Vedic Yoga Retreat in Rishikesh, India

The first full day, and the one that sets the shape of the rest. Everything from here follows the same morning rhythm — meditation, cleansing, asana and pranayama — with the afternoons and evenings changing day to day.

• 11:00 – 12:30 — Yoga philosophy and information session
• 16:30 – 18:00 — Asana and pranayama
• 18:00 – 18:30 — Mantra chanting
• 20:00 – 20:30 — Sound healing

The first excursion day, and an early one. You leave at six with breakfast on the bus, and spend the day at two temples that most visitors to Rishikesh never reach.

• 06:00 — Leave for Balkumari Temple, breakfast on the bus
• Morning — Neelkanth Mahadev Temple
• 13:30 — Lunch, khichadi
• 16:30 – 18:00 — Asana and pranayama
• 18:00 – 18:30 — Yoga Nidra meditation
• Evening — Sound healing session

Practice moves down to the river. Beach yoga on the Ganga ghat is one of the days people tend to remember — the sound of the water does half the work of settling the mind, and the sand underfoot changes how every standing posture feels.

• 07:00 – 09:00 — Beach yoga at the Ganga ghat
• 11:00 – 12:30 — Kirtan
• 16:30 – 18:00 — Asana and pranayama
• 18:00 – 18:30 — Tea time

A morning of philosophy, then an afternoon walking through the ashram where the Beatles stayed in 1968 — now roofless, covered in graffiti and murals, and oddly peaceful for a place that famous.

• 11:00 – 12:30 — Philosophy
• 14:30 – 18:30 — Beatles Ashram
• 19:30 – 21:00 — Kirtan

An early start again, with practice by the river and breakfast on the bus, then an afternoon at the flea market by Ram Jhula — the one day the retreat lets you loose among the shops and the crowd.

• Early morning — Beach yoga excursion, breakfast on the bus
• 15:30 – 17:00 — Ram Jhula flea market
• 16:30 – 18:00 — Asana and pranayama
• 19:30 – 21:00 — Kirtan

The cave day. Sage Vashishta is said to have practised here, and it is still one of the quietest places to sit in the whole valley — a dark, cool cave above the Ganga where nobody talks.

• 06:00 — Leave for Vashisht Guha (cave)
• Late morning — Massages, on appointment
• 11:00 – 12:30 — Questions and answers session
• 16:30 – 18:00 — Asana and pranayama

A walk up to Bhootnath in the afternoon, then down to Triveni Ghat for the grandest of the aartis — hundreds of people, bhajans, and lamps set floating on the river as the light goes.

• 13:30 onwards — Massages, on appointment
• 16:00 – 18:30 — Walk to Bhootnath Temple
• Evening — Triveni Ghat aarti
• 19:00 – 19:30 — Dinner

The last full day. A celebration through the middle of it, and the evening given over to satsang — sitting together, chanting, and whatever the group wants to say to each other before it breaks up.

• 11:00 – 12:30 — Celebration
• 16:30 – 18:00 — Asana and pranayama
• 19:00 onwards — Satsang

A final morning in the usual rhythm, and then the retreat closes with dinner together. No afternoon programme, so there is time to pack, walk down to the river once more, or simply sit.

• 06:00 – 09:30 — Meditation, cleansing, asana and pranayama, breakfast
• Evening — Farewell dinner
• 21:30 — Lights off