Meditation Retreats in Vietnam: What a Stay Involves

A meditation retreat in Vietnam involves staying at a residential centre and following its daily schedule. At the Sivananda Yoga Resort and Training Center beside Tuyen Lam Lake in Da Lat, the day runs from 6:00 a.m. to around 9:00 p.m.

The schedule includes two sessions of silent meditation followed by Kirtan chanting, a form of meditation through sound, two Yoga Asana and Pranayama classes, vegetarian meals, and a period of Karma Yoga, or selfless service around the grounds.

Together, these practices create a complete yogic lifestyle in which meditation extends beyond sitting practice into movement, meals, service, and daily life.

This guide covers what such a stay involves, where these retreats are held in Vietnam, what the meditation practice consists of, and how a residential stay compares with attending weekly classes. For the practice itself, see the separate guide to meditation for beginners.

What happens on a meditation retreat

A residential retreat follows a shared daily timetable. Rather than arranging their own hours, residents enter a rhythm that has already been created for practice and community life. Meals, Yoga classes, and meditation sessions take place at fixed times, and residents may join the activities appropriate to their programme.

In Sivananda Yoga, positive thinking and meditation form one of the Five Points of Yoga. The other four are proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, and proper diet. A residential stay brings all five points together within the rhythm of daily life, offering a more complete experience than attending a single class and leaving afterwards.

In practice, this shapes the entire day. Meals are vegetarian and prepared for the whole Ashram according to yogic principles. The day begins early with Satsang at 6:00 a.m., including silent meditation, Kirtan chanting, and teachings. Yoga Asana and Pranayama classes take place twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

What Sivananda Yoga is

Because the retreat follows a particular Yoga tradition, it is helpful to understand the system behind its daily practices.

Sivananda Yoga is an integrated approach organised around the Five Points of Yoga: proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet, and positive thinking and meditation. Its Hatha Yoga classes are structured around a sequence of twelve basic postures practised in a characteristic order. Teachers may introduce preparatory exercises, adaptations, and variations according to each student’s experience and ability while maintaining the core structure of the practice. A class usually lasts between 90 and 120 minutes and concludes with guided deep relaxation.

The tradition takes its name from Swami Sivananda (1887–1963), who trained as a physician and worked in British Malaya before settling in Rishikesh, India. There, he founded the Divine Life Society in 1936 and taught an integrated approach to Yoga. His disciple, Swami Vishnudevananda (1927–1993), presented these teachings through the Five Points of Yoga and systematised the Hatha Yoga practice around the twelve basic postures. He established the first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Montreal in 1959, published The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga in 1960, and conducted the first Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Course in the West in 1969.

You can learn more on the Five Points of Yoga and Four Paths of Yoga pages. The guide to Yoga for beginners also introduces the twelve basic postures and explains how a Sivananda Yoga class is structured.

Where meditation retreats are held in Vietnam

Residential retreats are mainly held at the Ashram beside Tuyen Lam Lake, outside Da Lat. The three city centres in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat, and Hanoi offer regular Yoga classes, workshops, and other programmes. The Da Lat City Centre and the Sivananda Yoga Health House also offer accommodation for residential stays.

Sivananda Yoga Resort and Training Center

• Address: Hoa Hong Street, Tuyen Lam Lake, Xuan Huong Ward, Da Lat, Lam Dong Province
• Phone: (+84) 263 650 1100
• Email: vietnamyogaresort@sivananda.org
• View on Google Maps

The site sits at roughly 1,500 metres in the Central Highlands, among pine forest at the edge of the lake. Da Lat stays temperate through the year, with daytime temperatures usually in the high teens to low twenties Celsius and cool mornings and evenings. More about the grounds is on the Da Lat Ashram & Health House page.

A day on retreat

This is the ashram timetable. Settle into a simple, steady rhythm of daily life that supports your natural well-being—restful sleep, easeful digestion, and balanced energy. Each day unfolds with a harmonious blend of practice, rest, community, and quiet time for yourself. Created by yoga master Swami Vishnudevananda, this shared rhythm is followed by all ashram residents, guests, and students.

Two things about this shape are useful to know in advance. The seated meditation sits at either end of the day, opening it and closing it. And the two yoga classes are about eight hours apart, which leaves a long middle stretch for the workshop, the voluntary work and rest.

The meditation practice

Seated meditation is simple in form. At a scheduled time, residents sit upright, focus the mind on a single point, and gently bring their attention back whenever it wanders.

Two elements characterise the way meditation is taught here. First, the practice takes place at the same time each day, allowing regularity itself to become part of the training. Second, practitioners often repeat a mantra quietly. A mantra is a sacred sound that gives the mind a steady point of focus and something to return to when attention moves elsewhere.

The morning and evening gatherings, known as Satsang, combine silent meditation with Kirtan chanting and a short sharing on Yoga philosophy. Guests are not required to follow any particular religion or hold any specific belief. More background is available on the Sivananda teachings page.

Alongside seated meditation, the Ashram offers other forms of silent practice in nature. Residents may practise mindful walking around the grounds, follow the labyrinth, or take silent walks through the pine forest and nearby old-growth forest. Walking the labyrinth is an ancient contemplative practice in which the winding path helps slow the mind, strengthen concentration, and cultivate inner peace. These practices allow mindfulness to continue even while the body is moving.

Silent walks also give residents time to reconnect with nature. In Yoga, fresh air, sunlight, forests, and natural surroundings are considered rich sources of Prana, or vital energy. Spending time quietly in these environments can help release stress, restore energy, and leave residents feeling more grounded and renewed.

Silence as a formal practice

During a residential stay, guests can choose to create more space for silence within the daily schedule. Time between activities may be used for quiet reflection, personal study of the scriptures, or simply turning inward and learning from one’s own experience. The peaceful Ashram environment supports this personal practice without requiring everyone to observe silence.

The Center also offers special programmes that go more deeply into Mouna, the practice of sustained silence. These programmes combine longer periods of silence with meditation, Vedanta study, and guided teachings. Dates and details are available on the Vedanta & Silence Meditation page.

Retreats and weekly classes compared

Both follow the same tradition, and the choice between them is mostly about how much of a week you want to give it.

• A class at a city centre runs about ninety minutes and covers the postures, the breathing exercises and the final relaxation. It fits into an ordinary week — practise, then carry on with the day. The full sequence is described in the beginner's guide.
• A residential stay adds the vegetarian diet and the two daily meditation sessions, and puts two yoga classes in the same day. The timetable replaces the usual routine for the length of the stay.

People often do both: classes through the year at one of the centres, and a stay at the ashram once or twice. Class schedules are on the Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat and Hanoi centre pages.

Practical information

Getting to the ashram

• From Lien Khuong Airport (DLI): about 45 minutes by road. Pick-up can be arranged on request.
• From Ho Chi Minh City: about 300 km — by air to Lien Khuong, or an overnight sleeper bus.
• From Nha Trang / Cam Ranh: about 135 km by road.
• From Da Nang: about 660 km; flying is the practical option.

What to bring

Clothing you can move and bend in, and something warm for the early morning and the evening — the 6:00am gathering and the final relaxation both involve sitting or lying still for a while, and Da Lat is cool at both ends of the day. A shawl or light blanket covers this. Bring a mat if you have one.

The Guest Information and During Your Stay pages go into more detail.

Programmes, dates and rooms

Programme lengths, room types and current fees change by season, so they live on the Yoga Vacation, Accommodations and Upcoming Courses pages instead of here.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need meditation experience to join a retreat?

No. Residents at every level of experience attend the same gatherings, and the yoga classes are taught with variations for beginners.

Is a meditation retreat the same as a yoga retreat?

At this ashram they are the same programme. The timetable includes both the seated meditation and the yoga classes, so a stay covers both whichever term brought you to it. Programme names and dates are listed on the Yoga Vacation page.

Is the whole retreat in silence?

Not the general retreat. Sustained silence is the subject of the separate Mouna and Vedanta programme.

How long do people stay?

Programme lengths vary, from short stays (minimul 3 nights) to multi-week courses. Current options are on the Upcoming Courses page.

Do I have to attend every session?

The retreat follows a fixed daily timetable, and residents are encouraged to participate as fully as possible because each activity supports the others. If you need additional rest or have a health concern, please speak with the reception team about adjusting your schedule.

Are the meals vegetarian?

Yes. Proper diet is one of the five points, and the kitchen cooks for the ashram on those lines. Attending a city class carries no dietary requirement.

Can I combine a retreat with teacher training?

The 200-hour teacher training course is a separate residential programme at the same site, with its own schedule and curriculum. Details are on the Yoga Teacher Training Course page.

Further reading: Yoga for beginners · How to meditate for beginners · Yoga in Vietnam · Yoga Đà Lạt · The Five Points of Yoga