✨All Levels

Ananda Yoga

Postures paired with affirmations to cultivate energy and awareness.

Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)

1968 · California, USA

About Ananda Yoga

Ananda 'Yoga for Higher Awareness' is a hatha-based approach that works explicitly with subtle energy awareness and uses affirmations paired to postures to cultivate specific mental and emotional qualities. It is gentle, inwardly focused, and grounded in the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda.

✓ Unique affirmation-posture integration trains the mind and body simultaneously✓ Grounded in Yogananda's Self-Realization tradition — deep spiritual roots✓ Gentle enough for beginners and those in recovery✓ Cultivates positive mental states through deliberate energy work✓ Strong retreat and community learning context

Yoga Wheel Scores

🤸Flexibility

2/5

Postures are held with awareness rather than intensity, developing flexibility gently over time.

⚡Strength

2/5

Basic body-weight strength develops through gentle holding and engagement.

⚖️Balance

2/5

Balance postures are included with accompanying affirmations for focused attention.

🌬️Breath

3/5

Pranayama and energisation exercises are integral to the system.

🧠Mind

4/5

Affirmations and inward focus make mind-body integration the primary goal.

History & Origins

Founder

Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)

Period

1968

Origin

California, USA

Associated with Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters), a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, Ananda Yoga grew from the Ananda communities founded in the 1960s. Each posture is linked to an affirmation drawn from the Energisation Exercises and the broader Yogananda tradition, making it a uniquely energy-and-awareness-focused hatha system.