How it all began…
The vision of a sustainable, spiritually empowered and deeply inspired community, which will prepare the ground for a global spiritual awakening has been at the root of founding the Himalayan Yoga Institute. It all began in 2007 when Ganga Devi, the founder of the Himalayan Yoga Institute, established the blueprint for the Institute, with the aim of offering programmes that will educate, enlighten, transform, inspire and foster community in a celebration of conscious living.
Ganga has been teaching yoga and meditation for more than 30 years and has been the prime disciple of a Himalayan yoga master. As the successor of her teacher, a highly advanced yogi, she was given the task to continue his work and legacy at the ashram, which he had started in the 1990's in a small village of Kullu Valley, tucked away in the Himalayan mountains of India.
Ever since the Institute’s inception we have paid meticulous attention to maintaining the authenticity of the teachings that are presented to yoga teacher training and retreat participants with great care and respect. The proceeds from our training courses and retreats go towards establishing intentional communities in India, Croatia and the UK.
The Logo of the Himalayan Yoga Institute is a representation of the heart chakra with its 12 petals and a blooming lotus at its centre symbolizing the awakening of spiritual love and awareness. Finding our way back to our heart allows us to realise the power, beauty and innate wisdom of our inner Self. Our intention is to help as many people as possible find their way back to their heart and inner wisdom.
To our visitors, guests, students and retreat participants we offer space for deep self-exploration, re-connection with Self and nature, spiritual transformation, truth-seeking and –finding. We use the tools of an ancient spiritual culture, and in this endeavour employ the time-tested tools of yoga, meditation, mandala art, Indian classical dance, creative expression, chanting, music, cleansing, ceremony and pure knowledge.
We offer Yoga Alliance certified training courses at the RYT 200h and RYT 300h level, as well as YA-certified continuing education courses and immersion retreats. All of our offerings are woven with a common thread of reviving ancient wisdom that will serve humanity to create more sustainable and harmonious social environments based on the idea that we are one big family comprising of humans, plants and animals. “Unity in diversity” is our precept and expresses in the way in which we conduct our programmes.
The Himalayan Yoga Institute is a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga School (RYS) and all our teacher training courses and continuing education graduates can register with Yoga Alliance. Our holistic programmes take place in beautiful, sacred locations in India, Croatia and the UK. We also offer lifelong mentoring and support, a rare gift to any true wisdom seeker.
We have recently acquired land in South India where we plan to establish an intentional ashram community, a place where people will be able to stay and immerse themselves in the practices of yoga, chanting and meditation.
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Future Development
We have recently acquired land located near Auroville and about 8 km from the town of Pondicherry. The surrounding area boasts of towns, cities and temples demonstrating the artistry and beauty of ancient Indian cultural history.
We are about 90 km away from the UNESCO world heritage site, Mamallapuram (also called Mahabalipuram), displaying gorgeous stone carvings and temple structures of great beauty.
Mahabalipuram is an ancient historic town and was a bustling seaport during the time of Periplus (1st century CE) and Ptolemy (140 CE).
By the 7th century it was a port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas. It has a group of sanctuaries, which was carved out of rock along the Coromandel coast in the 7th and 8th centuries: Rathas (temples in the form of chariots), Mandapas (cave sanctuaries), giant open-air reliefs such as the famous 'Descent of the Ganges', and the Shore temple, with thousands of sculptures dedicated to Shiva.
Our new site is located about 2 km from the Auroville beach and is a large piece of land with good soil for cultivation which is perfect as we plan to incorporate an orchard and vegetable garden to produce our own home-grown fruits and veggies. But most importantly we want to create a haven of peace and tranquility which will allow visitors and residents alike to experience the deeper effects of the yogic practices, which they will be able to indulge in, namely asanas, pranayama, chanting and meditation. Lots of emphasis will be given to the development of the natural surroundings, the gardens and ponds. The gardens will be styled in the tradition of zen gardens with cascading waterfalls and quietly secluded areas for meditation and reflection. We plan to invite artists from all over India to create a love-brimming aesthetic and spiritual atmosphere to support us in our practice and spiritual endeavor.
We want to give back to the community by teaching free yoga classes to the children in the nearby village and eventually open a school. Animal welfare is very close to our hearts hence we support local animal welfare organizations.
Yoga Teacher Trainings
Our main focus is to equip you with the skills and tools which will allow you to shine as a yoga teacher. We have therefore put a lot of thought into creating a highly comprehensive and well-rounded 200h Yoga Teacher Training course. If you are already a yoga teacher and have completed a 200h course, you may be inspired to take your teaching to the next level and attend our 300h Advanced Yoga Teacher Training. At the moment we offer yoga training courses in South India and on a lovely island in Croatia.
A yoga training certification will be granted upon completion of the selected yoga teacher training course.
Our trainers are master teachers of great accomplishment and vast practical, theoretical and intuitional knowledge of yoga, meditation, philosophy, mysticism and anatomy and will be guiding you on our yoga teacher training intensive residential courses. The yoga training certification programs are accredited by Yoga Alliance.