Swami Padmapadananda was born in Johannesburg, 
South Africa and began his yoga practice in 1970. A devastating near-fatal car accident in which he was involved as a teenager, in his own words, “smashed my body into 1000 pieces. I was fortunate to put together at least 800,” and this condition led him to his first yoga teacher, who had been trained by Swami Sivananda. Rising early every day he immediately took to serious practice. Satsangs he attended had a magical effect on him, awaking a yearning for the spirit. Two years after beginning his practice, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and eventually settled in Jerusalem, Israel. In search of further knowledge and practice, he left Jerusalem to spend a month at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Tel Aviv as a resident.??There he came in contact with the teachings of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-devananda. Recognizing Swami Vishnuji as his Guru, he committed himself to serve the Sivananda organization full time. A few months later Swamiji asked him to direct the center. He saw great enthusiasm towards the Sivananda teachings, and after a short period the Center flourished.
From Israel, he traveled to the U.K. and U.S.A, directing/co-directing Sivananda Yoga Centers. He presently resides at the Sivananda Yoga Farm.
In 1979, he was initiated as a sannyasi (swami) by Swami Vishnu-devananda in the lineage of Saraswati, one of the 10 classical monk orders in India founded by Adi Sankaracharya in the 8th century AD. He was named after a disciple of Sankaracharya, Padmapada, the "lotus-footed one."
He is by nature a "bhakta," one who is easily drawn to Bhakti Yoga, the devotional aspect of yoga. He teaches with heart and humor.?