Swami Shankardev Saraswati is currently registered with Yoga Alliance as 500, which means that they completed their yoga teacher training at an active RYS.
I read my first book on yoga and meditation when I was 13 years old. The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa tells the story of a young boy who enters a Tibetan Monastery and undergoes rigorous training to become a spiritual adept. This story awoke a deep longing and set the course for my life.
Today, I am a western medical doctor, Yoga Acharya (authority), psychotherapist, and teacher. My work integrates western mind-body techniques and psychotherapy with Eastern methods of mind-body development and awakening consciousness. In my psychotherapy practice and through Skype and telephone consultations I manage chronic physical and psychological conditions by combining western approaches with yoga, yoga-tantra, Ayurveda, and other systems of self-development.
As the co-founder and director of Big Shakti (ww.bigshakti.com), I collaborate with my life partner Jayne Stevenson on the company’s evolution and especially our online educational tools. Many of our guided meditations and courses derive from techniques that I have developed over 40 years of live teaching and running a psychotherapy practice. I also provide direct support to students through group webinars and private consultations.
My Journey
After attaining my degree in 1976, I traveled to India to study at the Bihar School of Yoga, where I remained for 10 years. During this time I wrote several books on yoga that are still in print. I returned to Australia in 1985 to research the physiology of yoga at the University of New South Wales, completing a Master of Science degree in 1990.
Over the last 40 years, I have traveled widely through many countries, learning and teaching esoteric Eastern traditions. I have been privileged to meet and study with many wonderful gurus, teachers, and mentors and have made many spiritual friends. As a result, I have had a broad range of both inner and outer experiences and many wonderful synchronicities.
These experiences have convinced me of the validity of yoga and meditation as incredibly potent ways of rejuvenating ourselves, of uplifting our minds and hearts, and awakening greater insight into the nature of life and the world we live in.