आश्रमāśrama · hermitage, place of effort
Life in an ashram, schedule, rules and what to expect
4 min read · Updated October 18, 2026 · sources checked October 18, 2026
In short
An ashram is a spiritual community organised around a teaching, often a guru and a lineage, where residents and guests follow a common routine: early rising, meditation, worship, study, service (sevā) and simple vegetarian meals at fixed times. The rules are published by each ashram: modest dress, no alcohol or tobacco, hours of silence. It is not a hotel with yoga.
The word
आश्रम (āśrama) comes from the root śram, which Monier-Williams glosses as "to make effort, exert one's self (esp. in performing acts of austerity)". An ashram is a place of effort on oneself. The dictionary gives two main senses: "a hermitage, the abode of ascetics, the cell of a hermit", and "a stage in the life of a Brāhman", of which there are four: the student (brahmacārin), the householder (gṛhastha), the forest-dweller (vānaprastha) and the renunciant (saṃnyāsin). When people speak of the "ashram system" or āśrama vyavasthā, they mean these four stages of life, not the buildings.
The hermitage is an old ideal. The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā already describes the yogi's small dwelling, the maṭhikā: a hut with a small door, no holes or cracks, neither too high nor too low, clean and free of insects, in a peaceful, well-governed land (1.12-1.13). Staying there, the yogi should practise "by the path taught by the guru" (1.14). Today's ashrams are larger communities, but the idea is the same: a protected place, a teacher, a discipline.
What a day looks like, in the ashrams' own words
Four ashrams publish their timetable or routine. We quote them as they are, without ranking; times change with the seasons and over the years, so check the ashram's site before you go.
| Time | Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh (Divine Life Society) | Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai |
|---|---|---|
| Before dawn | 5:00-6:00 invocations, 30 minutes of silent meditation, short talk | 5:30 ashram opens |
| Morning | 6:00-7:00 first worship (Om namaḥ śivāya and ārati) and an āsana-prāṇāyāma class listed "only for men" (no class on Sundays); 7:30-9:00 chanting | 6:45 chanting; 8:00 Vedic chanting before the shrine; 9:00 pūjā; 9:45 feeding of sādhus |
| Midday | 9:30 second worship; Sivananda Music Hall 1:00-3:00 (except Sundays) | 11:30 lunch; Mother's Shrine and Samadhi Hall closed 11:00-2:00 |
| Late afternoon | chanting and ārati from 4:30 (winter) or 5:00 (summer); bhajans, kīrtan and Ganga ārati 5:15-6:00 in winter, 5:45-6:30 in summer | 4:00 reading in Tamil, 4:30 in English; 5:00 Vedic chanting and pūjā |
| Evening | 7:30-9:30 satsang: talks, kīrtan and bhajans | 6:00 Tamil chanting (Monday to Saturday); 7:00 dinner; 8:30 ashram closes |
Swami Sivananda also wrote a "Daily Routine for Visitors to the Ashram", reproduced on the Divine Life Society's site. It runs from japa and meditation at 5 am to kīrtan until 10 pm, with a morning walk, half an hour of āsanas and prāṇāyāma, a quarter of an hour of silence (mauna), mantra writing, study of the Gita, three hours of religious study, worship and kīrtan in the morning, and three hours of niṣkāmya sevā, selfless service, in the afternoon. Read it before you go: it tells you what kind of stay the founder had in mind.
At the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, the published routine is described rather than timed: early rising and early sleeping, a hatha yoga class taught by resident sannyasins before breakfast, karma yoga through the day, a mantra chant at the end of the morning, yoga nidra after lunch, and an evening of mantra chanting, bhajan and kīrtan. Meals, morning cleaning, karma yoga and the evening sādhanā are, the school writes, "common to everyone staying in the ashram whether students, guests or residents".
The rules they publish
| Ashram | Published rules (summary of the official page) |
|---|---|
| Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh | Open to pilgrims "here to devote themselves to sadhana, meditation, seva and satsang"; clothing covering shoulders, midriff and calves, white for yoga students; no smoking, intoxicants, drugs, eggs or non-vegetarian food, onion and garlic best avoided; everyone joins the Ganga ārati at sunset; silence appreciated from 10 pm to 6 am; donations only to the office, with a receipt |
| Bihar School of Yoga, Munger | Shared rooms, men and women housed separately; mobile phones not permitted and no sockets in rooms; no photography or recording; no internet; guests stay inside the ashram for their whole stay; simple vegetarian meals at fixed times, no special diets; good physical and mental health required |
| Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai | Clothing that "completely covers the knees and shoulders"; rooms "strictly reserved for devotees of Sri Bhagavan", booked online only, not by phone or on arrival; foreign nationals upload passport and visa details; punctuality at meals requested |
| Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh | Visitors "encouraged to attend as many of the programmes as possible"; see our Rishikesh ashrams page for what the Divine Life Society publishes about staying |
Three points come back from one page to the next: modest dress, simple vegetarian food (Parmarth also bans alcohol, tobacco and drugs in writing), and a shared routine that guests are expected to follow. Indian law adds one more: every host must register foreign guests with the immigration authorities (Form C), so a serious ashram will ask for your passport and visa.
Sevā, the heart of the day
The Rishikesh and Munger routines set aside hours for work done for the community, such as the morning cleaning. This is sevā, service offered without seeking reward, which Swami Sivananda's routine sets at three hours a day and which the Bihar School calls karma yoga. It is not cheap labour, it is the practice: the sevā page explains its roots in the Gita.
Gandhi's ashrams
The word also has a political history. Gandhi lived from 1917 to 1930 at the Satyagraha Ashram, on the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, whose residents kept a set of common observances. From Yeravda prison in 1930 he wrote them a weekly letter on each "Ashram observance", collected in From Yeravda Mandir: truth, ahiṃsā, brahmacarya, control of the palate, non-stealing, non-possession, fearlessness, removal of untouchability, bread labour, tolerance, humility and swadeshi. Several are Patañjali's yamas applied to community life; the ahiṃsā page quotes his chapter on non-harming.
Preparing for a stay
- Read the ashram's own rules and timetable on its official site, and keep a copy.
- Ask in writing about the price or donation, what it includes, and the refund policy. Pay only to the office.
- Pack for the rules: loose clothes covering shoulders and knees (white if you will attend yoga classes at Parmarth), a shawl for the early morning, an alarm clock if phones are restricted.
- Start the rhythm at home a week before: wake at the same early hour, sit for twenty minutes, eat simply. The morning yoga routine helps.
- Learn the basics of what you will hear: Om, the Ganga aarti, a simple pūjā.
- Keep your discernment. Pressure to pay quickly, secrecy or promises of powers are reasons to leave, whatever the reputation of the place; see guru and paramparā.
The book The Morning Sadhana gives three ready-to-follow morning practices of 20, 45 and 90 minutes, including the ashram-length one, so you arrive already used to the dawn.
Questions people ask
What does ashram mean?
The Sanskrit āśrama comes from the root śram, to exert oneself, especially in austerity. Monier-Williams gives 'a hermitage, the abode of ascetics' and also 'a stage in the life of a Brāhman': student, householder, forest-dweller, renunciant.
What is an ashram called in English?
Hermitage or retreat is the closest English word, but 'ashram' is now used as such. Today it means a spiritual community or centre where people live and practise together under a common discipline.
What is the daily schedule in an ashram?
It varies, but the published timetables share a pattern: rising before dawn, meditation or chanting around 5 am, worship and a yoga class in the morning, service and study during the day, ārati at dusk, satsang or kirtan in the evening and early sleep. This page compares four of them.
Can I stay in an ashram for free?
Rarely entirely. Some ashrams ask for a donation, others have fixed rates, and some reserve rooms for devotees of their teacher. Parmarth Niketan asks guests to 'insist on a receipt' for any donation. Ask the ashram's office directly and pay only through it.
Can foreigners stay in an ashram in India?
Many ashrams receive foreign guests. Indian law requires accommodators to register foreigners, so expect to give your passport and visa details; Sri Ramanasramam, for example, asks foreign nationals to upload them when booking online.
Want to go and practise yoga there?
Tell us where, when and how you practise. Clément, who lives in Rishikesh, reads every request and answers you personally. No automated email, no commission, no promise of a price or a partner.
Sources
- Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), entries āśrama and śram, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries checked October 18, 2026
- Ashram Activities, daily programme of the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh — The Divine Life Society (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- Daily Routine for Visitors to the Ashram, by Swami Sivananda — The Divine Life Society (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- Ashram Guidelines — Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- Visiting Bihar School of Yoga: ashram lifestyle and daily routine, Ganga Darshan, Munger (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- Activities, daily schedule — Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- Accommodation — Sri Ramanasramam (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- Visiting Us, proper clothing — Sri Ramanasramam (official site) checked October 18, 2026
- M. K. Gandhi, From Yeravda Mandir: Ashram Observances, preface (1932), mkgandhi.org checked October 18, 2026
- Sabarmati Ashram, Wikipedia (Satyagraha Ashram, Ahmedabad, Gandhi's residence 1917-1930) checked October 18, 2026
- Svātmārāma, Haṭhayogapradīpikā, Sanskrit text (GRETIL), verses 1.12-1.14 checked October 18, 2026
- Form C for accommodators of foreigners — Bureau of Immigration, Government of India checked October 18, 2026