intern Clinical Psychologist.  

"I have had the honour and privilege to have been a student of Saraswathi for some years. I invited her to teach two seminars in England, January 2008, entitled "Transforming Patterns", and all who attended were impressed with her ability to explain difficult topics with ease, bringing clarity and understanding. She is a remarkable teacher and I hope to continue to study with her for many years."

“Attending all of the many courses and training programs that you have facilitated Saraswathi have left me feeling uplifted, inspired, educated and humbled by your abundant and gentle way of sharing your knowledge. Saraswathi your open heart and sensitive strength leads your audience on a journey of further self-discovery. I have learnt so much from having attended the yoga teacher training courses with you in Melbourne and Chennai, and from our many private classes and conversations. I particularly love the way you bring the Yoga Sutras alive and make them appropriate to our modern times. Your ability to hold a space for each person in a large group, to create clarity, to guide with comprehensible structure and honesty are all powerful and filled with meaning to me. Your sensitive, light hearted, compassionate and reflective ways of teaching have increased my personal and professional abilities to go deeper into love, gratitude, compassion, reflection, understanding and acceptance. Thank you for your selflessness.”

I had the honor of studying with Saraswathi Vasudevan at the Krishnamacharya Mandarim in Chennai, India. Saraswathi is an extremely knowledgeable and gifted instructor and yoga therapist. I learned a great deal from her classes and enjoyed many one-on-one sessions with her. Saraswathi helped me integrate the teachings of various masters and truly understand how yoga therapy works to heal the body, mind and soul. She was and is a role model for me as teacher, whose gracious manner and individualized teaching technique set high standards for me to strive towards. It has been several years now that I still enjoy doing the yoga flow that she created for me personally, and I am filled with gratitude whenever I see the photo of her standing in front of a picture of Krishnamacharya on my altar.

" At the time of Kaliyuga. A time where all our fundamental values are upside down. A time where our main supports are challenged : processed food, familly structures falling apart, holistic health at least half healthy, to say the least. A time when we need be awake like snakes but are unfortunately sleeping like moles.

A time where confusion has taken over. A time where it is difficult to identify what is right from what is wrong. Who can stay balanced in this general atmosphere? It would be almost unhuman to remain happy in such a kaliyuga context. As philospher and writer D.H Lawrence used to say : «Today, it requires more courage to live than to die»

Teaching Yoga in today’s context is surely seducing but indeed a courageous act. By saying “teaching yoga”, I don’t mean the revisionist and narcissic form of yoga which limits itself to the streching of our connective tissues once or twice a week. No, I mean the ancient and humble form of Yoga which is teaching and living life from your heart while constantly facing our deep fears, false identity, hatred and so on. A journey to set our heart free to start Living! To be Awake! A journey to harmoniously link with our heart and consequently link with the bigger picture: the universe which includes all beings.

This requires the humility of a child, the courage of a tiger, and the knowledge and lifestyle (although unconventional) of the ancient yogis.

Firstly, this requires at least appropriate diet, our first medicine. Secondly, this requires an appropriate life style which gives us time to meditate, to practise, to think, to read, to link with others. Thirdly, this requires appropriate company, chosen by, at the very least, moving away from “evil”.

In today’s context, these things require courage, humility and effort.

I strongly believe that Saraswathi is a true representation of yoga in this form.

A Teacher and Friend
I have studied with Saraswathi since 2004 when I did an intensive course at KYM. I found her to be an outstanding teacher in many ways. Living in Hyderabad I would book a trip to Chennai and spend a couple of hours with her studying the Yoga Sutras every day we could spare. When she began to travel and teach, I was delighted to continue a planned and regular study of Yoga with her. She was gracious to accept our invitation to teach at Hyderabad.

Saraswathi is a highly knowledgeable and patient teacher. She brings clarity and precision to a subject as complex as Yoga with ease and enthusiasm. Saraswathi has an extraordinary ability to recognize and develop the students potential. Unlike many famous teachers, she holds nothing back of the knowledge of Yoga in her teaching. She gives of her understanding and wisdom completely, expounding the virtue that as we share we multiply and as we teach we expand. I have grown to admire and respect her more than ever for this.

It has been a great joy and privilege to be Saraswathi’s student. I hope and pray that my Yoga journey will have her guidance, friendship and support always.

Saraswathi Vasudevan is a rare individual. She consistently combines her vast wealth of practical knowledge and profound humility with a great sensitivity to the needs of each student.

As both a seasoned healer and Yoga educator, she has a knack for effortlessly drawing the best from each person, whether it be a higher state of health, or a greater understanding of that which is being studied.

Yoga is a process of self-care and self-empowerment. Saras’ unique ability to make her students feel as though they themselves are the source of their own health and wisdom makes her a true Yogi and extraordinary Yoga Teacher.

To be in her presence is to experience the embodiment and the spirit of this timeless healing art. To study with her in any possible context should be high on any serious student of Yoga’s list of priorities.

“It is with great enthusiasm that we host Saraswathi to Canada every year. Her professionalism and experience in Yoga and Yoga Therapy are among the best we have ever known.

Saraswathi continues to push the boundaries in redefining yoga therapy as a relevant topic for Western audiences today. All those who have studied with her, without exception, have been touched and transformed by her gifts as a yoga teacher and healer.

Studying with Saraswathi, I have come to understand Yoga much beyond Asana and bring it into my day to day life. A teacher whose main desire is to help each one of her students reach his or her highest potential, she creates a compassionate and nurturing space for each student enabling deep healing at the physical, mental, and emotional levels. The simplicity and clarity she brings while teaching the Yoga Sutra and Yoga Therapy has helped me deepen my own practice and has empowered me with skills that i value as a Yoga Teacher. Saraswathi's teachings resonate with us easily because she helps to bridge the gap between "knowing" and "doing" through simple, practical tools.

Since I started yoga 4 months ago, my life has changed so much. I am seeing myself more calmer nowadays, my skin feels smoother and I am sleeping better. The practice has helped me with stress reduction from concentrating on my breathing and has greatly increased the flexibility of the body. I received training in Meditation, Pranayama and Asanas which I practice everyday. I feel like being in her Gurukulam for these 4 months, blessed to be associated with the group.

I met Saraswathi Dec. 31, 2008 and spent New Years Eve and Day with her. My first impressions, which have been bourne out was of a soft-spoken gentle soul. When you first meet her, she is so unassuming that until you get to know her, you do not realize how powerful a woman she is, because her power comes from presence and not from personality or ego.

She is mature and wise beyond her tender years and exudes understanding and compassion. I did a two week retreat with her India in the summer of 2009 and it was such a marvelously rich experience. I had been to an ashram in India two years prior and had an unsatisfying, disappointing time. This was wonderful. It was quiet and peaceful and we were able to observe long periods of silence that enabled us to drop down in to a deep knowing. The mind became very quiet.

The thing I appreciate the most about Saraswathi is her approach to teaching, which is not so much content oriented as it is process oriented. And one cannot forget her warm smile.

It is not easy for someone like me to be connected to Yoga knowledge after connecting to quite few methods of spiritual healing and understanding.

The way this Yoga knowledge been presented is holistic and universal, and when I say the word universal, I mean it, it suit and resonate with all kind of cultures and groups across the globe.

I found depth and meaning in this knowledge that one can benefit from on all levels and help others to benefit as well.

Yoga Vahini is knowledge and enlightenment. I am so fascinated with the understanding and presentation of the mind, it gave me a very clear view of how to deal with the mind and reach clarity.

Yoga Vahini as knowledge and practice is suitable for everyone, regardless of age, sex, health condition, religion, or spiritual level.

It was with Saraswati that I made the challenging transition from being a "technician" in my clinical yoga therapy work to becoming a responsive and creative healer. It is a unique and inspired teacher that can midwife such a transition for a student. I simply cannot imagine my life, as well as my work, without her wise counsel. Saraswati's deep understanding and respect for the fundamentals of yoga grace her healing work with creativity and confidence. These two qualities that she embodies are keystones on any healing path aimed at therapeutically applying ancient wisdoms to modern ailments. Saraswati transmits these gifts to her students by inspired classroom presentations as well as how she lives her life. Heartbreakingly humble and fiercely ethical Saraswati is an inspired guide for any woman on a journey to discovering her true Self.

Saraswathi is a compassionate, insightful and truly inspiring teacher with her boundless generosity to share and help the needs of students.

Connecting deeply with the heart of each students, she guides us to a unique journey experiencing an essense of yoga through self-acceptance and awareness, allowing to heal and embrace our very being.

I have never felt the greater peace of mind and love that quietly illuminating from her presence and teachings.

Having studied with Saraswathi, I wouldn’t refer to her as just a teacher or trainer or facilitator of Yoga therapy. She made me curious about my learning, made me question and then helped me find answers within myself. Such is her experiential understanding of the subject. She does not insist on leading all the time. She gives us the confidence and plenty of opportunities to lead the class. In her own gentle, non- intrusive way, she has made not just teachers, but trainers and facilitators out of us.

Saras is an amazing teacher who explains the subject in depth and makes the most complex seem simple. Absolutely humble and down to earth. Ever grateful to her for taking the time to come to Hyderabad to teach us and enriching our lifes with the philosophy of yoga.

Having had the inspirational and transformative experience of two workshops with Saraswathi I was privileged she accepted my invitation to lead my next Bali Yoga retreat this year.

Saras’ presence, extraordinary learnedness, teaching, breadth and width of heart and knowledge, gentleness and patience emanated into a wonderful retreat allowing for deep and fully supported self-exploration and growth for all the students.

Whilst classically trained and disciplined she is particularly adept and intuitive about how to adopt the ancient wisdoms and make them accessible, pertinent, and meaningful as we unravel the calamities and challenges of life and meaning in the Western world.

Her profoundest gift is as a teacher who provides a safe and trustworthy yoga path, all the while remaining herself a student revealing her own lessons.

Working under Saras’ guidance has changed my life forever, and I hope we will be blessed to keep finding future collaborations.