International Yoga Festival, Rishikesh

“Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings.”

~ Rumi 

an immersive environment where you can forget your worldly troubles – Credit: Rishikesh Yoga

Yoga festival

There’s a personal side to yoga. It’s in the sense of your own breath surging into your lungs or the gentle brushing away of thought from a restless mind. There’s also a social side, learning, helping, allowing the principles of yoga to seep into your relationships. Reach out a little further into that society of fellow practitioners by setting out for the International Yoga Festival and slipping into the melting pot of its people.

Ttose who practice it abroad dream of coming to India and meeting renowned yogacharyas. To see the country that birthed and nurtured it and to be among others that share in its beliefs and practice its chosen lifestyle. While this doesn’t apply to Indians in general, it definitely does to the several hundreds that gather in the sacred city of Rishikesh each year from more than 30 countries across the globe for this festival.

Organised by the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, the festival packs over 60 hours of yoga into the first week of February. Alongside internationally developed strains, traditional styles like Kundalini Yoga, Power Vinyasa Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and Kriya Yoga are practised. Dozens of yogacharyas lead classes through the day. It is hemmed in by a 4am rising call and an Aarti and cultural programs in the evening. Basic boarding facilities are complemented by simple vegetarian food. This creates an immersive environment where you can forget your worldly troubles and commit to the exploration of body and soul.

What began as a handful of people in a small hotel has now grown into a community. A community that always has room for one more!

For more details visit: www.internationalyogafestival.com

the festival packs over 60 hours of yoga into the first week of February – Credit: Brijesh Giri