Yoga in India
Just beginning to explore the Portrait of India Tour and reading comments. I was surprised not to see/read any comments about yoga in India. Can anyone who did this tour let me know if the hotels offered or there were other opportunities? As teacher and practitioner of Yoga, being in India without a yoga experience (or two, or three) would feel incomplete.
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That’s exactly what I’d like to do! No responses to date though….
LindaMarie NancieWD
I took the Portrait of India tour in 2018. It was a jam packed schedule. Go Go Go. I arrived two days early and had a nice massage and body treatment and toured places not included on the Tauck itinerary. I did not utilize the health club. I do recall the Leela Palace offering yoga sessions. When you arrive in southern India (Kerala), the resort is beautiful and they offer a wonderful Ayurvedic massage - ask the TD to book ahead if you're interested. The slots fill up quickly.
I'm taking the Northern India-Nepal tour in a few weeks. Based on the itinerary, there is time one morning dedicated to yoga - if you choose to participate.
Hope this helps. It's a great tour. It's in my top 3 Tauck tours
Linda Marie posted her message in May 2022, she may have been to India already. Can she answer her own question if she has been?
LindaMarie when I took this tour in 2019 some of the hotels offered yoga in their premises, sorry I can't remember which ones but it was quite a few. Contact the concierge at the hotels and ask, the sessions were free.
Yoga availability on Portraits of India tour. I too hoped to squeeze in a free yoga class live from India. But the tour itself is go-go-go often from 4:40 AM until 9:30 PM. Yes there is yoga, free yoga classes at each hotel around 8:30-9:30 am in the spa/gym area. No (unless you stay home from the tour to go to a class) you will never have free time when the classes are offered to attend at any of the hotels. Free time when there is some time at the hotels is in the afternoon when no free classes are offered. I guess like a massage, you could pay for a private class through the spa services. We did see and pass by a night childrens yoga class on the Ganges River. See Picture.
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Hoped this helped
Leslie
We did have free classes in the afternoon in some of the hotels but that was 4 years ago, I guess things change.
British, I am scheduled for 2024. From
Comments above it looks like the yoga experience might not be in the cards for this tour. Which is unfortunate. But I get it’s not for everyone (including my husband). I am a certified yoga teacher (not currently teaching) so this was especially interesting for me after my training. My yoga studio and yoga guru does an annual retreat every year. Maybe one day I will return w them. Looking forward to the south though as it’s known for Ayurveda which is a sister science to yoga. Can’t wait!
Hi LindaMarie-I’m scheduled for POI in September 2024…yoga is my passion and I cannot wait to experience its origin. It’s going to be surreal-so freaking exciting. When are you going?
LindaMarie does not visit the forum very often, last time was January 1st.
TCT...I'm not one to burst anyone's bubble but...having been on both the Portrait Of India and the Northern India & Nepal tours, I can safety say with authority, albeit limited, that you will not have much time (unless you opt out of Tauck activities) to engage in many yoga sessions. I was looking forward to the guided meditation sessions in Nepal but I had to make choices...and the guided meditation session got the short end of the stick.
I experienced my first guided meditation session last October while staying in a Temple on Mount Koya in Japan and have been using the method ever since, especially to aid sleep. The Monk was really good.
We had a tai chi lesson on another tour, China. I’ve only tried yoga once but for me I wanted something that included weight bearing and more calorie burning at the time. I should try it again, I know it’s really popular.
TCT, we are scheduled for late October into November. I am a certified yoga teacher (stopped teaching during COVID) so it would be great to do some yoga while in India. However, I get that Tauck’s itineraries are usually so jammed pack. Will figure something out though. I also studied Ayurveda, so the southern portion will be super interesting. My yoga teacher travels w students every year to India. However, they definitely don’t stay /or tour Tauck style. And my husband has no interest in yoga anyway. Can’t wait! Flights are booked 👏. Need to work on visas and revisit vaccine stuff as all mine from Africa have expired.
British, definitely keep trying. A lot has to do with the teacher and the style of yoga (there are many). Vinyasa yoga can be quite intense, iyengar yoga the best for alignment and learning so you don’t get hurt. Ashtanga is more regimented (not my fav), Hatha pretty basic, kundalini pretty intense /different (not a fav) I practice and was teaching vinyasa yoga in the Bhakti tradition, which happens to be a bit more spiritual than other styles. Chanting, breath work and lots more. But I also do power yoga at my gym when not at my yoga studio (different vibes for sure).