200-hour-ashtanga-yoga-teacher-training-in-rishikesh

Yoga tourism is travel with the specific purpose of experiencing some form of

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, whether spiritual or postural. The former is a type of spiritual tourism; the latter is related both to spiritual and to wellness tourism. Yoga tourists often visit

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

trained and certified as yoga teachers. Major centres for yoga tourism include

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints meditat ...

and

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

. While the Himalayas is the birthplace of yoga and a major yoga tourism destination, yoga retreats and holidays are provided in many countries, varying from simple stays in guesthouses and ashrams to 5-star comfort in luxury resorts.

Venues

Yoga tourism does not necessarily mean travel to an

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

locus classicus''. Ashrams offering yoga exist, for example, in Canada. Other possible types of venue describe themselves as "holistic centres" and "yoga holidays", including holidays at "a 5-star resort with a celebrity Yoga Teacher". Yoga holidays are provided in countries including Greece, Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, Scotland, France, Morocco, England, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the Maldives and Wales. Yoga retreats can be found in many countries, including for instance Costa Rica and Italy. Hotels and guesthouses around the world similarly offer yoga holidays in countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey; "pastoral yoga" can be found in countries including France.

India

India has become a major destination for yoga tourism, following on from Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj's arrival in Rishikesh in 1922 to promote his philosophy of yoga. Then an English rock band the Beatles travelled to Rishikesh in 1968 to take part in a

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...

training course at

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

and has led many Westerners to travel to India hoping to find "authentic" yoga in

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

(for Ashtanga Yoga) and

. That movement led in turn to the creation of many yoga schools offering

teacher training Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their t ...

and promotion of India as a "yoga tourism hub" by the Indian Ministry of Tourism and the

Ministry of AYUSH The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare syst ...

Reception

Youthful Westerners' sometimes naive spiritual quests to India, and the many varieties of ashram and yoga on offer to them, are gently satirised in the Mindful Yoga instructor

Anne Cushman Anne Cushman (born c. 1964) is a teacher of yoga as exercise and meditation, an author on the intersection of those topics long thought to be distinct but now widely called Mindful Yoga, and a novelist. Her novel ''Enlightenment for Idiots'' was ...

's novel ''Enlightenment for Idiots''.

Elizabeth Gilbert Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir, '' Eat, Pray, Love'', which has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also ma ...

's 2006 memoir ''

Eat, Pray, Love ''Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia'' is a 2006 memoir by American author Elizabeth Gilbert. The memoir chronicles the author's trip around the world after her divorce and what she discovered d ...

'', now also a romantic Hollywood film, describes her experiences in an Indian ashram on her journey of

self-discovery A "journey of self-discovery" refers to a travel, pilgrimage, or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel, personally, about spiritual issues or priorities, Gilbert is thought to have stayed in the

Siddha Yoga Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path founded by Swami Muktananda (1908–1982). The organization states in its literature that the Siddha Yoga tradition is "based mainly on eastern philosophies". It also states that it "draws many of its teachings f ...

ashram

Gurudev Siddha Peeth Gurudev Siddha Peeth is an Indian ashram run by the Gurudev Siddha Peeth Trust and serving the Siddha Yoga path. It is situated between the villages of Ganeshpuri and Vajreshwari in the state of Maharashtra, north-east of Mumbai. On the Siddha Y ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

; the film's "Pray" section was set in Ashram Hari Mandir at

Pataudi Pataudi is a town and one of the 4 sub-divisions of Gurugram district, in the Indian state of Haryana, within the boundaries of the National Capital Region of India. Ahirs/ Yadav dominate the area. It is located from Gurugram, at the foot hil ...

, near Delhi.

References

{{tourism Yoga as exercise Yoga training and certification Types of tourism

Venues

India

Reception

See also

References