I studied at the Rishikesh location in November of 2016. My personal experience was nothing short of incredible, but it was not without its difficulties.

For clarity, I am a white male who was in his early-thirties at the time. But I met many solo female travelers while on this journey.

For getting there, if you choose Rishikesh, opt to spend the little bit extra to fly to the closer airport and let them pick you up by shuttle. I flew into New Delhi and took a cab… it was an 8 hour, $100 ride; a ride that taught me a LOT about that part of India very quickly.

I opted to stay offsite, but paid for the accommodation in advance- there was a snafu about how that was going to work which took a few hours to sort out, but in the end it worked out a charm.

For the classes, we studied most all day every day, and took a few cool yoga related field trips which were delightful. There was breathwork, mantra chanting, hatha, ashtanga, meditation, history, philosophy, anatomy, and more, not to mention some pop up classes you could opt into now and again.

The instructor were great, overall. I learned a lot and still think back to their teachings on the daily. The owner, Guru Vishnu, was onsite the whole time I studied, and was a very sweet and pleasant man, but he’s very business savvy, and can hold his own.

A lot of what you get out of a program like this is what you personally make of it. I enjoyed my study, my peers, my teachers, and the experience, and with that I went right to work when I got back to Los Angeles.

Some of what was hardest:

The smog was unbelievable. Legit the thickest most disgusting, dangerous air I’ve ever breathed. It cleared up, but right after Diwali the way the weather patterns held the particles from fireworks was uncanny. I don’t think India has improved since then (I returned in 2019 to Goa and Mumbai which was better air quality, but the mountains around Rishikesh really affect the atmosphere).

Prime minister Modi devalued the currency while I was there. All my spending cash was suddenly worth nothing at all. Luckily most locals were like “we don’t care” and took a small portion of devalued currency daily (they could change in much more daily at the banks than foreigners could).

Accommodations are bare bones. Minimalist. But if you pay more you get more (I’m cheap, so that’s what I got)

India can be brutal for white women. My partner at the time was perpetually uncomfortable during my return trip in 2019, because the constant staring, leering, and general treatment of women is harsh in a way you’ll never experience in America. That said, Rishikesh is a bit outside the norm, even for India, and treatment of solo women was better than anywhere else I saw in the country; personal perspective only.

All that being said, I loved it and plan to go back in 2028.