Silence is golden

Yoga is not just about getting into different postures, it also has a spiritual side of inner exploration via meditation. In the West, meditation became popular in the 1960s when The Beatles visited Rishikesh, located in the foothills of the Himalayas by the River Ganges in northern India, to master the art of inner contemplation.

Rishikesh remains a major centre for learning about meditation with a number of ashrams and schools focusing on the two main types of contemplation from the Buddhist tradition: Vipassana, which is concerned with living in the moment and being aware of what is happening as it happens around you and Samatha, which focuses on tranquility and concentrating on one thing at a time to the exclusion of all others.

The Vedansha Institute of Vedic Science in Rishikesh has an eight-day Vipassana meditation course with accommodation and meals provided on site. Further up in the Himalayas, the Tushita Meditation Centre is a perfect place for some peaceful contemplation in the crisp mountain air. Tushita offers two-day introductory courses. Visitors are also expected to help out with keeping the centre clean via Karma Yoga, a form of community service.

Total digital detoxes, in the form of silent retreats, are becoming increasingly popular. On these retreats the participants keep total silence and are not allowed to use their devices for the duration of the meditation course. Shreyas, an upmarket retreat located in a tranquil garden setting near the southern Indian city of Bangalore, has a seven-day silent meditation package that has a focus on introspection and clearing the mind from external distractions.