Spirituality is but a second character in a man, hidden carefully due to mundane matters, but always sparkling. It needs a certain push to shine, and come out of its shell. At Mister and Art House, they always tend to cater to your physical as well as mental requirements to breathe, function, and rejuvenate out of the stressful life that you lead.
Come and join The Mister and Art House team in this private, one-of-a-kind and revolutionary yoga and meditation retreat for gay men in India. This holiday is especially customized to provide you a perfect vacation full of unique experiences that will open the door to a deeper insight into the soul of authentic Indian culture and way of life.
Unwind in a luxurious boutique hotel with a gay-friendly atmosphere, enjoy precious leisure time touring India, and take home memories worth treasuring forever.
In general, the yoga sessions in this retreat will be about one and a half hours long each and available twice daily - once in the morning on the guest house's terrace around 06:30, and once in the evening at around 17:00 to 18:30.
All yoga sessions will include asanas, breathing techniques, meditation, and chanting, except for the ones on the fourth day as these will aim to introduce you to Tantra yoga and meditation.
Day 1
Upon arrival in Delhi, you will be picked up from Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and transferred to the hotel. In the evening, at around 17:30, you will meet with your gay private yoga teacher for a 90-minute evening yoga session.
Day 2
Enjoy a morning yoga class. In the afternoon, take delight in a rejuvenating in-room, full-body massage care of a gay therapist. Afterwards, you can enjoy personal leisure time until around 17:00, when it would be time for another evening yoga session.
Day 3
Enjoy another morning yoga session and have breakfast afterwards. At around 11:00, you will proceed with a guided visit to Old Delhi, the country's 300 year-old walled city built in 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to be his empire's capital.
Begin with a visit to Raj Ghat, the simple memorial to Mahatma Gandhi at his cremation site when he died in 1948. Next, visit the magnificent Red Fort which was built of red sandstone between 1639 to 1648, overlooking the Yamuna River.
Within its walls are marble palaces and a grand audience chamber called the Diwan-i-Khas, where Mughal emperors held court and the Peacock Throne once stood. Opposite the fort are the black and white onion dome and minarets of Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, where people continuously stream in and out all day.
Enjoy a bicycle rickshaw ride through the winding market streets in the Chandni Chowk area. You will also visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. Topped by golden domes, this dapper white-marble gurdwara was constructed at the site where the eighth Sikh guru, Har Krishan, stayed before his death in 1664.
Despite his tender years, the six-year old guru tended to victims of Delhi's cholera and smallpox epidemic. The waters of the gurdwara's tank are said to have healing powers, and so Sikh pilgrims flock here at all hours and devotional songs waft over the compound.
Later on, you can join a holy communal lunch at the Langar hall of Bangla Sahib at your discretion. You will also visit Humayun's tomb, the mausoleum of Mughal emperor Humayun which is situated in Mathura road. Echoing the Mughal style of architecture, the tomb was built by Humayun's wife, Haji Begum, in 1565.
High arches and a double dome adorn the tomb that can be entered through two towering, double-sided gateways. Enjoy an evening yoga session back at the hotel after.
Day 4
For this day, you will have morning and evening classes focused on the introduction to Tantra yoga and meditation, and another in-room, full-body massage session in between the two.
Tantra yoga is a holistic approach which draws on the entire science existing on earth to provide practical means of self-realization. It aims to expand awareness of all states of consciousness, either in waking or dreaming.
When humans face great difficulties in life and find it to be beyond their limited potentials, they need something to alter it. Tantra yoga and meditation help in identifying factors that influence your thoughts and emotions, which then leads to a life that strives to be free from obstacles, ignorance, intolerance, and selfishness.
Day 5
Enjoy another morning yoga session and have breakfast afterwards. At around 11:00, you will proceed with a private guided tour of the capital which was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens for the British Empire. Drive down the impressive main boulevard, Rajpath, to the World War I memorial arch called India Gate, and past the parliament buildings and the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president’s residence.
Also see imperial Delhi while visiting the Qutb Minar, the tallest stone tower in India standing at 72 meters high. Qutb al-Din Aibak began construction of the tower in 1199, and by pulling down 27 Hindu and Jain temples and using their columns, he also erected the nearby Quwwat-ul Islam mosque which lies in ruins today.
Continue with a visit to a Bahá'í temple called Lotus Temple. A lotus-shaped outline has etched itself on the consciousness of the city's inhabitants, capturing their imagination, fueling their curiosity, and revolutionizing the concept of worship. Enjoy another evening yoga session back at the hotel.
Days 6 and 7
- For these days, you will have your usual morning and evening yoga sessions, with the rest of the time in between dedicated solely for personal leisure and rest.
Day 8
After the usual morning yoga class, you will check out and be transferred back to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) for your flight home, taking gay memories of a wonderful yoga vacation with you.
