Yasodhara Ashram

The Yasodhara Ashram was opened in the fifties by Swami Radha, one of the first female Western swamis. It's set on the waterfront on the East side of Lake Kootenay. The site is stunningly beautiful. I decided to visit today with a friend. We left early in the morning, hitchhiked to the ferry, crossed the lake and walked to the ashram. They run many programs during the summer, but their main one is from January to March every year. It is a personal development program based on self-inquiry. When I first arrived to Nelson ten days ago, I met a Danish guy who'd just retruned from there, having taken the course and stayed on for a few extra months to do "karma yoga" (volunteer work). He said the program turned him inside out and he learned more about himself during those three months than in his previous 33 years.

Another interesting tidbit of info that might interest the yogis among you. Apparently, Swami Radha was about 43 when she heard the call to go to India. There she met her guru Swami Sivananda, in Rishikesh. He initiated her in his lineage, against the wishes of his entourage, who didn't want a woman in their ranks. He protected her until he died, after which she was shoved aside, it would seem, and she came back to Canada. By then she had learned what she needed to learn and had also studied under other teachers. There is a strong Tibetan connection at the ashram, prayer flags and vajrayana images everywhere. It would seem Yasodhara yoga combines elements of what Radha learned from Sivananda, but also from other traditions.