The Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram (SRSG), Rishikesh

In my opinion, the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) is the best ashram for meditation that you can find in Rishikesh or even all over India. Throughout all my travels around India, and even after consulting with other seekers, I have not been able to find any other ashram that focuses on meditation like at SRSG.

Meditation within the Himalayan Tradition

Ever since I watched Swami Rama's lectures on the Patanjali's Yoga Sutras I felt connected with him. So much wisdom and with so much conviction.

I felt like if he was indeed a great yogi.  I got very interested in his teachings so I watched all his lectures and I read a couple of his books including "Living with the Himalayan Masters".

But I still needed a more direct experience so I decided to visit the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama ashram founded by Swami Veda Bharati, one of Swami Rama's main disciples.

A yogi friend from Ecuador, Gustavo, also recommended the ashram. He said, "Swami Veda is probably one of the greatest yogis from modern times."

So I contacted the ashram and planned a visit by mid-2012. But guess what... I couldn't wait any longer so I decided to go earlier than I had originally planned.

I felt like I needed to be in a place deeply involved in meditation where I could get the right guidance to continue with my own practice. This seemed to be the right place.

Luckily I was not mistaken.

If you are serious about meditation and about all aspects of yoga philosophy then this is the place to be. They call it the "Himalayan Yoga Tradition" and their main goal is the practice of meditation. 

Every activity, every teaching, every practice that is carried on at this ashram is with one goal only, meditation within the Himalayan Tradition. And that's exactly what I love about this place.

I've spent about three weeks at the ashram and I liked it so much that I have already planned another visit.

The ashram

Though outside the ashram the area is not that nice as soon as you cross the main gate it feels like been transported to a totally different place. My first impression was that it looks like a resort. It is very green with grass, trees, and flowers all around the place.

It is the most western-friendly ashram that I have visited so far.

The accommodation for the guests is incredibly comfortable. There are 36 nice brick cottages with different capacities (single, twin and family size) including kitchen, living room, air conditioner, fan, and hot water.

What else do you need? I can certainly stay here for months and months without any problem.

Unfortunately, there is plenty of pollution in the air, dust, and smoke probably, but that's the same all around Rishikesh. You can notice the pollution by looking at the mounts nearby during the day. I heard that it depends on the season. When it rains, the rainwater clears the sky and you can clearly see the mounts during the day and the stars during the night.

In the main building, besides several offices, there is one big hall called "Meditation Hall" which is used for the meditations, for the physical practices, and for lectures.

There is a bookstore that sells Swami Rama and Swami Veda's books but also books from other traditions like Sivananda's books and Bihar School of Yoga books, and there is the audio-visual room where they play video recordings from Swami Rama or Swami Veda's lectures.

Meditation hall

After crossing all the cottages for the guests you can find a small library which is mainly dedicated to the gurukulam students. Guests are not allowed to borrow books from the library though at the reception they have several books that can be borrowed by the guests.

Next to the library, there is the "Knowledge Center", a small hall that can be divided into two rooms for lectures, guided meditations or hatha yoga class.

In front of the knowledge center is the dining hall and behind these two buildings is the gurukulam building with accommodation for the gurukulam students.

Ashram courses and programs

Spiritual retreats

Visitors that come and stay for a while at the ashram can join the spiritual retreats or guests program. That's the same program that I was following.

This program includes lectures, video visualization and the physical practices (joints and glands exercises and hatha yoga) as described in the schedule below.

The lectures and video visualization will introduce the visitor to the Himalayan Yoga Tradition, to Swami Rama's life and to the basic practices.

The very first lecture was "breathing and meditation" (you can already see the emphasis that is made on meditation).  They even explained how to fold a blanket to be able to sit comfortably for long periods of time.

Other lectures cover subjects as pranayamas, dynamics of breathing and philosophy of hatha yoga.

The morning practice is mainly focused on the "Joints and glands exercises", usually known as Pawanmuktasana Series. These are very simple exercises, like neck rotations, which work on all joints from head to toes.

But the main work is not on the physical level, rather on a subtle level so they are performed very slowly with full mindfulness, with awareness of the breath and of every single movement.

The afternoon class is mainly focused on the asanas (physical yoga postures). It's a very gentle class. They are also performed slowly, with mindfulness and breath awareness, and usually with a break "centering" between each asana.

There is no emphasis at all in performing advanced or complicated asanas. So if you are looking for an intense asana practice then this might not be the right place for you. The teachers usually quote one of Swami Veda's saying. "Touching your knees with your nose is not Hatha Yoga, even a clown can do that and backward, but that doesn't make him a yogi".

There is a short book called "Philosophy of Hatha Yoga" written by Swami Veda. It's very interesting and goes very deep into the subject. It can give you an idea of how Hatha Yoga is seen from this tradition.

The guest program is not intense at all, and you might need to push a bit to make sure that you get the necessary classes for you. Some days I didn't have any lectures because there were no teachers available. But that was my experience during May which is actually the summer break so it might be different between October and April where there are more senior teachers and guests at the ashram.

One thing to keep in mind is that you'll need to discipline yourself. They don't force you to attend the lectures or practices. There is actually a lot of freedom which can be good or bad depending on how you see it. It is up to you to make the best of your stay at the ashram.

I tried to stick to the program, read and also do my own practice but sometimes it felt a bit boring. Maybe because I was staying during the summer break and there were almost no other guests.

Ashram daily schedule:

This is the basic schedule for all programs.

4:15 Bell Ring
05:00 to 05:15 Morning Prayers
05:15 to 07:00 Joints & Glands Exercises/Hatha Yoga
07:00 to 07:30 Pranayama (breathing practices)
07:30 to 08:30 Meditation
08:30 to 09:30 Breakfast
10:30 Gurukulam Student Classes and Guest Program
12:30 to 13:00 Pranayama (Breathing practices)
13:00 to 14:00 Lunch
14:00 to 14:30 Digestive Breathing
14:30 to 16:15 Free
16:15 to 17:30 Hatha Yoga Class
17:30 to 18:00 Guided Relaxation
18:00 to 19:00 Meditation
19:00 to 20:00 Dinner
20:00 to 21:00 Guest lecture, Satsanga or special program
21:00 Prayers

Silent retreats

Those who have already covered all the basic teachings and have developed their own meditation and yoga practice can request a silent retreat which is basically to dedicate yourself fully to your own practice for a period of 3 days, 7 days, 40 days or even three months.

Himalayan Yoga Tradition Teacher Training Program

Twice a year at the ashram, in October and in March, they offer the Himalayan Yoga Tradition Teacher Training Program (TTP).

It is quite interesting actually. The program is divided into three different levels and each level represents a total of 200 hours.  To complete each level you'll need to complete one-year long-distance assignments after participating in the first two weeks of residential training.

After the first two residential weeks, the rest of the program is continued online. You'll get access to their website where you will receive and submit the assignments.  A mentor will guide you and monitor your progress so you can complete the program from wherever you are in the world.

Update 30/07/2012: I completed this training in March 2012 and I wrote an article about it. You can find more information here: Himalayan Yoga Tradition Teacher Training Program

Gurukulam program

The gurukulam program is for the very serious yogis that are really interested in their sadhana (spiritual practice).  It is the main program at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama ashram.

The gurukulam program can be of three years, five years or even ten years!

One of the main differences versus the TTP is that it is a fully residential program with a break between June till September where you can leave or stay at the ashram if you like to.   The program starts in October and ends in May.

The advantage here is that you are on-site and get constant support of senior teachers and other students plus the guidance of Swami Veda Bharati. The purpose of this program is to prepare teachers to guide people into meditation.

To know more about the Gurukulam program you can visit dhyanagurukulam.org

Ashram services

Internet: There is one computer at the reception with internet access. They also have wifi in some areas, however, due to frequent power cuts it usually stops working during the day.

If you have a smartphone then I can recommend to get an Airtel sim card and use the mobile internet service. Airtel has a pretty good reception at the ashram.

Boutique: There is no shop at the ashram but there are a few small shops outside where you can get basic things like soap and washing powder.

Ashram food

Hmmm, this is always one of my favorite topics, but to be honest I'm not that enthusiastic about the food here, especially after staying at the Sivananda Ashram in Madurai.

Over there lunch and dinner were one of my favorite times of the day but at the SRSG is not that special. I guess it is a good way to practice sense pleasure control.  But I do like the fact that we have three meals a day. It is much better for my body weight and it is easier to avoid overeating.

Popular Swami Rama books in Amazon.com

Living with the
Himalayan Masters

Meditation and its
Practice

The Art of
Joyful Living

The Royal Path

Related blog posts

• Living with the Himalayan Masters.  This is an inspiring book written by Swami Rama.
• Sadhana Mandir Yoga Ashram.  This is the sister ashram of SRSG.  It is very peaceful and sits right next to the river Ganges.
• The Himalayan Yoga Tradition Teacher Training Program.
• Meeting with a Himalayan Yoga Master.  In this blog, I share my experience meeting Swami Veda Bharati, the founder of SRSG. 

How to reach the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram

From the Haridwar bus stand, which is just 2 minutes walk from the Haridwar train station, you can take a direct public bus to Rishikesh.

When I called the ashram they told me to ask the driver to stop at the Koyal Grand Stop, a restaurant at the crossroad with Virbhadra road and from there take a Rikshak instead of going all the way to Rishikesh.

This was not that easy cause nobody on the bus knew this place.   But it's not a big problem.  The Rishikesh bus stand is not too far from the Ashram.

After getting off the bus, either at Koyal Grand Stop or at the Rishikesh bus stand just take an auto-rickshaw and ask for Seema Dental College. Every rickshaw driver knows this college. It should cost between 40 or 70 rupees. You can also take a shared rickshaw which would be 7 rupees.

From the ashram to Rishikesh proper

To reach Ram Jhula or Laxman Jhula bridge you can take a shared auto just outside the ashram, on the left side, to market (7 rupees) and from there change to another share auto (these ones are bigger and bluish) for 5 rupees. The total journey should be around 20 minutes.

Ashram contact information

Phone: +91 135 2450093, +91 135 2453030, +91 135 2450596
Fax: +91 135 2450831
email: sadhakagrama@gmail.com

Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama
Virpur Khurd, Virbhadra Road,
P.O. Pashulok, Via :Rishikesh
Uttarakhand, India - 249203

• sadhakagrama.org. Ashram website
• www.himalayanyogatradition.com. Yoga teacher training website.
• www.ahymsin.org. Ashram newsletter. AHYMSIN: Association of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies International.

Useful tips

Before you pack your bags I suggest you visit my detailed packing list for India. This list includes every single item that you might need to travel around India and to stay at ashrams or yoga retreats.

If you would like to visit other ashrams in Rishikesh or around India make sure you visit my guide to ashrams in India.

This guide includes a list of all the ashrams that I have personally visited throughout my yoga journey. I'm sure you'll find it very helpful.

To avoid spending too much money on credit card transactions or ATM withdrawals I recommend you to check Transferwise. I normally use it to pay for my accommodation or yoga courses, and also for withdrawing money.

Get my free meditation ebook

I hope you've found this information useful. Whenever you visit the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama ashram you can share your experience in the comment section below.

If you know about any other ashrams in India that focus on meditation please let us know in the comments as well. I would love to visit it at some point in the future.

Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter so that you can follow me on my yoga journey. Once you subscribe you'll be able to download my free meditation ebook. Thank you!

Next: Visiting Mahavatar Babaji's Cave in Kukuchina

After my first visit to the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, in May 2011, I decided to make my way more up north.

It was a fourteen hours long journey to reach Paramahansa Yogananda's ashram, the Yogoda Satsanga Sakha (Kriya Yoga) Ashram in Dwarahat.

The next day, with a lovely group of local devotees of Yogananda, we took a shared taxi to visit Mahavatar Babaji's cave in Kukuchina.  It was a fantastic experience.

Just follow the links to find out more.