Yoga Retreat at Yasodhara Ashram: A 5-Day Inner Light Immersion on Kootenay Lake, BC

The 5-Day Guided Retreat runs from May through October each year, with fixed start dates listed on the Ashram calendar. You arrive in the afternoon, get shown to your room, and join an orientation before dinner. The retreat officially opens that evening with a class in the temple. From there the days follow a consistent structure: sitting meditation or a yoga class before breakfast, a themed workshop mid-morning, free time after lunch, and an evening session. Teachers lead the workshops, and the themes rotate — some weeks focus on dream yoga, others on the chakra system, mantra, or the Divine Feminine.

The setting does a lot of the work. The Ashram occupies a long stretch of shoreline on Kootenay Lake, with a private dock for swimming, forest trails that climb up behind the buildings, and a beach area. The temple is the main practice space and it's kept quiet during the day. There's also a library, a dining hall, and a small bookshop. Guests often spend the free afternoon hours walking the trails or sitting by the water rather than doing anything structured — there's no pressure to fill the time.

What separates this from a standard yoga retreat is that it's a working spiritual community, not a venue rented out for the week. Residents live on site year-round, the Karma Yoga program runs continuously, and the retreat guests join an existing daily rhythm rather than creating one. The teaching lineage goes back to Swami Sivananda Radha, who founded the Ashram after training in India, and the current senior teachers — including Swami Lalitananda and Swami Samayananda — are part of that lineage. If you want a retreat where you're the only thing happening, this isn't it. If you want to drop into a place that's been doing this for sixty years, it is.

Accommodation is in the Ashram's own buildings — mostly private rooms with shared bathrooms, though a few rooms have private facilities. Meals are vegetarian and eaten communally, which means you sit with whoever else is on retreat that week, plus residents and Karma Yoga participants. People come alone more often than not, and the shared meals are where most of the social contact happens.

The retreat is held on a fixed schedule, so you'll know your start and end dates when you book. The cost covers accommodation, all meals, and the full program. It does not cover travel to the Ashram, which is about a 40-minute drive from Nelson, BC, or a longer trip from Vancouver or Calgary. Some guests drive; others fly into Castlegar or Nelson and arrange a shuttle.

What's included

- 5 days and 4 nights accommodation at Yasodhara Ashram - Three vegetarian meals daily - Daily yoga classes in the temple - Daily guided meditation and mantra sessions - Morning and afternoon workshops led by senior teachers - Evening programs including talks and group discussion - Access to the library, bookshop, and grounds - Use of the private dock and lake swimming area - Bedding and towels

What's not included

- Travel to and from the Ashram - Airport or town transfers - Massage and bodywork treatments - Books and items from the bookshop - Personal expenses - Travel insurance