Why Rishikesh Yoga Valley Was the Perfect Place for My Yoga Journey...

I didn’t come to Rishikesh just to get certified. I came because I was looking for something I couldn’t quite name, something deeper, something honest. As someone born in India but raised in Canada, I’ve spent much of my life moving between worlds.

Yoga has always felt like a bridge between them but I wanted to experience it at the source. Not filtered through studios or social media, not rebranded or repackaged – but lived. Real. Rooted.

That search led me to Rishikesh Yoga Valley, and what I found there was exactly what I had been looking for. Not a flashy retreat or a rushed training, but a place that offered care, culture, and cleanliness in a way that felt meaningful and sincere.

Care | What struck me first was how quickly this place felt like home. With small class sizes (a rarity in Rishikesh!) the teachers knew me by name within hours. Kamal Ji and the team have this incredible way of seeing you and meeting you exactly where you are.

In a couple of days, the team was familiar with our learning styles, strengths and challenges and the support became incredibly personalized!

When I got sick halfway through the training, I braced myself to push through alone. But instead, I was met with small acts of care that didn’t need to be explained. A coconut left at my door. Light meals brought to my room. Teachers who paused to ask how I was feeling, not out of routine, but because they actually wanted to know. It reminded me of being cared for at home, by someone who sees you even when you’re silent. That kind of care is rare and it made me realize that healing happens not just through rest, but also through being supported within a community.

I had originally signed up for the 100-hour training, but partway through, I extended it to 200 hours because I simply didn’t want to leave just yet. I wanted to keep deepening my practice!

Culture | One of the most important reasons I chose Rishikesh Yoga Valley was their deep respect for the cultural roots of yoga. I’ve spent years feeling disconnected from India and my roots. I wanted a training that wouldn’t dilute or simplify the tradition, but would let me sit with it fully – its philosophies, its rituals, its contradictions.

This is what I found.

The curriculum went beyond asanas. We studied pranayama and Ayurveda, explored lifestyle practices like dinacharya, and learned tools like neti, trataka, and abhyanga that aren’t always part of a standard yoga teacher training.

But what I appreciated most was the lived experience of Indian culture, especially Garhwali culture, woven throughout the training.

One of the most memorable moments was visiting Rishikesh Yoga Valley Founder’s (Kamal Ji) home in the mountains.

We cooked outside using local ingredients, slept under the stars, and woke to a sunrise that felt sacred. We listened to stories about village life, watched the rhythms of mountain living unfold around us, and experienced yoga as something embedded in nature – not separate from it. As someone raised away from this land, it felt like a soft and steady homecoming. No performance, no pressure, just presence.

Even day-to-day life at the school reflected this. From the food to the way time moved, everything invited me into a slower, more intentional rhythm. Meals were made using local and seasonal ingredients, aligned with Ayurvedic principles. We didn’t just eat well, we learned why certain foods were served at certain times, how to tune into our digestion, how to eat in harmony with the season and our constitution.

Cleanliness | Rishikesh Yoga Valley isn’t a resort and that’s part of what makes it so grounding.

The rooms are simple but clean. The food is pure and sattvic, cooked with care, not to impress but to nourish. There’s no excess here, no aesthetic over-function. And yet everything feels taken care of in a way that gives you space to breathe, to be.

In a world that often values how things look over how they feel, this kind of simplicity was a relief. I didn’t have to perform wellness. I could just be in it. Slowly, without needing to explain or prove anything, I began to feel lighter. My mind quieted. My body softened. I found myself waking up early, not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

I began looking forward to silence, to meals, to the rhythm of the day. That kind of clarity doesn’t come from extravagance. It comes from intention.

Parting Words | There are so many moments I carry with me like the arti by the Ganga, walking through Tapovan’s winding streets, conversations over breakfast and watching the sky turn orange above the mountains. But what stayed with me most wasn’t any one event. It was the feeling of being held. Of being in a space that asked nothing of me but to show up, as I was.

Rishikesh is known as the heart of yoga. But Rishikesh Yoga Valley is where I found my heart in yoga again.I didn’t leave with a marketing-ready brand as a yoga teacher. I left with something far more meaningful: a renewed sense of self, a quieter relationship to my body and mind, and a deeper reverence for the lineage that this practice comes from.

And to the teachers, to the cooks, to the quiet care behind the scenes – thank you. You reminded me that good people exist. That tradition can be alive. That healing can be soft. And that sometimes, coming home isn’t about geography. It’s about feeling seen.

Sharing a few more glimpses of my days spent at Rishikesh Yoga Valley during my 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training

Note* If you’re someone who worries about the little things (like I do), know that everything from start to finish was smooth. Communication was clear, airport pickup was reliable, and even after the training, I felt supported. There was never a moment I felt confused or left to figure things out alone. That ease allowed me to truly settle in.

If you’re considering a yoga teacher training in India and are looking for a place that values care, culture, and cleanliness, Rishikesh Yoga Valley is worth considering. Not because it promises transformation, but because it creates the kind of space where transformation becomes possible, naturally.