Our Story
Samadhi Yoga Ashram is a Yoga Alliance accredited yoga school, traditional ashram and residential retreat centre, founded in 2011 by Yogi Vishnu Panigrahi. We sit on the banks of the Ganga in Laxman Jhula, Rishikesh (249302), with a second campus in Ubud, Bali. Over 2,000 graduates from 50+ countries have trained with us in the 5,000-year-old Himalayan tradition of yoga, pranayama, meditation and Ayurveda.
India has long been the land of yogis, munis and contemplative masters — teachers who carried the knowledge of the Vedas, Vedanta, Upanishads, Puranas, Yoga and Ayurveda across centuries. Rishikesh, at the foothills of the Himalayas, has been a natural home for that work: the clarity of mountain air, the steady presence of the Ganga, and the quiet the town still protects.
We teach yoga the way it was passed down to us — teacher to student, with depth and discipline rather than trend. Asana is the visible part; pranayama, meditation, yoga philosophy and karma yoga are inseparable from it. Read on for the lineage we follow, the founder who guides the school, and the daily rhythm of life inside the ashram.
What We Are
Samadhi Yoga Ashram is, simultaneously, an ashram, a Yoga Alliance accredited yoga school, and a residential yoga and Ayurveda retreat centre. The three identities are not in conflict — they describe the same place from different angles. What we are NOT is a drop-in wellness studio or a holiday retreat. An ashram is a place of effort (shrama), practice, community and quiet — everything that word actually means.
Our tradition flows from the great masters of the Himalayan path — Adi Shankaracharya, Swami Rama of the Himalayas, and Swami Veda Bharati. Yogi Vishnu Panigrahi's training under Swami Veda Bharati keeps the ashram firmly within that unbroken chain.
Asana is only the surface. Our students learn pranayama, meditation, yogic philosophy, mantra chanting, kriya and the foundations of Ayurveda — the full system, taught the way it has been taught here for centuries.
Batches are kept deliberately small so every student is genuinely seen. Teachers know your name, your body, your practice — and adjust what they offer based on what you actually need, not what a syllabus demands.
We have hosted students from more than 100 countries. Yoga, in our tradition, is not bound by religion, language or nationality — only by the sincerity of the seeker. Anyone willing to walk this path is welcome here.
An ashram is a place where you make Shrama — effort. But here all your effort is targeted to bring balance to yourself, and to rest completely in yourself.
— Yogi Vishnu Panigrahi
Begin Where You Are
Start with a 200-hour teacher training, a private retreat, a daily class — or simply a conversation with our team. We'll help you choose what matches where you are in your practice.
Guided By
A lifelong disciple of the Himalayan yogic tradition — transferring not just technique, but the philosophy, contextual values and scientific clarity behind every practice. Meet the wider faculty on our yoga teachers in Rishikesh page.
Yogi Vishnu Panigrahi has spent his life close to several revered masters of the Himalayan path — Swami Hari, Swami Veda Bharati, Swami Avdheshanand Giri and Swami Shankaranand Giri. From them, he received not a method but a way of being — the slow, patient transfer of a tradition that is still being lived.
Today, he leads Samadhi Yoga Ashram with the same depth that was offered to him. Students who arrive expecting a teacher of postures find instead a teacher of practice — of meditation, breath, philosophy and the quiet discipline that holds them all together.
Direct student of Swami Veda Bharati, a disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas.
Decades of personal practice in meditation, pranayama, kriya and yoga philosophy.
Founder of Samadhi Yoga Ashram — teaching the full path, not a fragment of it.
Mentor to students and teachers from over 100 countries worldwide.
Where We Are
Samadhi Yoga Ashram sits in Laxman Jhula, Rishikesh, just behind the local police station on the banks of the Ganga. The location is deliberate — close enough to the river to feel its presence in your practice, far enough from the busiest streets to keep the silence the ashram needs. For a full tour of the buildings, rooms and kitchen, see our ashram in Rishikesh.
The river is woven into every part of life here — morning meditation along its banks, evening Aarti at the ghats, and the quiet that only a sacred river holds. This is not incidental. The setting itself is part of the practice.
The day begins early. Morning practice, sattvic meals, study, karma yoga, evening meditation. Different departments coordinate the rhythm of the ashram so that students can simply show up and practise. Discipline is the container; relaxation is the medicine inside it.
Find us: Samadhi Yoga Ashram — behind Laxman Jhula Police Station, Laxman Jhula, on the banks of the Ganga, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
We Follow
Samadhi Yoga Ashram follows the teachings of generations of Himalayan masters and saints who lived in the cave hermitages of the Himalayas. The teaching lineage stretches back nearly 5,000 years and includes Adi Shankaracharya, Swami Rama of the Himalayas, and his student Swami Veda Bharati. This tradition was practiced for centuries without a single name — we refer to it simply as the Tradition of the Himalayan Masters.
Yogi Vishnu Panigrahi, the founder of Samadhi Yoga Ashram, is a student of Swami Veda Bharati — who was, in turn, a student of Swami Rama. Through this unbroken teacher-student chain, the practical methods of pranayama, meditation, kriya and yoga philosophy have been transmitted from one generation to the next without being diluted by trend.
Although yoga has roots in Hindu culture, it is not a religion. The Himalayan path is open to anyone — regardless of religion, language or nationality. What it asks of you is sincerity, regularity, and willingness to learn from a teacher. The classical teacher-student relationship is still the foundation of how we work.
The ashram teaches the full eight-limbed path of yoga — including Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Tantra Yoga. A central instruction of the Himalayan tradition is "to be free of fear, become aware of the reality within." The work is practical, daily, and grounded — not abstract, not religious, not performative.
Vedic Era
Author of verses of Rig Veda
4th Century BC
Father of Yoga Sutras
550 BC
Tamil Siddhar & Yoga Master
1925 — 1996
Founder, Himalayan Institute
1933 — 2015
Himalayan Tradition Master
1974 — Present
Lives in Rishikesh
If you have any queries about courses at Samadhi Yoga Ashram, please reach out. Our team usually replies within 24 hours and can help with course details, schedules, accommodation, payment options and travel logistics.
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