Yoga Vidya Mandiram

7 Days Pranayama (Breath) & Yoga Retreat in Rishikesh, India

We welcome you to join our yoga school Yoga Vidya Mandiram centered in the magical Himalayan Valley of Rishikesh, India. Our mission is to spread peace, health and joy, which can be achieved through yoga.  All walks of life are welcome to learn how yoga leads an individual to a healthy body and lifestyle, and also how yogic philosophy can help in maintaining a peaceful mind and a serene spirit.

Yoga & Meditation restore balance into our lives, resolve our inner conflicts, enables total excellence and allows us to fulfill our potential to become complete human beings. Pranayama (breath) is a bridge between the body and the mind and its practices are an essential yoga practice that reveals deeper layers of the mind. Often misunderstood to be simply a set of physical exercises, Yoga philosophy transcends all ritualistic religion and can be practiced by anyone. Yoga posture classes at Yoga Vidya Mandiram yoga school are based on both classical Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Our teachers are unique, being steeped in ancient knowledge and also trained in modern teaching methods. All classes are adapted for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

Who Should Apply for this retreat?  

This 7 Days Pranayama (Breath) & Yoga Retreat is designed and perfect for the students who:

• Are fresh beginners or beginners with basic yoga experiences who wants to study and develop both yoga and pranayama theory and practices to integrate in daily life.
• Are Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT), either RYT 200 or RYT 500 under Yoga Alliance USA,  who are looking for YACEP for their Continuing Education (CE) training hours.  This course is qualified for CE hours to maintain your RYT registration, required every 3 years after your registration with Yoga Alliance.
• Desires to further their yoga and pranayama studies and practices for personal development & spiritual growth

Highlights - 7 Days Pranayama (Breath) & Yoga Retreat

• 6 night’s non-AC accommodation.
• 3 Daily nutritious vegetarian meals (no eggs)
• Sankhya and yoga philosophies
• Daily Hatha-yoga & Ashtanga-yoga classes
• Daily Mantra recitation guided & Karma Yoga
• Daily Relaxation & meditation practices
• Shat-kriya & Daily guided breathing and pranayama practices
• Yoga anatomy & physiology workshops
• Yoga practicum/practice teaching Instructions to teach and guide others
• Excursion to nearby holy temples and shrines
• Course Certificate

Course Content Overview 

7 Days Pranayama (Breath) & Yoga Retreat

Mantra Chanting

• Intro to mantra science
• Morning prayers and evening prayers
• Suryanamaskara 12 mantras along with bija mantras

Yoga Asana (Hatha & Intro to Ashtanga Vinyasa)

• Meditative steps of performing the Hatha yoga: centering, entering, refining, holding, coming out, and reflection
• Suryanamaskar (sun salutations)
• Types of yoga asanas: standing, sitting, backward bending, forward bending, spinal twisting, fire series, inversion, shavasana, and others
• Yoga asanas benefits

Breathing and Pranayama practices

• Establishment of diaphragmatic breath
• 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4 breathing practices
• Different practices of pranayama: nadi shodhana, ujjayee, kapalabhati, bhastrika, shitali, shitkari, and brahmari
• Benefits or pranayama practices

Satkarma (Cleansing Practices)

• Jala-neti

Relaxation Practice and Yoga Nidra

• Introduction to the concept and practices of relaxation
• Relaxation in daily life
• Sequence of relaxation practices
• Tension and relaxation exercises
• Systematic relaxation exercises
• 31 points relaxation exercise

Meditation

• What is meditation and what is not?
• Meditation in daily life
• Two to five minutes meditations
• So-ham mediation
• Meditation with sushumna breath

Daily Schedule

We follow a tight daily schedule to ensure that our students get the most out of yoga teachings and practices during this short yoga teacher training (YTT) program. It is encouraged to take full rest every night by sleeping early as part of your practice and to maintain health and focus throughout the program.

» 06:15 am - 06:30 am - Mantra Chanting
» 06:30 am - 07:30 am - Session I - ShatKarma / Pranayama (Theory & Practices)
» 07:30 am - 09:00 am - Hatha Yoga Session
» 09:00 am - 10:00 am - Breakfast
» 10:00 am - 11:00 am - Session II - Pranayama Theory & Practice
» 11:00 am - 12:00 am - Session III - Pranayama Theory & Practice
» 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm - Karma Yoga
» 12:30 pm - 13:30 pm - Lunch
» 13:30 pm - 16:00 pm - Self-Study / Silence Practice / Self-Journaling / Free time
» 16:00 pm - 16:30 pm - Tea break
» 16:30 pm - 18:00 pm - Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Session
» 18:00 pm - 19:00 pm - Meditation & Yoga Nidra (Relaxation) Session
» 19:00 pm - 20:00 pm - Dinner
» 20:00 pm - 21:00 pm - Self-Study / Free time

Please note : Schedule is subject to changes without prior notice.

Training takes place 6 days out of 7 days of the week. The 7th day is considered resting day, usually set on Sunday but may shift in busy seasons to avoid the weekend traffic. Students are free to use this rest day to practice, review and reflect lessons and practices during the past week. We also organize a half day excursion during the rest day for students to take some time to explore and experience Rishikesh (northern Indian) attractions, nature and culture.

Yoga Vidya Mandiram Yoga School is a registered Yoga School centered in Rishikesh, India. The Center is dedicated to restore, explore and impart the purest form of knowledge of Yogic studies and its practices with their scientific verification. The Yoga Center intends to maintain the yogic teachings to their ancient and traditional purity as taught by the yogis of the Himalayan masters. Thus, our Yoga School is a bridge between pure and traditional form to contemporary format of teaching yoga.

The Yoga Teacher Training (TTC) are held at Yoga Vidya Mandiram in Rishikesh, India, certified by Yoga Alliance, USA for their 200/300/500 hours Hatha & Asthanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training Course.   These Yoga TTC are suitable for students of all levels; beginner, intermediate and advance.

Guides / Instructors - Rishikesh, India

Acharya Chandramani (Yoga Philosophy & Vedic Scriptures)

Acharya Chandramani was born in a traditional spiritual family. When he was 8 years old, he became a serious practitioner of the yogic principles of Swetambara Jaina tradition. Later, he was initiated into the Vedic Sanskrit tradition by Swami Vivekananda at the age of 10 in Prabhat Ashram, UP, India. He was fully dedicated to the teachings and daily discipline of the traditional Sanskrit gurukulam from childhood to adulthood. He has been guiding worldwide yoga students into the Vedic Sanskrit literature and its philosophy and holding yoga retreats and teacher trainings for over 25 years.

Sandeep Pandey (Relaxation & Meditation / Pranayama / Yoga Philosophy)

Yogacharya Sandeep Pandey was born in a traditional Brahamna family and was sent to Gurukul at the age of 8. At the Gurukul, he studied the Yajurveda and mastered all the 16 Samskaras along with Yogasana, pranayama, and Shat Kriyas. He participated in many national-level yoga championships in India and won prizes. However, his quest for knowing the inner self through yoga lead him to Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama where under the direct guidance of H.H. Swami Veda Bharati, he studied and practiced the deeper and subtler aspect of Raja yoga.

Piyush Saxena (Relaxation & Meditation / Pranayama)

Piyush Saxena has been a sadhaka of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition as taught by Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati for several years. He has a great passion for the philosophy and practices of yoga Nidra and meditation, as well as practice Hatha yoga as a meditative process to support his meditation practices. Piyush wants to inspire people and teach yogic practices that can help them in their daily life, business life, student life, family life, corporate life, and more importantly guide them to become an enlightened human being.

Subhash Petwall (Hatha Yoga & Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga)

Subhash Petwal is an asana yoga instructor who is experienced teaching internationally and locally in the styles of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga and Hatha yoga. He has undergone his training in Mysore and Kaivalyadhama Lonavala and has been undergoing continuous practices for several extended years at Kishore Yoga Kendra Bangalore. Subhash is passionate about sharing his knowledge of Hatha and Ashtanga yoga and takes great care in layout a strong foundation for his students to further their practices.

Saurabh Mishra (Hatha Yoga & Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga)

Saurabh developed a keen interest in yoga since childhood. He was born and educated in Rishikesh, the world’s capital of yoga. He began his yoga journey in the holy city of Rishikesh. He is an experienced teacher of Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga for the past 3 years and is in pursuit of his master’s degree in Yoga, as well as continuously undergoing self-practices and self-studies of yoga.

Manish Kumar (Hatha Yoga)

In Manish’s eyes, Yoga is the gateway to learning and understanding your true-self, to see beyond the physical and discover the subtilities of your authentic character. He believes that the beauty of yoga for him, is that it always gives satisfaction and joy, in every form. On his unique path, he has developed qualities allowing him to enjoy each moment within society, and these qualities he carries with him into his teaching. Manish feels that to practice yoga is to practice conscious living, and this is a view he integrates into his classes. 

Karamjit Singh (Yoga Anatomy & Physiology)

Yogacharya Karamjit was born and brought up in a Hindu and Yogic family, whose roots are deeply emerged with Yogi’s lineage. He learned basics of yoga from a wandering monk, since childhood, he stayed and practiced yoga under the revered Monks and Yogis in monasteries. Yogacharya Karamjit did 300 hours Yoga Instructor course and Post Graduation Degree in Yoga from Swami Vivekananda Yoga University and earned his Master in Yoga Science (M.Sc) Degree. He did Yoga and Vedanta certificate course from Swami Shivanada Ashram (Divine life Society) at Rishikesh, India.

Dr. Sumit Sharma (Yoga Anatomy & Physiology)

Dr. Sumit is an expert in the field of physical therapy and posture imbalance and sedentary life disorders. He did his Masters of Physical Therapy in Musculoskeletal Disorders in Orthopedic Branch and a diploma in Sports Medicine from West Bengal. He is also a certified Pilate’s trainer from Indian Academy of Fitness Training Mangalore. His simple and contemporary style of delivering deep and practical knowledge of anatomy and physiology endear him to his students. He has taught a few hundred students from more than 35 countries and he mainly focuses on the therapeutic aspects of yoga.