Sudarshan Kriya came into being in 1982 in Shimoga, India when Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, now a leading humanitarian and a spiritual leader across the world, went into a ten-day period of silence.
“I had already traveled around the world. I had taught yoga and meditation. But still, I was concerned about how to help people live a happy life. I felt there was something that was lacking. Though people do their practices, their life is in compartments when they come out in life, they are very different people. So, I was thinking how we can bridge this gap between inner silence and outer expression of life.
During a ten-day period of silence, the SudarshanKriya came like an inspiration. Nature knows what to give and when to give. After I came out of the silence, I started teaching whatever I knew and people had great experiences.”
~ Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Since then, SudarshanKriya - the powerful, rhythmic breathing technique has been the cornerstone of all Art of Living courses. The first course was taught by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at Shimoga. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has made ancient wisdom very practical to modern day and has introduced yoga, pranayamas, and meditation into the daily lives of millions over the last three decades.