Sahajananda

Sahajananda was born in Romania and trained as an electronics engineer before beginning yoga and meditation practice in 1981, the year the practice was officially banned under Communist rule. Over more than four decades he developed a teaching centred on Self-Inquiry in the lineage of Ramana Maharshi, refined in part through solitary retreats in Romania's Carpathian Mountains, and has led silent meditation retreats since 2001.

He founded Hridaya Yoga, now based at centres in Mazunte, Mexico and Saint-Just-d'Avray, France (alongside a smaller centre in Romania), where he continues to teach in-person and, since offering livestreamed sessions and a Hatha Yoga app, online. His retreats combine sustained periods of silence, Hatha yoga and direct Self-Inquiry practice, aimed at what Hridaya's own teaching materials describe as a direct encounter with the Spiritual Heart.