Sivananda Yoga Ranch

Last Updated On: mayo 23rd, 2019 at 03:46PM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
500 Budd Road
Woodbourne, New York , 12788

Primary Contact: Martine Bisagni
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 212-675-0216
    Email: ranchinterns@sivananda.org

Website: https://sivanandayogaranch.org

Internship information

General Farm Description: The Yoga Ranch was founded in 1974 by Swami Vishnudevananda to provide a peaceful retreat structured around a full immersion into Yogic living and nurtured with the natural beauty of the lush mountains. The simple living close to nature quiets the mind and prepares it for meditation and the high thinking of the Vedanta philosophy. Asanas (yoga postures), Pranayama (breathing techniques), vegetarian meals, chanting, and working together in Karma Yoga help complete the Yoga experience. The ranch is 77 acres in the Catskill Mountains of New York State with extensive hiking trails, a food forest, a vegetable and fruit garden, a flower garden and ponds.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: Mid/End June 2019
Internship Ends: mid/End August (early September is possible if students are able to remain though not necessary) 2019
Number of Internship Available: 12
Application Deadline: As filled
Minimum Length of Stay: 2 months

Internship Details:

INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION SUMMER 2019

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch is seeking summer interns in one (or a combination) of the following land areas: organic vegetable garden/food forest, flower garden/landscaping and trail maintenance on our 77-acre Catskill location. The ashram has a large vegetable garden, food forest, herb and berry patches all of which are organic. There is an extensive floral garden with an emphasis on attracting pollinators. The 77-acre ashram has hiking trails and ponds. The land internship offers practical skills, work experience, room and board, an on-site library, a curriculum based in Sivananda philosophies with an emphasis on sustainability and an ashram experience in a purposeful spiritual community while living close to the earth.

This program is for students who want to participate in a formal internship or independent study through their college program. Evaluations will be provided by the liaison with department head input and ashram management oversight. This is ideal for a student of the environment, agriculture or landscaping who is interested in a vegetarian yogic community for personal and professional development.

Our food gardens provide organic sustenance for the body and mind, our flowers provide a beautiful, colorful haven, which nourishes the spirit, and our trails provide opportunity for developing a relationship with nature.

Duties may include: seeding, transplanting, weeding, watering, harvesting, washing, composting, maintaining pathways, mulching, pruning, plant propagation, deer control, pond care, insect and pest control, weed whacking, hole digging for fence posts, tree care, maintaining wood piles, splitting logs, forest clearance, landscaping and tool usage (training provided), soil preparation.

Our gardens relationship with the kitchen is integral to our way of life. Composting, harvesting and a once-weekly working with the kitchen are part of the weekly ashram food cycle.

By the end of the season you will have attained a practical understanding of the day-to-day practices of sustainable gardening and be skilled in the basic tasks required and a philosophic understanding of your relationship to food and the earth. As yogis we eat with awareness, choosing food that has the most positive effect on the body and mind and the least negative effect on the environment. We are very glad to share this way of life with you.

Qualifications: strong work ethic, serious desire to learn and practice sustainable agriculture and land maintenance, ability to work outdoors in all (summer) weather, having an understanding that repetitive tasks are the basis of agriculture as well as an opportunity to develop one’s own character and skill, the ability to work precisely and with care, and a willingness to take personal responsibility for assigned tasks or independent projects. Interns may develop a special project of interest in consultation with management. Projects will be approved by the ashram and are welcome to include small independent agriculture experiments, research, documentation, and environmental education. Please do note that skills need not be developed but the sincere effort and interest to do so will ensure that they will be acquired by the end of the season. Most importantly, we are a purposeful community striving to work together for inner knowledge and responsibility towards each other and the earth. We believe that selfless service or Karma Yoga is the foundation on which all yogic practices are based.

The three department heads as well as an administrative liaison guide internships.

Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch serves a lacto-vegetarian diet with accommodations for vegans. No meat, alcohol or smoking of any kind is permitted on the property. The daily schedule includes an asana class, 6 hours of intern duties as well as the participation in the 2-daily Satsangs. We maintain silence from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily.

START/END DATES: Mid/end-June to Mid/end-August 2019, specifics to be arranged individually. 6 – 10 weeks, 6 days a week with one afternoon devoted to research and writing. NOTE: should any students wish to consider a year in agriculture/land maintenance at the ashram, we are glad to consider the possibility with the summer being a trial/planning period.

COMPENSATION: room and board, supplies for projects as approved, stipend for the Ashram Boutique (snacks and gifts), daily yoga class and satsang and, as your schedule allows, participation in our educational programs. Tents provided though you may bring your own tent/equipment. There is an on-site wood-heated sauna.

CONTACT: Martine Bisagni at ranchinterns@sivananda.org for application, further information or should you have any questions. Completed signed application, 2 references (one academic), area of interest list and cover letter required for processing.

‘The world is one home. All creation is one organic whole. No man is independent of that whole. Recognise the non-dual principle, the immortal essence, within all creatures. Protect animals. Let all life be sacred. Then this world will be a paradise of beauty, a heaven of peace and tranquility.

Smile with the flower and the green grass. Play with the butterflies, birds and deer. Shake hands with the shrubs, ferns and twigs of trees. Talk to the rainbow, wind, stars and the sun. Converse with the running brooks and the waves of the sea. Speak with the walking-stick. Develop friendship with our neighbours, dogs, cats, cows, human beings, trees, flowers, etc. Then you will have a wide, perfect, rich, full life. You will realise oneness or unity of life. This can hardly be described in words.

You will have to feel yourself.’

Swami Sivananda
Bliss Divine

It is the policy of Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital/familial status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or any other protected characteristic applicable under law. The organization complies with all relevant federal, state, and local laws, as well as, all regulations regarding nondiscrimination. Specifically, in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch prohibits all sexual misconduct in all areas including educational programs and activities.

Educational Opportunities: This is a formal internship to be notated on a transcript. There is philosophic, ethical and practical inquiry through readings and discussion in addition to daily practical experience.

Skills Desired: Qualifications: strong work ethic, serious desire to learn and practice sustainable agriculture and land maintenance, ability to work outdoors in all (summer) weather, having an understanding that repetitive tasks are the basis of agriculture as well as an opportunity to develop one’s own character and skill, the ability to work precisely and with care, and a willingness to take personal responsibility for assigned tasks or independent projects. Interns may develop a special project of interest in consultation with management. Projects will be approved by the ashram and are welcome to include small independent agriculture experiments, research, documentation, and environmental education. Please do note that skills need not be developed but the sincere effort and interest to do so will ensure that they will be acquired by the end of the season. Most importantly, we are a purposeful community striving to work together for inner knowledge and responsibility towards each other and the earth. We believe that selfless service or Karma Yoga is the foundation on which all yogic practices are based.

Meals: Two lacto-vegetarian meals are provided daily (with vegan accommodations). Meat, alcohol and smoking of any kind are prohibited and the presence of these items is grounds for immediate dismissal.

Stipend: No

Housing: Yes, tent dwelling and board.

Preferred method of Contact: e-mail