In Rishikesh, Akshar Yoga Kendraa’s Breathing Movement Emerges as Pollution Pushes India Toward New Wellness Practices

At the confluence of earth and elevation, where the Himalayas meet the sacred Ganges, Rishikesh emerges as a threshold between the material and the mystical. Our journey at the holy city was with Awaken 2025, a ten-day retreat organized by Akshar Yoga Kendraa—a Ministry of AYUSH accredited institution that has trained over 50,000 yoga teachers globally. The Indian yoga market, valued at USD 5.7 billion in 2023, is growing at around 12% annually, driven by government initiatives like AYUSH, rising health awareness, urbanisation, and trends such as online yoga and wellness tourism.

The retreat centered on the "India Breathe Again" movement, a response born at the opportune moment where urban air pollution is creating health hazards and concerns all around the nation. The movement aims to build respiratory capacity through ancient yogic techniques rather than artificial interventions.

The town's designation as Dev Bhoomi, the land of gods, is not hyperbole but lived reality. "The time you enter Uttarakhand, as a government principle also, it is written, Dev Bhoomi mein aapka swagat hai,” said Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar, the founder of the Akshar Yoga Kendraa and the grandmaster of this movement, explained when asked about the significance of holding the retreat in the city of Rishikesh. “That means they themselves believe this is not human land. It's the land of divine energies."

The Question of Breath Amidst Growing Hazards

The journey to transformation operates through immersion, in cold mountain water, in disciplined practice, in collective energy. The philosophy is clear as the grandmaster said, when asked about the idea behind starting the movement, "The end user for us in this is human, the individual. If my lung capacity is strong, if I'm strong physically, somehow I will be able to manage myself in this pollution or find ways to manage it."

In an era of air purifiers and nebulizers, the practice advocates the lesser taken road of radical self-reliance. "There are certain formulas, certain techniques in Yoga, which can be 100 times better than these artificial tools," the grandmaster noted, referencing spinal activation and more such Yogic techniques when asked about the choice of this long, arduous method of Yoga than quicker artificial shortcuts.

The Spiritual Pedagogy of Rishikesh

"There is a beautiful exchange of culture," the grandmaster reflects when asked about the cultural pot-pourie that the retreat is with practitioners from both domestic and international have come seeking peace and health. “These people are learning this divine culture, the culture of the Himalayas, that God is in everything, and in real time, it’s happening with them.”

For global participants, from Taiwan to Italy, Dubai to the U.S., the city acted as a neutral yet transformative ground. As the grandmaster explains, “Those who are serious practitioners, they don’t need any training. They need the atmosphere again.”

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The atmosphere, of course, is its own teacher. The rhythm of the river encourages a slower pace; the mountains create natural silence; the customs cultivate humility. Even basic acts — offering water, walking mindfully near the ghats, resisting indulgence — become forms of alignment. “When they’re going to Ma Ganga, that mindset holds: I should not dirty the place. That discipline comes to them naturally because it’s a neutral place.”

The distinction matters—Rishikesh offers not performative spirituality but living ritual. "From your beginning, you start your day to conclude your day, the whole life, the day, the activity, whether we call it your material activity or some other language or culture, that is what spirituality is. The living itself becomes a ritual."

The most compelling aspect lies in its fundamental reorientation of wellness. Rather than promising extended years, the practice emphasizes present-moment vitality. As the grandmaster said when asked about what the movement he has launched means in the context of current growing pollution and if it is a way to tackle it, "If I'm living for one hour right now, I'll be strong. I'll be powerful. I will be working, doing my things. I know what needs to be done next. That energy comes to you."

This philosophy resonates particularly for those navigating environmental degradation. The breathing practices don't eliminate pollution; they fortify capacity to navigate it. Rishikesh stands at the intersection of spirituality and ecology, offering not escape but tools for conscious engagement.