Our Story

“The gateway to presence is through the sensations. Honour earth to enter within”
yoga centre for HIYC

The Himalayan Iyengar yoga centre, founded in 1985 by Yoga Master Sharat Arora, was the first Yoga School in Dharamkot, Himachal Pradesh. Sharat and his assistants have been teaching there continuously ever since and have helped thousands of students with his excellent therapeutic yoga practice.

Sharat spent 7 dedicated years with Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar in Pune which led him to explore and develop his own yoga practice in line with Guruji’s teachings of alignment & healing. Whilst in Pune Sharat assisted his teacher in the daily yoga therapy sessions and this was incredibly influential to his development of the practice along with his committed regular Vipasana meditation. Therefore, the Yoga we practise and teach at the Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre is therefore an EVOLUTION of the Traditional Iyengar Yoga.

Master Sharat Arora’s relentless exploration led him to discover the importance of the foundations in Yoga Practice. From there the Yoga Asanas grow and alignment is found. The revelation about footwork and handwork is integral and specific to Master Sharat Arora’s style of teaching. His life’s work has been about integrating the rest, or non-action, with the action of yoga asanas, or the “tha” within the “ha”.

What makes us unique?

Yogic wisdom from a lifetime’s work! Sharat has over 40 years of practise, teaching and healing experience. You are getting the pinnacle of this experience.


Wisdom – The knowledge you will gain is experiential, experiential knowledge is wisdom. We are not about showing off advanced asanas, rather you will go on an inward journey of self-discovery.


Healing – Sharat is a Yoga therapy Master. The practice is suitable for everyone and can be adjusted as needed.


Going closer to the source – Sharat is a Master who has been teaching non-stop in the Himalayas for the last 38 years. He is a direct student of BKS Iyengar, Prashant Iyengar, Papaji and Vipassana Guru Goenkaji.


Wholeness – The practice is designed as a complete healing experience on physical, mental, emotional, spiritual levels.

Yoga Master Sharat Arora

Sharat was born in 1953 and discovered yoga in 1978. He went through intensive, full-time training for seven years with Guruji BKS Iyengar at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Institute in Pune and assisted Iyengar on all levels of Asana classes. More significant in his development as a practitioner and teacher was his involvement in the daily therapy sessions, serving countless patients. His fusion of this experience, with his extensive study of medicine and dedicated Vipassana meditation practice, greatly influenced his continually-evolving Yoga technique.

His life’s work has been Yoga. Now in his 70s, he still practises for hours every single day. His practice and teachings have softened over the years as he embraces more the balance of non-action within the action, the “tha” within the “ha”.

Maria Chandler Arora

For the last 9 years Maria has been teaching at the Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre.

She used to suffer a lot with backache, knee pain and monthly cramps associated with menstruation. Upon studying with Sharat realised most of this was rooted in tension and could be released with correct practice.

She says – if I could teach my students anything, it would be to relax, consciously and with intention. Relaxation heals –

It was during pregnancy with her two sons that she had a real breakthrough in her practice. She has used her practice to support herself through two pregnancies and two homebirths and is passionate about empowering women through yoga.

She brings to her classes an intuitive softness which complements her passion and knowledge of the subject.