Yoga Retreats — Amboli and Kudal (Maharastra)

‘Yoga retreats are a great way to rejuvenate yourselves most holistically.’ This is what I had heard before I decided to go for my first exclusive Yoga retreat organized by Sivananda Yoga Gurgaon Center in Kudal, a small town in Maharashtra, an hour away from MOPA airport in Goa right before New Year’s Eve in 2023.

Having participated in many other retreats over the previous years, I had not researched any further. I opened myself to experiencing the one first in Kudal with Sivananda Yoga Gurgaon Center and then in Amboli, another small hill town in Maharashtra under the guidance of Swami Govindananda Ji six months later. A yoga retreat, no matter how relaxing the ‘breath in and breath out’ kind of undertone it carries, is far from it when it comes to their extensive schedules. The goal is to rejuvenate you and sometimes that means to detox you with great discipline so you have no time to laze around in case that’s the kind of vacation you were looking for. However, that also means you get a glimpse of a beautifully structured holistic system that benefits millions worldwide within 4–7 days.

How the typical day looks like at a retreat:

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The mornings start with silent nature walks during the dawn before sunrise followed by chanting watching sunrise and a 2-hour-long yoga class post return from the long walk right before serving a richly laden sattvic (pure vegetarian Indian food without onion and garlic) meal that nobody wants to miss. In the beginning, some of us would eat more than our appetite because who knows when these guys would serve food the next time? Post brunch, people had an urge to take a power nap because a long day ahead calls for classes on the Yoga philosophy of Vedanta classes to bring one closer to the tradition of Yoga passed authentically through generations. Later the day would be followed by another 2-hour Yoga class, dinner and kirtan post-dinner. Many of us enjoyed the Kirtan as that would entail chanting mantras and the whole energy would become so exhilarating and joyful. Perhaps it’s the frequency of joy that the yoga system discovered thousands of years ago.

A few observations after the retreat:

• Not only did my gut feel resurrected, but my whole body felt lighter and active.
• The folks who had never experienced Yoga before wanted to enrol for regular Yoga classes for fitness and health reasons.
• Spending quality time with like-minded people in a community setup was immensely joyful and some of us made friends for life. Since I was new to the community, I suddenly found myself surrounded by a new set of friends.
• A sense of rejuvenation was achieved at last. We all felt so ready to go back into our regular lives refreshed with new knowledge and cleansed bodies.
• Appetite is reduced once the body acclimates to a healthy routine.
• I felt my vocal cords open up and my singing voice became smoother (definitely a bonus from my goal)🙂 You can also read it here.