Female Yoga Teachers in Rishikesh: Where to Train (2026)

Written by Mayuri Shewale, E-RYT 500 (Yoga Alliance), founder and lead teacher of Swaastik Yog School in Rishikesh. Our prices and dates checked on 22 October 2026. Details for other schools come from their own websites, checked on 20 October 2026.

Disclosure: Swaastik Yog School wrote this guide and is one of the schools listed.

"Will my teacher be a woman?" It is one of the first questions women ask us, often before they ask about price or style. Sometimes it is about comfort during hands-on adjustments. Sometimes it is about talking openly about periods, pregnancy or menopause. Sometimes it is simply about wanting to learn from someone whose body and life look a bit like your own.

I am a woman who has taught yoga in Rishikesh for more than 15 years, and I founded my school in 2015. In most teacher trainings, the person whose name sits at the top of the timetable is still a man. This guide shows you how to find a school where a woman leads, and how to check she will really be teaching you.

Female yoga teachers in Rishikesh at a glance

School	Woman named at the top (from its own site)	What she leads	Area	200-hour price
Swaastik Yog School	Mayuri Shewale, founder and lead teacher, E-RYT 500	Every 200, 300 and 500-hour batch. Aerial yoga is also taught by women.	Tapovan	$440 dorm / $880 shared / $1,100 private, 22 days, all-inclusive
Veda Yogshala	Yogacharya Pushpa Ji, founder and director	Directs the school. Her brother, Yogi Jay Ji, is listed as lead teacher for the multi-style practice.	Laxman Jhula	Approx. $999 to $1,499, 25 days (approx., confirm with the school)
Mimamsa Yoga	Yogini Shakti, listed under "Our Lead Teachers"	Lead teaching. Yogini Kalini teaches philosophy and meditation.	Upper Tapovan	Not shown on the pages we read

Other schools' details are approx. and can change. Confirm with each school before you book.

Is it easy to find a female yoga teacher in Rishikesh?

It is easy to find a woman teaching a class in Rishikesh, and much harder to find one leading a full teacher training.

Walk down the main road in Tapovan and you will pass studios where women teach Hatha, Yin, prenatal or aerial classes. If you just want a few classes with a woman, you will find them in a day or two.

Teacher trainings are different. A 200-hour course has many teachers, and the faculty page often shows women and men side by side. But the lead teacher, the person who designs the course, watches your practice teaching and signs off your certificate, is usually a man. That is not a criticism of those schools. Many of them are excellent. It just means that if a female lead matters to you, you need to look for it on purpose.

What is the difference between a female lead teacher and a woman on the faculty?

A female lead teacher runs your course from start to finish, while a woman on the faculty may teach only one subject for a few hours a week.

A website photo of a female teacher does not tell you how much she teaches. Here is what each role usually means in a Rishikesh teacher training:

Role	What she does	Hours you might spend with her
Founder	Started the school. May or may not still teach.	Anywhere from zero to most of the course
Lead teacher / head teacher	Designs and runs the course, leads main asana classes, assesses your teaching.	Most days of the course
Subject teacher	Teaches one area, such as anatomy, philosophy or meditation.	One session a day, or a few a week
Guest or visiting teacher	Runs a workshop or a short module.	A few hours in total

None of these roles is better than another. What matters is that the school tells you honestly which one applies to the woman you want to learn from.

Which Rishikesh schools have a female lead teacher?

We could verify three schools whose own websites name a woman at the top: Swaastik Yog School, Veda Yogshala and Mimamsa Yoga.

There are almost certainly others, including smaller studios and visiting teachers. We only list schools whose own site makes the claim. If you run a school with a female lead and want to be included, write to us and we will check it.

1. Swaastik Yog School (Tapovan)

Swaastik Yog School is a Yoga Alliance RYS 200, RYS 300 and RYS 500 school in Tapovan, also registered as an RCYS and a YACEP. I founded it in 2015, I am an E-RYT 500, and I lead every 200, 300 and 500-hour batch myself. You can read about my training and background on my teacher profile.

Strengths: the lead teacher is the founder, and she is on campus throughout your course. Batches are 15 to 20 students, so I see every student's practice and every practice-teaching round. Aerial yoga is taught by women. The campus has female staff, gender-separate dorms and a written code of conduct, and hands-on adjustments are always offered with consent.

Considerations: we are women-led, not all-female. My co-founder, Rahul Badoni (E-RYT 500, 15+ years), is a man, and he teaches philosophy. Batches are mixed. If you want every single class taught by a woman, ask us exactly how the hours are split, or choose a women-only course elsewhere.

2. Veda Yogshala (Laxman Jhula)

Veda Yogshala's own website says it was founded in 2015 by Yogacharya Pushpa Ji with her brother, Yogi Jay Ji, and lists Pushpa Ji as founder and director. The site describes the school as family-run and "founded and run successfully by a lady."

Strengths: a woman holds the top role. The 200-hour course is 25 days with meals and accommodation included, and the course page lists a female-only 4-share room.

Considerations: the course page lists Yogi Jay Ji as lead teacher for the multi-style practice, and the pages we read did not say which sessions Pushpa Ji teaches herself. If a female lead in the asana room matters to you, ask. Prices were early-bird rates of approx. $999 to $1,499 in October 2026.

3. Mimamsa Yoga (Upper Tapovan)

Mimamsa Yoga (mimamsayoga.com) describes itself as a women-led, Yoga Alliance certified school in Upper Tapovan. Its teachers page lists Yogini Shakti under "Our Lead Teachers," and Yogini Kalini teaches philosophy and meditation.

Strengths: two women named on the faculty, one as a lead teacher, with courses aimed at women and accommodation pitched at solo female travellers.

Considerations: the pages we read did not name a founder, give a founding year or show 200-hour prices. It is also a different school from Mimamsa Yogshala in Ramjhula, so check the web address before you book.

Can you learn aerial yoga from a female teacher in Rishikesh?

Yes. At Swaastik, aerial yoga is taught by women through our specialist programme, Aerial Rishikesh, on the same Tapovan campus.

Aerial yoga is very hands-on. Teachers help you into inversions, hold your legs while you find balance and check how the fabric sits on your hips. Many women tell us they relax more quickly when a woman is spotting them. Aerial Rishikesh is one of the very few aerial-only schools in Rishikesh. Its aerial yoga teacher training is 50 hours over 7 days, starts every Monday, and costs $195 in a dorm, $385 shared or $550 private, with stay and sattvic vegetarian meals included.

Where can you practise with a female teacher without doing a full course?

If you only have a few days, a retreat or a few drop-in classes is the simplest way to practise with a woman teacher, as long as you ask who is teaching that day.

• Drop-in classes: most Tapovan studios, including ours, run daily drop-in classes. Ask at the desk who leads the session you want.
• Short retreats: our 3, 5 and 7-day yoga retreats start every Monday and include three meals a day. Ask which teacher will lead your week.
• Private sessions: many schools can book a one-to-one class with a named teacher. This is the surest way to get the teacher you want.

Why do some students prefer a female yoga teacher?

Most students who ask for a female teacher want to feel safe being touched, and free to talk about their bodies without embarrassment.

Here are the reasons women give us most often. You do not need any of them to have a valid preference.

• Hands-on adjustments. In a teacher training you are adjusted every day. Some women relax more with a female teacher's hands, especially in hip openers and backbends.
• Practice through the cycle. Questions about inversions, intensity and rest during menstruation are easier to ask a woman who has her own answers.
• Life stages. Women preparing for pregnancy, recovering after birth or moving through menopause often want guidance from another woman.
• Trust when travelling alone. If something feels wrong, it helps to know the person in charge is a woman who will take it seriously.

Men ask for female teachers too, and women sometimes prefer a male teacher for a particular subject. The point is not that one gender teaches better. It is that you should be able to choose.

What should you ask to be sure a woman will actually teach you?

Ask the school, in writing, who leads your exact batch dates and how many of the course hours she teaches herself.

Copy these questions into an email or WhatsApp message. A good school will answer all of them quickly. A vague answer is a reason to slow down.

1. Who is the lead teacher for my dates, and will she be there for the whole course?
2. Which subjects does she teach, and about how many hours in total?
3. Who else teaches on the course, and which of them are women?
4. Who gives hands-on adjustments, and can I opt out?
5. Is there a woman I can go to in the evening if I have a problem?
6. Can you send me her Yoga Alliance profile, and the school's?

Our answers: I lead every 200, 300 and 500-hour batch and am on campus throughout. Rahul Badoni teaches philosophy. Female staff are on campus. Adjustments are offered with consent and you can always say no. Our Yoga Alliance school profile lists RYS 200, RYS 300, RYS 500, RCYS and YACEP. For wider safety advice, read our guide on whether Rishikesh is safe for solo female travellers.

How much does training with a female lead teacher cost in Rishikesh?

A 200-hour training led by a woman in Rishikesh costs from about $440 to $1,500 in 2026, depending on the school and your room.

At Swaastik Yog School, the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh is 22 days and starts on the 5th and 15th of every month. It costs $440 in a gender-separate dorm, $880 in a twin-shared room or $1,100 in a private room. That includes training, accommodation, two sattvic vegetarian meals a day (brunch and dinner), materials and your certificate. From November to February the halls are heated and every room has a heated blanket.

If you already hold a 200-hour certificate, the 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training costs $660 to $1,485 and is also led by me. For a full comparison of schools that call themselves women-led, see our guide to women-led yoga schools in Rishikesh.

Frequently asked questions

Are there female yoga teachers in Rishikesh?

Yes, many. Women teach drop-in classes, retreats and workshops across Tapovan and Laxman Jhula. Female lead teachers on full teacher trainings are rarer. Swaastik Yog School's founder, Mayuri Shewale (E-RYT 500), leads every 200, 300 and 500-hour batch in Tapovan.

Which yoga teacher training in Rishikesh is led by a woman?

Swaastik Yog School in Tapovan is led by its founder, Mayuri Shewale, who personally leads every 200, 300 and 500-hour batch. Veda Yogshala lists Yogacharya Pushpa Ji as founder and director, and Mimamsa Yoga lists Yogini Shakti among its lead teachers. Check each school for your dates.

Is aerial yoga in Rishikesh taught by women?

At Swaastik Yog School it is. Aerial yoga is taught by women through Aerial Rishikesh, our specialist programme on the same campus and one of the very few aerial-only schools in Rishikesh. The aerial teacher training is 50 hours over 7 days, from $195.

How do I make sure a female teacher leads my batch?

Ask the school in writing who leads your exact dates, how many hours she teaches herself and whether she stays for the whole course. Ask for her Yoga Alliance profile too. A good school will answer clearly before you pay a deposit.