Yoga Ashrams in India

India has always been a land of yogis, mystics and spiritual gurus. If you are keen on embarking on a spiritual journey, then India, with some of its most distinguished yoga ashrams, forms the perfect destination for you. You will find some of the most learned and outstanding yoga teachers who will take you on a soul searching journey of self realization. The different yoga ashrams in India might have different approaches and techniques but all of them have the same objective. They aim at making people spiritually aware and enrich their mind.

Following are some of the most distinguished yoga ashrams in India:

Art of Living Foundation: The Art of living teaches us how to lead normal and happy life, amidst all the tensions and stress that invariably forms a part of everyone’s life today. It tells us about such techniques, which, if we learn, can help us not only in reducing but also completely eliminating stress from our lives. Sri Sri Ravishankar is the one who started the art of living foundation.

Asaram Bapu Ashram: Asaram Bapu was inclined towards spirituality and meditation right from his childhood. He started his journey towards the realization of God, after he met his guru, Swami Shri Lilashahji Maharaj in Vrindavan. He set up his first Ashram in Ahmedabad in 1971 and since then a number of his ashrams have been setup throughout India as well as outside.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram: This ashram is situated in the beautiful natural surroundings of the Neyyar dam and forests on the outskirts of Trivandrum, Kerala. This ashram was set up in 1977 by Swami Vishnudevananda who was a disciple of Swami Sivananda. Swami Sivaswaroopananda, the director of this ashram, says that have a holistic approach towards yoga, offering devotion, and philosophy in tandem with each other. The visitors to this ashram are from all around the world and the peak season is November to April.

Auroville: Auroville is also known by the name of Sri Aurobindo Ashram and is dedicated to achieve the 'unity of mankind'. It is a universal community and situated near the Pondicherry city. The aim of this city is to help people take their life towards a supreme consciousness.

Baba Ramdev Ashram: In 1995, Baba Ramdev founded the Divya Yog Mandir Trust in Haridwar. He teaches pranayama which is one of the many forms of yoga. The program that is taught by him consists of the following main breathing exercises in a sequence.

  1. Bhastrika Pranayama
  2. Kapal Bhati Pranayama
  3. Bahaya Pranayama
  4. Anulom Vilom Pranayama
  5. Bhramri Pranayama
  6. Udgeeth Pranayama

Brahma Kumaris: Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University was founded in India in 1937. It excels in Raja Yoga. This form of meditation emphasizes that mental abilities should be developed in order to learn the true meaning of life and hence achieve salvation or moksha.

These are just a few of the many yoga ashrams in India that excel in different forms of yoga. Visiting any of these can be extremely fulfilling to mind, body and the soul.