Rooted 2.0: Five Days in the Birthplace of Kriya Yoga

What Rooted 2.0 actually is

Rooted 2.0 is a five-day yoga retreat held in Dunagiri, a small Himalayan village in the Almora district of Uttarakhand. It’s built around slow mornings, guided yoga and meditation, and long stretches of quiet, the kind that’s genuinely hard to find in daily life in a city.

It isn’t a yoga certification course and it isn’t a sightseeing tour. It sits somewhere in between, structured enough that you always know what’s next, open enough that the week can actually change shape around what the group needs.

Why Dunagiri

Dunagiri isn’t just a scenic backdrop. It’s recognised as the site where Lahiri Mahasaya is said to have been initiated into Kriya Yoga by Mahavatar Babaji in 1861, an event widely regarded as the origin point of the modern Kriya Yoga tradition later carried to the West by Paramahansa Yogananda. The village sits at roughly 2,400 metres above sea level in the Kumaon Himalayas, surrounded by forest and terraced hillsides.

Practising yoga in a place with that kind of history adds something a generic retreat venue can’t. It’s less about ticking off a pilgrimage site and more about noticing how differently your practice feels when it’s rooted in the actual ground where a lineage began.

What a day at Rooted 2.0 looks like

Days start early, with slow, breath-led movement before the mountain air warms up. Mornings are usually the most active part of the day, followed by a simple breakfast and some open time.

Afternoons tend to be lighter, short walks, journaling time, sometimes a session focused specifically on breathwork or meditation. Evenings wind down further still: restorative postures, longer holds, and quiet group time before an early night.

Why stepping away from your regular routine matters

Most people don’t realise how much of their stress is simply momentum, notifications, small decisions, background noise, until it’s gone. A retreat removes that momentum for five days, not permanently, but long enough to notice what’s underneath it.

“People often tell me they came to Rooted 2.0 for the yoga and left remembering the silence more. That’s not a failure of the retreat, that’s usually the whole point.”
Anjali Pandey, Founder & Lead Instructor, Yogaendless

Yoga on a retreat isn’t a cure for stress, and we’re always careful not to promise that. But many people find that a week of consistent practice, away from their usual routine, gives them something to carry back with them, a breathing pattern, a slower morning, a different relationship with their own attention.

Pricing and what’s included

Because batch dates, seat availability, and pricing for Rooted 2.0 change from one retreat to the next, we won’t guess at numbers here. The most accurate, current information, including what’s included in the retreat fee, is always kept up to date on the official Rooted 2.0 page.

As a general rule, retreats like this typically bundle accommodation, meals, and all guided sessions into one package, but always confirm specifics for the batch you’re considering before booking.

Getting to Dunagiri

Dunagiri sits roughly 400 kilometres from Delhi, in the Almora district of Uttarakhand. Most travellers fly or take the train into Delhi, then continue by road, or connect via Kathgodam, the nearest railhead, for the final stretch into the hills.

Mobile connectivity in the area is limited, which tends to catch first-timers off guard for the first day and then quickly becomes one of the more appreciated parts of the week.