I spent in this ashram 2 weeks, the time over Chrismas and New Year. As I saw, when I entered it, it is not like a typical indian ashram. Most guests are travellers, no strict dress codes, and the people speak a lot. The ashram is located next to a lake; it is a very quiet and nice place to relax, a beautiful spot I only can recommend.
You really forget that you are in India. I thought what ashram is this? Do I really want to stay here? The first evening in the dorm, everyone was speaking, although one of the rules says: silence from 10.30 pm to 8.00 am or something like that. I was not up to make friends. I wanted to be on my own, to be silent and to do meditation, and of course to learn yoga. Anyway, the guru of this ashram is Swami Sivananda (Swami means Master) 
and Swami Vishnu-Devananda
who followed the teaching of Sri Sivananda. Both are already death, but their teaching and spirits are still present. The daily schedule (when I remember it right) begins at 6.00 to 7.30 am with a silent mediation and the daily chanting in the morning, which includes the aarti (hindu ritual to praise the gods) . 
On the picture you can see the front stage of the main hall with the most important statues of the gurus and gods of the house.
Sometimes there was a silent walking meditation around a part of the lake instead of the usual morning program, which included watching the sunrise. 
Very silent moments.
At 7.30 am it was tea time, and at 8.00 am the morning yoga class started to around 10.00 am, where lunch was served. After this, there was a break until 1.30 pm, where tea and some fruits were waiting for us, and at 2.00 pm a lesson session started, which normally includes teaching about yoga. But over Chrismas and Silvester, there was a special program, so we got instead introductions in ayuvedic medicine, indian music and arts. One lesson was about vedic mathematics, there it was very interesting to see how quickly it can be to calculate a multiplication, division, ... of very large numbers without calculator, only with the brain, simple rules and in short time. That is all included in the Vedas, the ancient texts of India. Once, a lady from from Slovenia presented to us her painted Mandalas. 
In meditative state, without knowing before, she paints fantastic pictures. Another kind of meditation.The afternoon yoga class starts at 3.30 pm and lasts until 6.00 pm, when dinner is served. The dinning hall. 
This was a special one. One more break until 8.00 pm, and then it starts the evening program. In these days, there was often a concert or an artistic performance after half an hour silent meditation, and the end at around 10.00 pm was always the aarti again. The main hall 
A Kathakali dance performance 
The story of this performance is transmitted only per body language, without speaking, but accompagnied by music.
They painted their faces themselves!
This woman is a famous Sitar player, and also know how to sing Bhajans and entertain a big group of people.
Chrismas eve
where I saw the first time the blinking and not unvisible decorated chrismas tree and crib, yes, a bit kitsch but perfect - that is indian style! 
And i think it was Santa Claus, who also visited us ;-)
Also from outside it looks like Chrismas
even though they managed only rain instead of snow *g*
The health hut is a good place for the break time, it remembered me of a beer tent or mountain trekking hut when i entered it the first time, but instead of alcohol, sausages and cigarettes there are served other healthy things. And shortly before Chrismas, some Chrismas angels tried to prepare us for Chrismas with their Chrismas songs.
One kind of yoga is called karma yoga. It is selfless service and as well as in other ashrams, also here you get a daily duty to help the ashram maintain. My duty was to prepare the straw mats before the lesson class, what was a very nice work, I had luck, or was it my good karma? ;-)
On special days, there was a puja (ceremonie), and we got explained the facts and so on what p.e. a puja belongs. I have seen it before, but here I collected a bit knowledge about hindu culture, what was very good for me. On the picture it was going on a fire puja, see the beautiful sand-mandala.
Once we went to a puja, which was held on a holy hill a few kilometres away. We made a silent walk and I went the whole way without shoes. It was sunset when we started and when we reached the top it was dark. In the forest we crossed, it was very dark too, and I was concentrating totally on the road. On my way back, with shoes, a torch and accompagnied by a lovely talk, i sometimes wondered really that i didn't hurt myself, because by not concentrating on the road now, I sometimes had problems even with shoes. A lot of stones in the way,... I really was surprised what is possible. But of course, I asked my angels to bring me up safely and I trusted them like most times. Some pictures of that night
the fire is passed to everyone as symbol of purification of all negative energy
and also the paste to make a tilak.
My time in Sivananda Ashram was fantastic. When I got to the ashram, I had no idea of yoga. Through these intensive yoga practice I got an extremly sensitive feeling for my body and I realized that yoga can act as a drug. My body was not used to these stretching and although it got more tired every day, I felt like high, more from day to day. And I felt for the first time, this emtyness I always felt inside of me gets slowly smaller. I don't know with what it began to be filled, outside nothing has changed, also not my questions what (my) life belongs, but I started to get this inner peace feeling, hardly to describe. Sivananda Ashram is also a very good place to meet people, I think it is nearly impossible to leave there without finding friends or people with the same wavelength. Also the yoga classes are hard enough, no need for too much silence! It was very good to have a laugh, exchange experiences or share some beautiful moments, especially because emotions can change very strongly and quickly. So did mine, at Chrismas, I felt very sentimental, so very down, and at Silvester I was flying so high, as not often before. My mind let my emotions jumping, I think jumps what were necessary to get one step higher in my spiritual latter. I met lovely people and friends. Luckily, I was able to catch Enriko, Jacqui, my twin Hen and Michael before my camera started to strike, close to Silvester. 
Unluckily, there are no pictures of some performances, trips and other beautiful faces of friends - only for you of course, i have saved it in my mind ;-)
My time here showed me once again very clearly, how strong the mind is and the outside world as reflection of my inside. Sivananda said, that if you can control your mind totally, you can create your life or write your own story. I felt like in my own story, and in the ashram were many people, so every person played its role perfectly to face me again with my sometimes very complicated thinking mind or unreleased situations and emotions. One situation, but different seen by different minds. So what is real? I often think too much, what other people could think of me, about my behaviour or whatever and that makes me not free. Sivananda also said, it is a waste of time, to try to think about what other people could think, in every case. There are so many possibilities that you never can imagine the answer right, and no one thinks in your way of thinking. Everyone is centered in his own life. But anyway, at least the shock, finding myself in the silvester party after that wonderful quiet and peaceful day, brought my mind back in the reality. Yes, "inhale, exhale, and bring your breath back to normal" was the key to relax. Very happy to survive that party without loosing an arm or the hearing in this hardcore disco whilst dancing or standing between the fired rockets of the fireworks, we meditated into the New Year. It was a very special jump into the New Year, sharing this time with people who have the same interests than you - not only this one, washing the sins away in the lake in the middle of the night ;-). Concerning the question of enlightenment and cancer, i thought maybe Yogis have chosen the better way. Looking good after their bodies, they might have a life without diseases. But the reality is different told me one friend. Also Yogis get sick and even there are not so many enlightened ones. But the good part of the answer was, I should forget about this, the only important thing is to live in the moment, and enlightened people do that. They are suffering too, but they are not attached to it. But of course, that my mind knew already and this answer does not satisfy it ;-). I only know now, how less I know about all these things, and I also have not really an idea, what a yogi is. With the trip to Kanyakumari organized by the ashram my time here in this special place could not take a better end. A swim in the ocean, a lot of laughing yoga, still Miia and me needed to purify a little bit more *g*. I stole this picture of Liisa Triin Vurma's Facebook pictures, so thanks, I hope not to create bad Karma now ;-)
On the trainstation in Puttaparthi, we met Kereen, who is also a devotee of SB . She and me, we had the same departure station - Trivandrum. I didn't had any plan what to do and where to go, just knew in 5 days, I will go to the Sivananda Ashram to spend my Chrismas and Silvester time there. She said, I should come with her to Kovalam. My mind said - in this little touristic place? - but why not - and it was a great holiday!
Kovalam is really a little place and the people are very friendly. Kereen told me a lot, we used to meet for having food together, had a nice talk, its nice to have a friend. But not only one friend - since I really enjoyed to be alone, didn't make any plans for the next day, just let everything open, I nearly got busy. First, on my first trip exploring the surrounding, I passed a shop to drink a fruit juice.
It ended with a long talk, and a nice company for the next few hours. On my second day, I went to eat breakfast in a little, local restaurant, there I met Sunil. Starting with the usual questions, we quickly got in a deep conversation about life, god, and everything. He had to go to work after, and no sorry, no plans for tomorrow, we ended up. But soon I met him again, and we became "brothers" ;-). I also visited him at work, in this very nice hotel.
This day, there was a music show also, and I tried to be like the usual guests *g*
and then there was also my friend Jackson. With him I explored that I am able to laugh at least with a reason. The reason is not so important, than often we didn't understand what we were talking, anyway. In his guesthouse, the packbackers are hanging around, so often in the evenings, I also passed there.
some pics:
I had a really great holiday in Kovalam. Not much time for meditation or for my own, but I enjoyed spending it with my new friends. It was so great for me, because I stopped thinking, and didn't had a bad feeling to enjoy time, spend money (little of course *g*), or to hang out with indian boys what I got used to, because I knew, soon I will go to the ashram and stay there over Chrismas and New Year, so let's have fun before in the "now"!
