Sivananda Ashram (Divine Life Society)

If Rishikesh became the world's yoga capital, this is where it started. Swami Sivananda founded the Divine Life Society here in 1936, and the lineage that carries his name spread from these buildings to studios on every continent. Day visitors are welcome to pay respects at his samadhi shrine, sit in the bhajan hall where devotional songs are sung, browse the library and join an open satsang; the ashram also keeps its own Ayurvedic pharmacy. Free, and noticeably quieter than the riverside ashrams. Shoulders and knees covered, and the calm worth matching.

The root of modern Sivananda yoga, open to respectful visitors and far calmer than the ghats