Swami Sivananda Radha was an influential figure in the early introduction of yoga to North America. A disciple of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, she was initiated by him into sanyas in 1956. She went on to establish Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia, Canada in 1963, and Timeless Books in 1978.

Born in Berlin in 1911, Swami Radha (Sylvia Hellman) was a writer, photographer and modern interpretive dancer in pre-war Germany. After her first husband was killed by the Nazis, and her second husband, a composer, died after only a year of marriage, she immigrated to Montreal, Canada in 1951 and became a Canadian citizen.

Her suffering during the war years in Germany ignited her desire to find a meaningful purpose in life. A visionary experience in Montreal led her to her guru, Swami Sivananda. She travelled alone to India in 1955 to study with him. At his ashram, she received intense training in the philosophy and practices of yoga and was initiated into the sacred order of sanyas to become Swami Sivananda Radha Saraswati.

At Swami Sivananda’s request she returned to Canada to establish an ashram for the study of yoga. In 1957, in Burnaby, British Columbia, she founded the first ashram in Canada and soon after opened the Yoga Vedanta Bookstore on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver. In 1963, the Ashram moved to its present location in Kootenay Bay, BC.

During the 1970s and 80s, after laying the foundations for a thriving ashram, she went on to travel, lecture and teach yoga across North America and Europe.

Her first book was Kundalini Yoga for the West, a groundbreaking, comprehensive guide to Kundalini Yoga and its potential for spiritual evolution. Tailored for Western practitioners, the book emphasizes the importance of balancing spiritual practices with everyday responsibilities and challenges.

She went on to write a memoir of her time with Swami Sivananda: Radha, Diary of a Woman’s Search; a practical guide to mantra yoga: Mantras Words Power, and a symbolic exploration of Hatha Yoga practice: The Hidden Language of Hatha Yoga, as well as many other books on yoga.

Swami Radha’s major focus was to present the yogic teachings so that they could be understood and applied in daily life. She bridged transcendent reality with practical self- reflection. She set high ethical standards and encouraged students to discover their own purpose in their lives. Her teachings are based on building character as a foundation so that the energy gained through spiritual practice is directed wisely.