Yogendra was born as Manibhai Desai in an Anavil Brahmin family on November 18, 1897 in a village near Surat, Gujarat.
He was affectionately called Mogha ("priceless one") in his childhood.
His father Haribhai Jivanji Desai was a school teacher.
His mother died when he was three years old.

At the age of eighteen in 1916, after distinguishing himself in the Amalsad English School, Yogendra attended St. Xavier's College in Bombay.
He felt homesick and fell into depression and lost his interest in studies.
At the urging of his roommate, On August 26, 1916, Yogendra visited the Dharamshala of Paramahamsa Madhavadasaji at Madhav Baug, regardless of his robust suspicion of sannyasis and sadhus.
However, in Paramahamsa ni Prasadi (1917), he wrote that his misgivings disappeared "as our eyes met" and as it turns out, Madhavadasaji was equally struck by Yogendra's qualities as a capable disciple.

After a period of courtship through letters, Yogendra left his college and went to Madhavadasaji's Ashram in Malsar, near Vadodara in late 1916.
He received special attention and it was clear that he was being educated and groomed to be Madhavadasaji's successor.
Yogendra learned Yoga, much of the teaching being on the practical and pragmatic use of Yoga and its application in sickness and suffering.
His training in the Ashram was centered around yogic 'natural health cures' administered to patients in the ashram's sick ward.
Yogendra left the Ashram after more than two years.
Yogendra was born as Manibhai Desai in an Anavil Brahmin family on November 18, 1897 in a village near Surat, Gujarat. He was affectionately called Mogha ("priceless one") in his childhood. His father Haribhai Jivanji Desai was a school teacher. His mother died when he was three years old.
At the age of eighteen in 1916, after distinguishing himself in the Amalsad English School, Yogendra attended St. Xavier's College in Bombay. He felt homesick and fell into depression and lost his interest in studies. At the urging of his roommate, On August 26, 1916, Yogendra visited the Dharamshala of Paramahamsa Madhavadasaji at Madhav Baug, regardless of his robust suspicion of sannyasis and sadhus. However, in Paramahamsa ni Prasadi (1917), he wrote that his misgivings disappeared "as our eyes met" and as it turns out, Madhavadasaji was equally struck by Yogendra's qualities as a capable disciple.
After a period of courtship through letters, Yogendra left his college and went to Madhavadasaji's Ashram in Malsar, near Vadodara in late 1916. He received special attention and it was clear that he was being educated and groomed to be Madhavadasaji's successor. Yogendra learned Yoga, much of the teaching being on the practical and pragmatic use of Yoga and its application in sickness and suffering. His training in the Ashram was centered around yogic 'natural health cures' administered to patients in the ashram's sick ward. Yogendra left the Ashram after more than two years.
Shri Yogendra