Are you thinking about making a trip to the home of yoga? These 8 incredible retreats and ashrams in India are the best places to develop your practice.
Nothing helps you develop your practice and get closer to the essence of yoga like a trip to India. But there’s a good chance you’ll feel overburdened when it comes to organising a trip to the birthplace of yoga. After all, India is a sizable country with 1.3 billion inhabitants, making it the seventh largest in the world.
Here are 8 awesome ashrams and retreats to get your planning off to a great start so you can decide exactly where to go to see and learn the most about the birthplace of yoga.
8 Yoga Retreats in India That Will Transform Your Life
- Anjuna, Goa’s Yoga Magic Retreat
Why: Although other Goa Yoga Retreats in India might be more glitzy, Yoga Magic is a more tranquil beach hideaway. This eco-villa offers a tranquil, rooted experience that departs from the chill-hard-play-hard, psychedelic vibe that permeates Anjuna Beach. Hatha to Yin yoga classes are offered daily in a ramshackle shala that overlooks coconut groves and rice paddies. The healer Vishnu’s Marma massages are among the best in the area for Ayurvedic massages.
- A Spiritual Journey Through India, with Sights, Yoga, Culture & Ceremony, and Different Towns
Why: Along with plenty of vinyasa, reiki, and other restorative techniques, this trip will also introduce travelers to the motherland’s cultural and natural splendour.
The yoga curious will fall in love with everything the practice stands for as they take rickshaw rides through Delhi and Jaipur, witness a vibrant Ganga Aarti ceremony in the holy city of Varanasi, and visit Sarnath, the site of the first sermon a newly enlightened Buddha gave. Basically, ask your entire team.
- Kochi, Kerala’s One Reality Yoga & Ayurveda Retreat
Why: The instructors at this lovely retreat center aren’t particularly concerned with helping you master backbends or perform Handstands. Instead, the group which includes an Ayurvedic physician, a spiritual guide, and a Hatha masterworks to make you understand the value of a holistic, yogic way of life.
The majority of the food served during this six-day retreat is produced on-site or is sourced from the neighboring village. The grounds are lush and home to a variety of birds, butterflies, and flowers, and the rooms themselves are modest but comfortable.
This retreat is a steal because it offers free bike rentals, cooking lessons, Ayurvedic consultations and massages, and twice-daily yoga sessions.
- Goa’s Elements of Flow Retreat & Training
Why: Even if you aren’t interested in receiving your certification, this is an opportunity to train as a yoga teacher. This 200-hour training and intensive Yoga retreats for Remote Workers is run by Joan Hyman, a master teacher from Los Angeles who has trained under K.
Pattabhi Jois and Maty Ezraty. It’s perfect for yogis looking to advance their practice. Days begin with lengthy sessions focused on a specific set of poses (backbends, inversions, standing), and afternoon classes become more technical with discussions of alignment, sequencing, and philosophy using hands-on exercises.
If you’re not interested in becoming a teacher, you can use the time to relax on the nearby Morjim Beach, register for a resort-hosted yoga Nidra workshop, or simply explore the neighborhood. Over the past ten years, I have traveled extensively throughout India, and Goa has always captured my heart because of its unique free-spiritedness.
- Mandrem, Goa’s Sun, Sand, and Savasana Retreat
Why: In order to assist people in pursuing their own personal growth while learning about the traditions of small villages and less well-known communities around the world, the socially conscious travel company Karuna Yoga Journeys was founded in 2016.
Their Goa vacation takes place at The Mandala, a dreamy setting furnished by international artists who made the muraled house, vibrant tent homes, and thatched huts. Along with exploring temples, getting to know the locals, and participating in community projects, the schedule also includes leisurely vinyasas, contemplative meals, and quiet beach strolls.
- Various towns were inspired by India
Why: India is a beautiful combination of sights and sounds, historic customs, exquisite architecture, lush vegetation, and vivid lore. During this retreat, which is intended to assist you in accessing your most creative self, Victoria Leader, a Vancouver-based yoga instructor, encourages you to adopt an observant, yogi lens to all of that.
With a yoga master, you’ll practice sunrise yoga in the morning, cook for a Rajasthani family, search for tigers in the Ranthambore Jungle, and learn about Jaipur’s celebrated weaving and block printing traditions.
- Tiruvannamalai’s Inner Renewal Retreat in Tamil Nadu
Why: If you’re close to experiencing a spiritual awakening, this retreat might be the thing to push you over the edge (in a good way). This introspective retreat is led by Seattle-based Tiger Lily Studio in Tamil Nadu, close to the revered Mount Arunachala.
Workshops cover exploratory topics like connecting with your power animal, recognizing thought patterns that keep you from moving forward, and discovering ways to let go of any attachment you may have to sadness and grief. In between yoga and chanting sessions, you’ll assist with meal preparation, work on the farm, assist with temple maintenance, and take home useful self-care tools.
- Rishikesh + Agra yogafit 2018 India Intensive Retreat
Why: Although Rishikesh may have gained notoriety due to the Beatles, the area is significant because it is the birthplace of yoga. The Taj Mahal, Parmarth Niketan, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Ashram (yes, the Beatles’ transcendental location), as well as the contemporary eco-retreat Sattva, situated on a pilgrimage route toward the Himalayas, are all on your itinerary. Within the country, travel is included in the price.
