Yoga Culture in Nepal
In Nepal, yoga and meditation belong to a religious culture you can see every day in temples, festivals and household worship. Hindu and Buddhist traditions sit side by side, and many of the practices yoga students come to learn grew out of them.
Sound Healing Therapist
Reviewed and updated October 2026
Where does Nepal’s yoga culture come from?
Nepal sits between Hindu India and Buddhist Tibet, and both traditions have shaped its religious life for well over a thousand years. Yoga, tantra, pranayama and meditation were practised here by wandering yogis, monks and ordinary householders.
You can still see this every day. Shrines stand on street corners, many families make offerings each morning, and the big temple complexes of the Kathmandu Valley are used for worship, not only visited as monuments.
Sacred sites of the valley
Four of the most important religious sites in Nepal.
Pashupatinath
One of the most important Hindu temples in the world, on the banks of the Bagmati River, dedicated to Shiva as lord of the animals. Sadhus and pilgrims gather here daily.
Boudhanath
One of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world and a centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal. Pilgrims walk around it at dawn and dusk, turning prayer wheels.
Swayambhunath
The hilltop stupa on the west side of Kathmandu, used by both Buddhists and Hindus. Its painted eyes are one of the best-known images of the valley.
Lumbini
In Nepal’s southern plains, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. A place of pilgrimage and meditation for practitioners worldwide.
The guru-shishya tradition
Much traditional yoga in Nepal is taught through the guru-shishya relationship: a student learns from one teacher over years, through personal guidance and practice as well as books.
Teachers in this tradition often ask a student to keep one practice for months before moving on. Our founder, Maa Nisha Kabir, learned this way from her first guru, Santa Kabir Das. Our yoga teacher training is taught in a small group so the teacher can work with each person.
Practising with respect
At temples and stupas, dress modestly, take off your shoes where asked, walk clockwise around stupas, and ask before photographing people at worship. Some Hindu temples, including the main Pashupatinath temple, do not admit non-Hindus.
Written by
Swami Anish JiSound healing therapist at Jivan Parivartan and teacher of the Singing Bowl Training, with a decade of experience.
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Learn moreFrequently Asked Questions
Practise yoga in Nepal
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