At Yoga Teacher Training Dharamshala, locals and visitors alike aim to preserve the pristine nature here and there are many charities such as ‘The Waste Warriors’ where you can volunteer and help out. Besides trekking and relaxing drinking chai, Bhagsu has many interesting courses and famous yoga or meditation schools to offer as well as courses in Reiki, dancing, singing and learning traditional Indian instruments. Most worthy to mention is the world famous Vipasana center ‘Tushita’ located 20 minutes’ walk through the pine trees to Dharamkok village. A wonderful retreat in nature, the residents here hold daily drop in meditations as well as longer retreats and film screenings on the weekends. As well as courses there are many therapy centers around the area. Most famous are the Ayurveda clinics such as Siby Ayurveda. Many people travel half way around the world in search of treatment in the form of the ancient Indian Ayurveda medicine, which is a holistic approach to medicine treating the whole person rather than any specific symptom. It is possible to find diagnosis with treatment, general wellbeing massage and PanchaKarma cleansing.

During our Yoga Teacher Training Dharamshala courses we aim to immerse our students in the culture and beauty of the area. We take students on a one day site seeing tour. On this wonderful outing we visit three temples and a monastery stopping for lunch at a local restaurant.

The first temple we visit on Yoga Teacher Training Dharamshala is Aghanjar Mahadev Temple, where Guru Mahi himself began his study on the yogic path. It is a Shiva temple dedicated to Lord Shiva the great blue yogi Hindu God. The atmosphere here is both beautiful and serene. Even the air carries a mystical freshness. It is a place where you can witness ‘babas’ carrying out daily rituals and take a walk to the sacred river which is said to have healing properties.

The second is place of interest is Norbulingka Institute a Tibetan institute and temple set up to educate Tibetans on a scholarship scheme in the fine arts and crafts on ancient Tibet. They aim to both help lift the education of Tibetans as well as keep their culture alive. Here you can watch traditional Tibetan art being created. Wonderfully intricate ‘Tanka’ paintings painted with real gold embellishment, metal sculptures and wooden carvings are all painstakingly crafted by hand. A guide will accompany you around the tranquil setting and explain the meanings and processes behind the art work.

The final stop on Yoga Teacher Training Dharamshala is the Gyuto Monastery a university for monks. The temple itself is a yellow and golden beacon that stands out against a backdrop of snow topped mountains. It really is a sight to behold. At certain times of the day the yellow hatted monks chant mantras from scriptures. The vibrations and energy in the air is something worth witnessing at least once in a lifetime. It is also possible to witness the monks performing their other duties like the creation of sand mandalas which are so detailed and patiently created only to be ritualistically dismantled on completion commenting on non- attachment and impermanence.