Retreats

Check-in/Check-out: Check-in time is after 3:00 pm. Checkout time is before 11:00 am. Check-in/out at reception in the Main Lodge. When checking out please clean your room of litter as best as possible then bring your used bed sheets and towel to reception and retrieve a clean set.

Conservation and recycling: Please conserve water while bathing and washing. Report any leaking taps and toilets to reception. Save electricity by turning off lights and electrical items when not in use. Be aware of how much paper products you use. Used batteries can be left at reception. Kindly use the recycling bins found in the common areas. Any used items of clothing can be donated at reception.

Remember: “Every action matters” when consciously living in yoga.

Dress code: Please cover shoulders, upper arms, midriff and legs at all times, including during asana classes and especially temple visits.

Fire hazards: Please do not burn candles, incense, mosquito coils, etc. in your room, dormitory or tent.

Food: We serve a vegetarian, nourishing and balanced diet with proteins, carbohydrates, fruits and plenty of local vegetables. Snacks are available at our Health Hut during high season. We do not serve meat, fish, eggs, garlic or onions. Alcohol, tobacco and drugs are prohibited.

Hygiene: Please leave the premises, rooms and bathrooms cleaner than when you arrived. For hygiene reasons, please leave your Ashram pillows, blankets and sheets in your room.

Karma Yoga: The Ashram is run by volunteer staff members. Selfless service (karma yoga or seva) is an essential part of the Ashram experience. Maintaining a positive spiritual atmosphere requires participation from all the guests and staff. In addition to staff duties, we ask all students to contribute one hour each day to help upkeep the Ashram. A small task can make a big difference. Kindly meet the karma yoga coordinator at reception at 10:45 am, after morning meal, to arrange your assignment.

Laundry: Coin-operated laundry facilities are located in the ground level of the Registrations building and can be used during daytime hours. Quarters and dollar coins are required ($1.50). The wash cycle lasts about 30 minutes, and the dry cycle, 60 minutes.

Lights out: Kindly respect the silent time after evening satsang on your way to your room. Please turn off all lights and observe silence by 10:30 pm to ensure everyone gets adequate rest.

Massages: We offer a variety of massages yearround (Deep Tissue, Swedish and Thai). Appointments for these services can be made at reception. Ayurveda consultations with our doctor, treatments and massages are available at the Ayurveda Clinic during high season.

Personal Belongings: A safety deposit facility is available for your valuables and cell phone. Ask reception. The Ashram cannot accept responsibility for anyone’s personal belongings. Consider labelling your yoga mat, bags, shoes and other items left in common areas.

Phone calls: Payphones can be found on the north entrance of the Registrations building and downstairs in the Lodge. Phone cards are available in the Boutique.

Cell phones: To ensure a full Ashram experience, we ask that all cell phones are set to silent mode or are turned off. Making or receiving phone calls or text messages can distract a yogi and their friends from their yoga practice. The Boutique has alarm clocks, but you can also let the Ashram bell guide you through the day.

Photography: To ensure people’s privacy during their stay, photography or video recording is not permitted during satsang, pujas, or asana classes. See the Ashram Director if you have any questions.

Punctuality: For everyone’s benefit, kindly arrive to classes, events and satsangs on time or even a little early so you can settle. Leaving your room at the 10-minute bell will help you arrive on time. Punctuality promotes peace for all participants.

Note: The doors are locked at the start of the meditation sessions and opened once chanting begins.

Mail: You can leave any outgoing mail at reception. If you are expecting any mail, check with reception.

Relationships: Kindly restrain expressions of affection in public, such as kissing and hugging.

Women’s and men’s dorms: Kindly respect the gender privacy of these dorms. Couples are advised to observe celibacy as part of the spiritual discipline.

Sauna and swimming pool: A wood-fired dry sauna is available yearround. An outdoor pool is open during the summer when the lifeguard is on duty. Kindly wear discrete swimming clothes in the sauna and pool. Bring an extra towel to sit on.

Shoes: Please remove your shoes and place them on the shoe racks when entering any of the buildings.

Schedule: It is expected that all students attend all satsangs, lectures and asana classes. To help upkeep the Ashram, we ask that all students contribute one hour of karma yoga each day.

Silence: To maintain the tranquil setting of an Ashram, we aim to observe silence before the morning and evening satsangs and especially at mealtimes. Maintaining silence conserves energy and promotes a peaceful environment. To maintain the energy received during evening satsang, try to observe silence for the remainder of the night.

Spiritual respect: Kindly maintain a respectful attitude when near an altar, satsang hall or temple. When sitting, sit cross-legged or in a chair. Kindly refrain from pointing your feet towards any altar, deities or teachers during satsang and lectures. Kindly do your best to remain in the satsang hall for the entire satsang.

Staff: Staff members are willing and able to answer any of your questions. Feel free to go to them with your questions. They will most often be wearing yellow and white.

Suggestions, comments and special requests: If you have any suggestions, comments or special requests, feel free to write them down with your name and drop them into the suggestions box at reception. Feel free to mention any immediate concern to a staff member.

Temples: The many Ashram temples, large and small, are available for visiting and silent meditation during your free time. You are welcome to visit the Krishna Temple, the Master’s Statues near the dorms and the Sivananda Temple on the pond for silent contemplation or meditation. At the top of the hill is the Subramanya-Ayyappa and Mariamman Temple, and inside these temples are more temples. Kindly enter the temple of your choice in silence. Visit each temple with grace and awareness. You are welcome to prostrate in front of each murti, then sit to feel the resonance of the temple. There are donation boxes inside the Subramanya-Ayyappa and Krishna temples. Feel free to donate to help the maintenance of these temples. Kindly leave food and drink outside of any temple area.

Water: The tap water is city water. We also offer pure artesian well water for drinking. Bring your own water bottles and fill them at the pump located in the middle of the Ashram, near the first step of the Peace Trail. To prevent any spreading of bacteria, please keep your bottle away from the tap or hose when filling in order to avoid contact. If drinking from a hose please keep mouth away from the end of the hose.

Physical harassment: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres of Canada disapprove of and condemn any form of harassment directed at guests, staff or visitors. Specifically, no harassment, proposals or innuendos with a sexual connotation will be tolerated during any program or activity organized by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres of Canada. Guests participating in such programs are accordingly made aware of this policy and invited to apply it in their personal behavior whilst on our premises. Any guest who thinks she or he may be the victim of unsolicited advances or any other form of sexual harassment is asked to notify a Swami or the Director immediately in order for corrective action to be undertaken without delay. Complaints made to a Swami or Director will be treated confidentially, and the alleged violator or any third party will not be advised of the complainant’s identity without the latter’s consent.