upcoming
courses
2025
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December: Fundamentals and Introduction to philosophy
2026
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January 10th - February 15th: Course for returning gurukula students, Vedanta philosophy
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April 26-30th: five day immersion in Japan, Nagano (contact us for more info)
We are open until the end of March 2026
In December 2025 we offer a 4 week course for new students and for those
interested in the fundamentals of philosophy.
From 10th of January until 15th of February 2026: Course for returning students
This is for those, who have been in gurukula before for 1-3 months and who already have a basic
understanding of Vedanta philosophy.
Other times we are open for everyone.
Weekly Schedule
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Asana class: 5:30 – 7:30 am (Monday to Saturday)
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Led primary class on Mondays
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Philosophy or chanting: 10:30 am or 3:30 pm
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Sundays, new moon and full moon days — no asana practice
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For women — no asana class during the first 3 days of their periods
Subjects and style of teaching at gurukula
Qualifications/eligibility:
Beginners as well as advanced students are welcome. The teaching will be individually adjusted, the essential quality in a student being a sincere wish to learn. Attendance of all classes is expected. If you are new to gurukula, it is advisable to stay minimum 3-4 weeks with us.
We do not offer teaching training.
We believe, only by being a dedicated long term student one can be come a great teacher.
Teaching schedule:
There will be an ashtanga vinyasa yoga practice in the morning. On Mondays the class is often led primary series and the rest of the days students practice independently with a teacher, called "mysore style". Classes in philosophy and Sanskrit will take place before or after lunch.
There will be holiday on Sundays and on the days of new moon and full moon there will
be no asana practice. For women, there will be no asana class the first 3 days of their periods.
Subjects:
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Asana practice: Ashtanga style asana, primary, intermediate and advanced series
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Pranayama will be taught only to students who already have a steady and regular asana practice and who have established a steady teacher-student -relationship.
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Sanskrit Introduction to Sanskrit alphabets and pronunciation, spoken Sanskrit: This will enable the student to converse to a certain extent in Sanskrit Vedic recitation and Sanskrit literature: Simple Vedic recitation and recitation of other devotional literature will be taught to the students to acquaint them with the beauty of Sanskrit language.
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Study of Indian philosophy Some of the classical Sanskrit works and works on Indian philosophy and yoga will be taught under this program; The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita as well as Upanishads and some other Vedantic texts. The classes will cover the studies of the original texts and discussing their meaning in a philosophical context. Other texts such as Vivekacudamani and Upanishads with the commentaries along with the classical texts, provides an even deeper understanding of the meaning of the texts and the philosophy they represent.
Length of Stay:
We recommend at least a minimum of one month stay, especially if you are new to gurukula. Many students end up staying 1-3 months or even longer. It is recommended to have some basic knowledge in ashtanga vinyasa yoga, as this style of asana practice will take some weeks to learn.
Payment:
Traditionally the payments in the ancient gurukulas has been by donation called Guru Dakshina. Dakshina means a voluntary offering to the teacher / Guru as a thanksgiving of the teaching and respect. Here in our yogagurukula a payment is requested in a form of a charitable donation, Dāna.
Yogagurukula is run by donations from students only.
Daily living expenses (accommodation, food, electricity, wi-fi, water etc) costs approx. 1000rs per person. This doesn't include Dāna, a donation for the teaching. Suitable amount for the classes is chosen by the student and it should be added into the total donation which can be paid directly to the teacher.
Typically, students make an offering of dāna to the teacher at the beginning of the course to establish our intention to support the spread of the teachings through the teacher. It is not only a payment of what has been received (one can not buy or sell the real Knowledge), but more as an offering done respectfully without expectations not only to cover the expenses of the yogagurukula but also showing our gratitude to the teacher's compassion to help us move us along in our spiritual path.
Our financial support, selfless service and learning through a self-study and a self-enquiry makes it possible for a places such as our gurukula to still exist in today's world. They offer an important alternative, a safe heaven and a resting place, for a seeker looking for a truth in midst of a wordly suffering.
"The most important thing in the field of yoga is to have patience."