Living Bhakti
Shamanic Yoga Institute returns
to the Motherland of Yoga
March 17 - 27, 2027
Haridwar, India
Spend ten days at Śri Santosh Puri Ashram, a journey that will take you to the roots of yoga. Housed on the banks of the Ganga within a Shaivite lineage, we immerse in the rhythm of ashram life—practices that open the heart through devotion and presence.
Join Dr. Christine Selda and Mandakini Puri Rox for ten days of pilgrimage — a partnership between the Shamanic Yoga Institute and the ashram that has been deepening for many years, and now opens to you.
Two teachers, two lineages, meeting on the banks of the Ganga to receive you into ten days of tending, with them, the fire of bhakti.
What is Bhakti
Bhakti is one of the three great paths of yoga described in the Bhagavad Gita — alongside Karma Yoga (the path of selfless action) and Jñāna Yoga (the path of knowledge). Where Karma yokes the practitioner to right action, and Jñāna to right understanding, Bhakti yokes the heart to the sacred through devotion. The word itself comes from the Sanskrit root bhaj — to share, to partake, to belong to — and this is what devotion asks of us: to belong, wholly, to something greater than the small self.
Bhakti is what happens when the heart, over time, learns to turn again and again toward what it loves — until the turning itself becomes the practice.
Śri Santosh Puri Ashram is a place where bhakti is lived, not taught in theory. The ashram’s lineage traces back through the Dashanami Sannyasa Holy Order established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, and further still through the sanyasi traditions of Sada Shiva, Narayana, and Dattatreya. That same lineage lives forward today in the daily life of the ashram: in the dhuni fire kept alive across generations, in the Vedic chanting at dawn, in the Ayurvedic cooking, the kirtan, the karma yoga, and the presence of Santosh Puri Maharaj and Narvada Puri Mataji’s children — Ganga Puri, Mandakini Puri, and Alaknanda Puri — who carry the practice forward each day.
Śri Santosh Puri Ashram
Santosh Puri Ashram sits 18 km from Rishikesh and 6 km from Haridwar, in the village of Haripur Kalan, its back wall touching the Rajaji National Reserve. From within the cool, green shade of the grounds, you can hear chanting drifting in from neighbouring ashrams — or nothing at all, just the whisper of river-breezes through the trees. A rare quiet in a country full of beautiful sound.
Guests stay in a south-facing dorm block with balconies that look out over the flower and vegetable gardens. The grounds hold a dhuni, a yajnashala, samadhi temples, two yoga halls, a music and arts hall, courtyards and rooftop decks — each space carrying its own quiet power. With the forested banks of the Ganga as the ashram’s backyard, it is easy to settle into sadhana.
The ashram was founded by Santosh Puri Maharaj and Narvada Puri Mataji, whose lineage continues today through their children and the community of devotees who keep its doors open and its fires lit. To stay there is to be a guest in a real home — and in a real practice.
DAILY RHYTHM AT SANTOSH PURI
The ashram day is a rhythm, not a schedule. Times shift with the season, the ceremony, the weather. What follows is the shape of a typical day of living your practice.
Before dawn · Sunrise Dhuni Puja, Vedic chanting, chai
Morning · Hatha yoga practice
Late morning · Ayurvedic breakfast, karma yoga
Midday · Ayurvedic lunch, rest
Afternoon · Self-study, satsang on the Bhagavad Gita, self-guided meditation
Late afternoon · Second practice, yantra creation, or excursion
Evening · Kirtan and Dhuni Puja, Ayurvedic dinner
Night · Rest
Our excursions will include walks to the Ganga and surrounding temples, and day trips to Haridwar and Rishikesh.
On March 22, we attend Holi — the spring festival of colour, joy, and the triumph of devotion. Rooted in the bhakti tradition, Holi is India making bhakti visible: song, colour, laughter, and love spilling into the streets.
Your Teachers
Mandakini Puri Rox was born and raised at Śri Santosh Puri Ashram on the banks of Ma Ganga, where she continues to live and serve today. Rooted in the traditional sanyasi lineage of her parents and gurus, Santosh Puri Maharaj and Narvada Puri Mataji, she was immersed from childhood in a life of Karma Yoga, devotion, service, and spiritual practice. Her mother, Narvada Puri Mataji, has been her main yoga teacher, and this direct transmission has remained the deepest foundation of her path.
A dedicated practitioner and natural teacher from a young age, Mandakini began leading study groups and teaching yoga while still in her teens. She is a Yoga Acharya and holds Master’s degrees in Yogic Science and Human Excellence. She has also studied yantra painting, bringing together practical wisdom, creativity, and traditional yogic knowledge.
For over twenty years, Mandakini has been teaching and managing programs at YogAnga Retreat, where she shares hatha yoga, pranayama, Ayurvedic cooking, yantra painting, homa fire practices, and kirtan. Her teaching is deeply grounded in the living tradition of the ashram and in a lifelong spirit of service, simplicity, and devotion.
In 2013, Mandakini was blessed with a son, Rudraksh. She finds grounding in motherhood and in cultivating the qualities of care, compassion, and self-sacrifice, which continue to deepen her spiritual life and service.
Dr. Christine Selda is the founder of the Shamanic Yoga Institute and a long-time practitioner and teacher of yoga, shamanism, and the expressive arts. She has taken the bodhisattva vow — the commitment to walk with others toward their own liberation. Her work weaves the technologies of yoga, ceremony, and arts-based inquiry into containers that move practitioners through real transformation.
The Shamanic Yoga Institute’s relationship with Śri Santosh Puri Ashram reaches back to 2011, and continues today through annual support for the ashram’s work. In 2022, Christine made her own first pilgrimage to the ashram alongside her son, Jasper, and stayed within its rhythms as a guest of the family. This 2027 retreat marks the third teaching collaboration between Christine and Mandakini — following a 2024 journey with an SYI cohort to India, and Mandakini’s 2026 co-facilitation of the Shamanic Yoga Teacher Training on Gambier Island. The partnership moves in both directions, and now opens its door to you.
From those who have walked before
“I travelled to India for the first time with Christine and it was the most transformative, expansive and amazing trip I have ever been on. Wild India gave me exactly what I needed and challenged me in exactly how I needed to grow. I felt safe, comfortable, and cared for the entire time. The Santosh Puri Ashram was the perfect place to stay and Mandakini and the Puri siblings are true examples of living yoga.”
— Kayla C., India Pilgrimage Participant 2024
“I cannot describe in words how beautiful this journey was. The energy of joining points on our yantra. To follow the Ganga. Devotion. Our teachers. The doctor who hiked alongside us. The temples. I can’t do this justice. I am in awe. I’ve been home for three weeks and I’m still speechless with gratitude.”
— Gillian M., India Pilgrimage Participant 2024
“Going to India was one of the most empowering, life-shifting experiences of my life. There is so much beauty among the chaos, and at the same time serenity of learning to be in the moment.”
— Stacy B., India Pilgrimage Participant 2024
Your retreat includes
- Ten nights at Śri Santosh Puri Ashram
- All Ayurvedic meals
- Full daily programming and facilitation
- Private Ayurvedic consultation with Gangotri, plus a massage
- Bhagavad Gita satsang
- A yantra creation
- Temple excursions, including Haridwar and Rishikesh
- Preparations and attendance at Holi Festival 2027
- Airport transfers to and from Dehradun
- Ground transport for all group day trips
Not included
International flights, Indian visa, travel insurance, personal expenses.
Investment
$3850 CAD
A $1,000 CAD deposit secures your space.
Questions?
This place in India has our hearts. We would love to share it with you.
If you need any questions answered before you commit, let’s connect.
Immerse yourself in ashram life.