Senior Living Near
Isha Yoga Center

For people who want to visit the Dhyanalinga or practise yoga regularly without living inside an ashram, the villages on the Coimbatore side of the Velliangiri hills are the closest places to settle. Aran Senior Living is in Kondayampalayam, Thondamuthur, about 12 km from Isha Yoga Center and the Velliangiri Andavar Temple, and about 20 km from Coimbatore's multi-specialty hospitals.

Aran is an independent rental retirement community, run separately from Isha Foundation. It has 18 fully furnished residences, a pure vegetarian kitchen, and housekeeping and laundry included in the rent.

These are the main spaces open to visitors, as listed by Isha Foundation:

• Dhyanalinga, a consecrated space for silent meditation.
• Linga Bhairavi, a temple to the goddess, where daily offerings are made.
• The 112-foot Adiyogi, the large Shiva statue at the center.
• Suryakund and Chandrakund, consecrated water bodies; Suryakund is for men and Chandrakund for women.
• Adiyogi Alayam and Spanda Hall, halls used for hatha yoga and other programs.

Isha lists the Adiyogi and Dhyanalinga premises as open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Programs and timings change through the year, so check Isha's website before you go.

Isha offers its own accommodation for visitors: cottages in standard, AC and executive-suite options for up to four people, booked through cottage.isha.in, and volunteer accommodation for people who have completed an Isha Yoga program. Visitors with non-Indian passports, including NRIs, first register a visit through visit.isha.in (Isha Foundation).

Ashram cottages suit a visit of a few days. For a season or longer, a furnished residence with meals, housekeeping and laundry included is easier to live in day to day. Aran offers both short stays of a few days and long stays, about 20 minutes from the ashram.

Mahashivratri, the night-long festival at the Adiyogi, is Isha's largest event of the year. The next one is on 6 March 2027, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. See Isha's Mahashivratri page for how to attend in person. Places to stay near the center fill up early around the festival, so families who want to attend should plan their stay well ahead.

Residents live in their own furnished residence, single or double occupancy, and keep their own routine. Meals come from Aran's pure vegetarian kitchen and are served indoors or in the outdoor dining garden. The community hall and library are for conversation, festivals and quiet reading, and the whole campus is wheelchair accessible.

Pressing SOS alerts the on-site staff straight away, wherever on campus the resident is, and the command center is staffed 24/7. For medical care, the hospitals below are the nearest multi-specialty options. Women living on their own can read more about senior living for single women.