Since a very long time, Yoga and Ayurveda have outclassed as the most imperative elements of the Vedic Science. But most people consider Yoga as mere asanas and Ayurveda as mere herbs, thereby completely misunderstanding the true power of these sciences. In fact, Yoga is oriented on harmonizing the mind, body and soul, and Ayurveda is oriented on balancing a person’s mental & physical health. Altogether, they focus on enhancing every aspect involved in a person’s life. India is home to two different kinds of yoga ashrams, namely traditional ashrams and seasonal yoga studios in touristy towns of Rishikesh, Goa, Dharamshala, and others. While the traditional ashrams emphasize greatly on religious or sectarian ideas about life and Guru-Disciple relationships, the seasonal yoga studios emphasize on teaching Western Yoga, which is beyond the frontiers of Indian spirituality and healing tradition. But the industry clearly lacks a proper balance between these two diverse entities.

Even back in 2003, the industry had a huge dearth in the presence of yoga ashrams that perfectly innovated on the traditional practices of Yoga and Ayurveda to address and resolve the requirements of modern people. This is exactly what triggered Krish Varma (Founder-Director, AyurYoga Eco-Ashram) to bridge the gap by laying the foundation for AyurYoga Eco-Ashram as one of the first Eco-Ashrams in India, which is a non-religious and non-sectarian retreat place. He established this Mysore-based Eco-Ashram as a safe haven for people, which leverages the traditional principles of Yoga and Ayurveda with a rational approach rather than just focusing on religious or sectarian ideas of life. The ashram also doesn’t engage in teaching or emulating any western style of yoga, but only the traditional style of Hatha Yoga based on the book – Hatha Yoga Pradipika – to its people.

Being Second to None!
Krish articulates, “I bring my 12+ years of experience of living at some of the best yoga ashrams in India since I was 18 to the table at AyurYoga Eco-Ashram. These ashrams include Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Monastery (Calcutta), Bihar School of Yoga (Munger), Himalayan Tradition of Swami Rama (Rishikesh) and Sivananda Ashram (Kerala)”. What places AyurYoga Eco-Ashram an edge above its peers is that it never forces the clients – majority being foreigners – to worship their gurus, chant their names, or perform any other activity that makes them uncomfortable. While proactively choosing clients with serious intentions, this ashram ensures to offer them only authentic Ayurveda & Yoga therapies with strict regimen and lifestyle changes (prescribed by dedicated doctors) instead of pleasing them with whatever they ask.

The serene location where AyurYoga Eco-Ashram is established across stands as its other biggest forte! Situated on the banks of River Kabini and amidst 18 acres of organic farm at Mysore, the ashram bestows its clients with neither too hot nor cold weather, along with organic fruits & vegetables at affordable costs, as compared to large organizations. With many more idiosyncrasies, it outshines as one of the best places for Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga & Ayurveda Retreats in India, spearheaded by simple and open-minded yogis.

Highly Interactive Programs
Among these programs, Yoga Teacher Training is AyurYoga’s flagship program that is offered in two categories – 200 hours & 300 hours, mostly to advanced students. So far, the ashram has successfully completed 75+ teacher training programs and graduated 1400+ people from 50 countries. To maintain a proper teacher-student ratio, it ensures to intake only 18-24 students per group and not over-crowd the program. The second program offered is Ayurveda Retreats for either 7, 14, 21 or 28 days under categories – Stress Management, Rejuvenation Therapy, Panchakarma Detox, and Weight Management & Treatment Packages. Even for Ayurveda, the intake is only a smaller group of 10-15 people. The last program is Yoga Retreat, which is presented to mostly beginners and people with minimum experience of practicing yoga for a span of two weeks. Krish adds, “We also tailor-make programs exclusively for people who come in a group of 10-15 as per their age and health requirements”. Moreover, clients are also bestowed with a certification from Yoga Alliance, US and can be registered with any insurance company in their country to teach yoga.

All these programs are highly interactive sessions which are not only oriented on asanas, but on philosophy, anatomy, physiology and psychology of Yoga & Ayurveda. Post completion of programs, clients ought to pass related exams or demonstrate the learnt yoga skills during two classes. While clients demonstrate, AyurYoga Eco-Ashram monitors their teaching skills and gives them proper feedback via one-on-one consultations on a daily basis.

What places AyurYoga Eco-Ashram an edge above its peers is that it never forces the clients – majority being foreigners, to worship their gurus, chant their names or perform any other activity that makes them uncomfortable

Coming to the aspect of infrastructure, AyurYoga Eco-Ashram comprises 40 eco-friendly rooms which include shared and private occupancies to people on par with the international standards. Unlike dormitories of other yoga ashrams, all its rooms have an attached bathroom with toilet paper, clean shades, clean flooring and other amenities. Besides, there are four yoga spaces, open lawns on the river side, one terrace and a traditional Ayurveda Hospital with well-experienced therapists & doctors from Kerala. It also never compromises on clients’ health and hence serves them healthy vegetarian food (buffet) with minimal spices, salt or sugar and vegetables from its own organic farms or that are sourced from local organic farmers. The menu followed at the ashram is meals twice and fruits once in a day.

Unparalleled Excellence
AyurYoga Eco-Ashram has been making strides in the industry by strongly associating with Yoga Retreat organizations in the US and few travel operators from Europe, Canada, UK & Australia who invest diligent efforts in advertising about its ashram and procuring students. Big thanks to its teaching staff which includes Krish who teaches Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Anatomy and Teaching Methodology, along with Yoga and Pranayama sessions to students. The other senior teachers with more than 15 years of experience in teaching Yoga are Swami Prabodh Chaitanya (Meditation & Yoga Sutras Expert), Ganga Sanjay (Senior Hatha Yoga Teacher), Ruchi Phool (Yoga Therapy Teacher), and Shobha Bontrapal S (Yoga Teacher, Reiki Consultant & Marma Therapist). Apart from them, there are two visiting faculty to teach Ayurveda to bigger groups of people. Altogether, the ashram holds 35 employees.

Since majority of its clients are advanced practitioners of Yoga and Ayurveda, AyurYoga Eco-Ashram always had a happy client base with minimal challenges. The ashram also collaborates with English speaking taxi drivers to pick up and drop clients by associating with third-party companies. Further, to eliminate the sexual harassment issues, it ensures to appoint more female staff and other male staff with strict agreement that involves immediate dismissal when found guilty of any kind of abuse.

Despite a lot of tourists who are ready to pay more money just to stay here, we only encourage people with the serious commitment in accordance with our stringent rules & regulations

The Road Ahead
Today, AyurYoga Eco-Ashram has two entities – one of which is Pvt. Ltd. organization focusing on the business endeavours, and other is a charitable trust focusing on charity, social events and creating employment opportunities in local areas. So far, the ashram has witnessed a decent growth in its revenue. Currently, its priority is to successfully build an exclusive library and meditation house for its clients. For the road ahead, one of its main plans is to augment its capability in order to meet the demands of groups with more number of people, especially during high-demand seasons. The other plans in the cards include acquiring talented manpower with good English speaking skills, professionalism and good manners, while also improving the quality of its programs. Krish adds, “Despite a lot of tourists who are ready to pay more money just to stay here, we only encourage people with the right interests to experience or learn Yoga and Ayurveda in accordance with our stringent rules & regulations”.

This kind of unique excellence is what has positioned AyurYoga Eco-Ashram way beyond similar other ashrams in India. In fact, this ashram stands-out as an epitome to not just other ashrams, but also many aspiring yoga teachers and practitioners.

Quick Facts:
● Inception Year: 2013
● Location: Mysore
●Offerings:Yoga & Ayurveda Retreats in India, Yoga Teacher Training, and Hosted Retreats

AyurYoga Eco-Ashram in Spotlight:
● One of the first Eco-Ashrams in India which is a non-religious and non-sectarian retreat place.

● A safe haven for people which leverages the traditional principles of Yoga & Ayurveda with a rational approach rather than just focusing on religious or sectarian ideas of life.

● Situated on the banks of River Kabini and amidst 18 acres of organic farm at Mysore, the ashram bestows its clients with neither too hot nor cold weather along with organic fruits & vegetables, at affordable costs.

● All its programs are highly interactive sessions which are not only oriented on asanas, but on philosophy, anatomy, physiology and psychology of Yoga and Ayurveda.

● So far, the ashram has successfully completed 75+ teacher training programs and graduated 1400+ people from 50 countries.

● Comprises of 40 eco-friendly rooms which include shared and private occupancies, four yoga spaces, open lawns on the river side, one terrace and a traditional Ayurveda Hospital, all on par with international standards

● Since majority of its clients are advanced practitioners of Yoga and Ayurveda, the ashram always had a happy client base with minimal challenges.

● Comprises of two entities – one of which is Pvt. Ltd. organization focusing on the business endeavours and other is a charitable trust focusing on charity, social events and creating employment opportunities in local areas.