Yoga Niketan Ashram — Rishikesh, India

Ashram founded in 1964 by a Himalayan yogi, on 25 acres in Rishikesh

The day at Yoga Niketan Ashram begins with a bell at 5:00 a.m. Morning meditation starts at 5:15, yoga at 6:30, breakfast at 8:15. A printed schedule is handed over at reception, and the timings shift by about fifteen minutes between winter and summer. Sundays are the exception: the ashram is closed, though the schedule page describes karma yoga that morning, cleaning the yoga and meditation hall before breakfast. The ashram was established in Rishikesh in 1964 by Paramhamsa Swami Yogeshwaranand Saraswati, known as Vyas Dev ji in childhood. At fourteen he left a secure home for a life of austerity, and the pages say it led him to the Himalayas and Tibet, where he studied the Hindu scriptures with the aim of self-realization. He died on 23 April 1985. His writings are kept in the ashram library, and his biography is the book Himalaya ka Yogi. His presence is physical here. The Samadhi Hall doubles as the yoga hall, where teachers lead asana and pranayama each morning and evening. A marble statue of the founder sits in meditative posture, marking the spot where his body rests. The ashram's own book, First Step to Higher Yoga, shows about 300 asanas and their benefits. Meditation happens in a separate air-conditioned hall that seats roughly 50 to 60 on cushions, led by teachers who follow Patanjali's hatha yoga. Evenings bring candle light meditation on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and hymns and satsang on Tuesday and Thursday. The campus covers 25 acres, with more than 100 rooms, air-conditioned and not, on a river-facing site, plus garden lawns with river views. Meals come from a community kitchen: sattvic, built on fresh vegetables and cereals, with residents expected to clean their own dishes. Stays are by the day, and the ashram also lists a 200-hour teacher training, a seven-day retreat and a three-day, two-night yogic lifestyle retreat. The pages date a fire ceremony to 1964.

Traditions: Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama, Karma Yoga, Yoga Nidra

Programs: Ashram Living Experience, 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, 7-Day Retreat Program, Yogic Lifestyle Retreat (3 days, 2 nights), Morning and Evening Hatha Yoga, Morning and Evening Meditation, Candle Light Meditation, Musical Holy Hymns/Satsang