Dharmalaya Institute

Dharmalaya Institute Sustainable & compassionate living in the Himalayas & beyond. http://dharmalaya.in/ Through hands-on service learning, we gain experience and skill.

Dharmalaya Institute is an Indian educational and charitable organisation devoted to empowering compassionate changemakers, with a practical focus on solutions for sustainable thriving and the adaptation of traditional wisdom for modern needs. Through contemplative practice, we understand ourselves and the ways of nature. Building on these foundations, we forge compelling possibilities for compassionate living.

14/12/2025

🗓️ 23rd to 31st December
Experience Ananda Retreat
Step into a space where simplicity meets serenity.

A journey to slow down, reconnect, and rediscover yourself.






11/12/2025

23rd to 31st December - Experience Ananda Retreat
Step into a space where simplicity meets serenity.
A journey to slow down, reconnect, and rediscover yourself. ✨




🌿 Ananda: Experience the bliss of Classical Hatha Yoga🗓 23rd Dec ’25 - 31st Dec ’25🌟Further details and link to apply in...
27/11/2025

🌿 Ananda: Experience the bliss of Classical Hatha Yoga

🗓 23rd Dec ’25 - 31st Dec ’25

🌟Further details and link to apply in bio

Join us for a 9-day year-end yoga retreat at Dharmalaya. This is an invitation to slow down, reconnect and realign with the natural rhythms of life. Guided by classical Isha Hatha Yoga practices and mindful, ecological living, you’ll deepen inner balance while engaging with the land, forest and community. Set in the serene Himalayan foothills, the days flow between stillness and activity, solitude and togetherness; a gentle, grounding and transformative experience.

🌿Foundations of Natural Design & Contemplative Architecture🗓 13th Jan ’26 - 27th Feb ’26🌟Further details and link to app...
23/11/2025

🌿Foundations of Natural Design & Contemplative Architecture
🗓 13th Jan ’26 - 27th Feb ’26
🌟Further details and link to apply in bio

Join us for an immersive residential retreat in the Himalayas that introduces the craft of designing and dwelling with nature. This workshop provides participants with a deep, hands-on introduction to natural building, traditional craft, sustainable design and mindful living.

*Very limited spaces available*

Reimagining Creativity Retreat : Making Writing, Photography & Art Accessible ✨🌈1 week residential retreat, 25th-31st ...
02/08/2025

Reimagining Creativity Retreat : Making Writing, Photography & Art Accessible ✨🌈
1 week residential retreat, 25th-31st August

Join writer and photographer Rishabh Khaneja for a wonderful, immersive exploration of how creativity can become a tool to slow down, notice the world more deeply, and reflect on your inner landscape.

Through writing, photography, and playful expression, we’ll explore presence, memory, solitude, and everyday wonder.

This retreat is about reconnecting with creativity as a way of being, not performing. No experience is required. Just a willingness to pause, notice, and express.

Limited spaces available - for more details, check the link in our bio or visit dharmalaya.in 🌸

Join us on 18th August for wonderful week of Earthen Building 🧱🤍In this introductory intensive workshop, participants wi...
26/07/2025

Join us on 18th August for wonderful week of Earthen Building 🧱🤍

In this introductory intensive workshop, participants will learn the foundational skills of eco-friendly earthen building unique to the Kangra region.

We’ll explore the process of adobe brick making, plastering and other vernacular techniques, all whilst surrounded by the beauty of the Himalayan foothills ⛰🙏

Expect rain, mud and a lot of joy! 🌈

Details in bio 🌱

Our friends .official and will be hosting Interconnected Roots at Dharmalaya this October 🌿This special gathering invit...
26/07/2025

Our friends .official and will be hosting Interconnected Roots at Dharmalaya this October 🌿

This special gathering invites participants to explore the transformative power of theatre and imagination, and to engage in meaningful practices that help us remember our deep interconnection with the web of life.

We’re grateful to facilitators Héctor Aristizábal and Arundhati Samudra for choosing to host this event at Dharmalaya. Both of these fascinating souls bring decades of rich experience and deep dedication to supporting others in healing and transformation through the arts, activism, and other embodied modalities.

For more info, check the link in our bio 🤍🌿

🌿Permaculture: Natural Design for Sustainable Living🌿17th March - 31st May ’25✨We are beyond excited to share this new i...
16/02/2025

🌿Permaculture: Natural Design for Sustainable Living🌿
17th March - 31st May ’25

✨We are beyond excited to share this new immersive 11-week residential course with you all! This will be a deep dive into natural design for sustainable living, explored through the lens of Permaculture principles and practices.

✨Permaculture is a design practice that seeks to understand and work with the natural patterns that shape landscapes and the activities of living beings within them, in all their diversity.

✨This course will be led by Robyn Hewson, who brings several years of hands-on experience in permaculture, soil health, and sustainable farming systems from around the world. Robyn’s embodied approach to to permaculture is rooted in a deep sense of care and reverence for this practice and we are very grateful to have her sharing her wisdom at Dharmalaya. 🙏

Together, we will explore:�
• Understanding ourselves in relation to the whole�
• Our role as compassionate leaders and changemakers�
• Observation of nature inside and out�
• Foundational principles and concepts of Permaculture�
• Ecosystem functions�
• Design thinking�
• Learning through doing�
• Building a Better World

✨At Dharmalaya, our approach to education is rooted in service-based, experiential learning, with an emphasis on both inner and outer sustainability. This holistic course offers the opportunity not only to learn from experienced facilitators but also to put your newfound understanding into practice—helping shape the future of Dharmalaya’s beautiful eco-campus in a deeply meaningful way. 💚

For more details >>>>> https://dharmalaya.in/events/2025/permaculture-design-course-india-himalayas-march-may

✨🌿Building A Better World🌿✨What a spectacular 3 weeks spent immersing ourselves in what it truly means to be a compassio...
03/01/2025

✨🌿Building A Better World🌿✨

What a spectacular 3 weeks spent immersing ourselves in what it truly means to be a compassionate change-maker! Lovingly supported by a community committed to serving others and growing together, we courageously embarked on a journey of opening the heart and of transformation. 🤍🧡

Through engaging in enlightening discussions and hands-on activities, we explored in depth the meaning of both inner and outer sustainability, contemplating how to align our inner world with our outer actions for the benefit of others.🤍🧡

Inspiring talks were interwoven with service learning, deep reflection, and meditation. Daily yoga practices and nourishing, abundant meals nurtured our bodies, while doggy cuddles, sunsets and lasting friendships warmed our hearts. 🤍🧡

Housed in beautiful mud buildings, nestled in the lap of nature, we gained a meaningful and experiential understanding of compassion in action, moving us all toward building a better world. 🤍🧡

Would you be interesting in joining this course next time? Let us know! ✨

✨A Voyage through Contemplative Geometry 🗓️30th Nov ’24 - 1st Feb’25We are happy to announce that we have a very specia...
16/11/2024

✨A Voyage through Contemplative Geometry
🗓️30th Nov ’24 - 1st Feb’25

We are happy to announce that we have a very special course offering suitable to friends afar! This online series starts soon, head on to our website for details and registration!

Join us for a soulful ten-week series exploring pattern, proportion and harmony, and our deep relation with them. Delight in the discovery of beauty through patterns of order that underly all the universe, as we can observe it in the whole of nature and in ourselves.
Looking for a sense of beauty and clarity in your life? Journey through an introduction to the symbolic language of numbers and shapes and let nature be your guide.

This course is open to all seeking a contemplative container where head, heart and hand meet through philosophy, geometry, and introspection.

*Starting soon*
👉🏾 Details and registration via our website

APRIL WORKSHOP ⭐️/// Contemplative Carpentry 2: Slate Roofing Workshop./// Monday, 22 April 10:00 - Saturday, 4 May 16:0...
03/03/2024

APRIL WORKSHOP ⭐️

/// Contemplative Carpentry 2: Slate Roofing Workshop.

/// Monday, 22 April 10:00 - Saturday, 4 May 16:00

A two-week immersive residential workshop aimed to explore carpentry at the intersection of contemplative practice, craft and sustainability. The programme is structured as a two-week training workshop (with the possibility to stay on after the workshop as a volunteer).

The practical focus will be hands-on work doing roofing with slate, a natural material used traditionally in this region of the Himalayas. The workshop will be supported by a healthy lifestyle with time for daily contemplative practice (e.g. yoga and meditation), providing precious opportunities to work with the connection between body, awareness and breath, and to improve our focus and patience, bringing us closer to finding the harmony between restfulness and productivity.

VOLUNTEERING 💛🪴🏔️Wouldn’t it be ideal if we also were able to learn and grow while we serve?This is the idea behind what...
22/02/2024

VOLUNTEERING 💛🪴🏔️

Wouldn’t it be ideal if we also were able to learn and grow while we serve?

This is the idea behind what we call ‘contemplative service learning’, which means learning by doing something meaningful and useful to others, and reflecting on the experience so that we get the most out of it for our own evolution.

Dharmalaya Institute provides several kinds of opportunities for sincere volunteers to do meaningful service, most of which include a service-learning component.

Today we extend our deepest gratitude to each and every volunteer who has create magic at Dharmalaya.

Address

Bir-Sansaal Road, Ghornala Village
Bir
176077

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 12:30pm

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