ABOUT
Yoga Mandir Goa is a small yoga school in Palolem, South Goa. The shala sits beside a wetland, away from the busy beach areas. Classes happen alongside birdsong, the occasional langur, and sometimes a lizard making its way across the floor.
It is a quiet place. That is intentional.
Questions? We are easy to reach:
the teacher
All classes and courses at Yoga Mandir Goa are led by Akshey.
He began his personal practice in Uttarkashi, in the Himalayan region near the source of the Ganges. He later studied formally at the Bihar School of Yoga and continued scriptural study with the monastic faculty of the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh. From there, he came across the Iyengar method. It was the one that stayed.
Akshey’s approach is strongly influenced by this tradition. He is not a certified Iyengar teacher. He follows it because of the way asana becomes a place to practice philosophy, not just study it.
He observes closely.
Where your weight shifts. Where effort leaks. Where attention wanders. Where the body cooperates, and where it resists.
Students sometimes describe the experience as “joy and suffering”. They are not wrong.
The work is demanding. The atmosphere is light.
There is laughter in the middle of effort —— a reminder that intensity and humour can exist in the same room, sometimes in the same breath.
Akshey does not see himself as someone who teaches yoga. He practices. He studies. He refines. What he shares comes from that ongoing process, one that has now spanned over 15 years.
He takes the practice seriously. He does not take himself too seriously.
He welcomes those who are willing to do the same.
HOW WE PRACTICE
The yoga at Yoga Mandir Goa is traditional Hatha yoga. The approach is methodical, detail-oriented, and unhurried.
Poses are held long enough to observe, refine, and understand. Props are used intelligently to support the body, not to bypass effort. Instruction is specific: where to direct muscle, how skin moves, what the skeleton should be doing. Each practitioner is seen as an individual.
This is not a flow class. It is not a workout. It requires patience, concentration, and a genuine curiosity about your own body.
The final pose is not the goal. The process of getting there is where the work happens.
WHAT PRACTITIONERS SAY
Some come for a week. Some for a month. Some come back every year. Here is what they share:
"You don't simply practice yoga with Akshey. You learn to understand yoga."
"Practicing yoga in many different places around the world — Yoga Mandir is by far the most authentic."
"Classes are not rushed or showy. They are honest, disciplined, and deeply nourishing."
"You really feel that he teaches from experience, not from a script."
FROM THE SHALA
