People gather for dinner at International Yoga Festival organised by Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.

Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India organizes the annual International Yoga Festival.

The International Yoga Festival was originally a creation of Uttar Pradesh Tourism, in the days when Rishikesh was still part of Uttar Pradesh. Held at Hotel Ganga Kinare in the first week of February, the Festival ran for many years and attracted a small number of participants. In 1999, the Government of Uttar Pradesh approached Parmarth Niketan Ashram to host the Festival at the ashram. Participants were still staying at the hotels, but their classes and programs were held at Parmarth. Pujya Swami Veda Bharatiji gave inspiring discourse and led mediations. Yogasanas were taught by Yogacharya Bharat Bhushanji and his team. The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department was led by Shri Ravindra Singh, Director General Tourism, Shri B.M. Vohra, Commissioner, Garhwal and Shri R.C. Pandey, Assistant Director, Tourism. What began with a handful of people in a hotel, studying under one or two yogacharyas has grown into one of the most renowned Festivals in the world, attracting several hundred participants from more than 30 countries across the globe to learn from dozens of yogacharyas in an innumerable variety of styles and forms.

This year Parmarth Niketan presents a truly International Yoga Festival grounded in the authentic origin of Yoga. People have practiced and learned from masters from the Traditional Yoga Lineages from India, as well as masters of International well-known yoga schools & styles. During this one-week Festival, people got the opportunity to participate in over 60 hours of Yoga classes from world-class Yoga teachers practicing multiple styles of Yoga including Kundalini Yoga, Power Vinyasa Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and Kriya Yoga.

The participants were also blessed with the presence, satsang and divine words of revered saints and spiritual