Ayurveda, yoga and Vipassana all have living institutional homes in India. Programmes worth doing tend to be longer, plainer and less photogenic than resort marketing suggests.
Ayurveda in Kerala
Panchakarma is a multi-week clinical programme with prescribed diet, rest and supervised therapies — not a single spa treatment. The monsoon is traditionally considered the best season for it.
Kottakkal
Long-established Ayurvedic institution and hospital.
Kovalam
Coastal centres, many attached to clinics.
Palakkad
Inland clinics with residential programmes.
Yoga
Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
International Yoga Festival each March.
Mysuru, Karnataka
Home of the Ashtanga lineage.
Munger, Bihar
Bihar School of Yoga.
Meditation
Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri
Ten-day Vipassana courses, no charge.
Bodh Gaya, Bihar
Winter retreats at monasteries of several traditions.
Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh
Tibetan Buddhist teaching and retreats.
Auroville, Puducherry
Silent practice at the Matrimandir gardens.