Reserve your place
Hold your room at Sharanam.
Twenty places only, held on a first-come basis. Share a few details and our Dubai team will be in touch personally to confirm your room and answer anything you need.
- 29 November – 5 December 2026 · Dharamshala, India
- From AED 6,250 per person · all-inclusive
- A short flight from Dubai to the Himalaya
- Every session led by Sumit Manav
The meaning of the name
A dharamshala is a shelter — the rest-house where a pilgrim pauses on a long road. Sharanam is that same word for refuge, spoken in the Himalaya where it has always belonged.
For seven days you will not travel to a place of rest. A short flight from Dubai, yet a world away, you will learn to build one within — a refuge you carry home long after the snow has melted from the Dhauladhar. This is the quiet turning-inward the yogis call pratyahara, taught the way late autumn teaches it: as the light shortens and the mountains withdraw into stillness.
A rare convergence you can only meet here, in early December.
i.
The season turns inward
The year folds into winter. The peaks withdraw under their first snow and nature itself enters pratyahara. The landscape is doing the practice with you — there is no better moment to learn to rest.
ii.
Classical Himalayan yoga
Sunrise sadhana, pranayama, deep meditation and yoga nidra, drawn from the classical Himalayan lineage and woven around Patanjali’s eight limbs — taught by Sumit Manav in the mountains the practice came from.
iii.
The Buddhist heart of Dharamshala
A full day among the monasteries of McLeod Ganj — the Tsuglagkhang complex, Namgyal Monastery and Norbulingka — with the chance to sit in living Tibetan meditation. Two paths to stillness, one valley.
Sumit Manav
Founder & Master Teacher · E-RYT 500 · 25 years of teaching
For twenty-five years, Sumit has taught in the classical Himalayan lineage — guiding practitioners from first breath to teacher, across Dubai, the UK and the mountains of India. His teaching blends classical yoga, Ayurveda and modern understanding of the nervous system into something both deeply traditional and quietly practical.
At Sharanam he teaches every session himself: each sunrise practice, every pranayama and meditation, the opening and closing ceremonies. A small group, one guide, the whole arc held by a single steady hand — the way a retreat is meant to be.
— Sumit Manav
A path that descends gently inward.
Each day balances practice, exploration and deep rest — moving outward into the mountains and the monasteries, then home again to stillness. Mornings open on the breath; evenings close in silence.
Arrive · Exhale · Begin
Grounding & the Opening of the Refuge
Strength · Devotion · Nature
Sunrise Sadhana & the Sacred Hike
Expand outward · Return inward
The Buddhist Heart — Dharamshala & McLeod Ganj
Step beyond comfort
Courage & the Open Sky — Bir Billing
Cleanse · Soften · Receive
The Water Element & the Fire by Night
Integration · Completion
Gathering the Refuge Within
Carry the practice home
The Closing Blessing
Rakkh Resort, Dharamshala — in the lap of the Dhauladhar.
A serene mountain resort wrapped in pine forest and terraced fields in the Kangra Valley, a short journey from Dharamshala. Quiet, warm, and built to disappear into the landscape — exactly the kind of shelter the week is named for.
What's included in your retreat.
All-inclusive
- Six nights at Rakkh Resort, en-suite with mountain views
- All sattvic meals at the resort — breakfast, lunch, dinner & mountain teas
- Every yoga, pranayama, meditation & breathwork session with Sumit Manav
- Opening & closing ceremonies, Yoga Nidra and an evening of sound healing
- Full-day Dharamshala & McLeod Ganj excursion with monastery visits
- Sidh Baba temple hike, spring-water immersion & bonfire evening
- Tandem paragliding at Bir Billing (weather permitting)
- All excursion entrance fees & in-resort experiences
- Return
Not included
- International & domestic flights to Kangra (DHM)
- Lunch at a local restaurant on the excursion day
- Travel insurance (required for all guests)
- Indian visa, where applicable
- Optional spa treatments
- Personal expenses, gratuities & anything of a personal nature
Retreat investment
One price. Everything inside.
All meals, all teaching, all experiences and your transfers — held together for a single, intimate group of no more than twenty. Reserve early to secure the early-bird rate.
Early Bird
Single Occupancy
- Six nights at Rakkh Resort
- All meals, sessions & excursions
- Airport transfers included
- Complete privacy & quiet to retreat fully
Early Bird
Shared · double occupancy
- Six nights at Rakkh Resort
- All meals, sessions & excursions
- Airport transfers included
- Complete privacy & quiet to retreat fully
