Forest Living Residency near Auroville for Reconnection & Reset

Forest Living Residency near Auroville for Reconnection & Reset gallery image 2

Forest Living Residency near Auroville for Reconnection & Reset gallery image 3

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Duration: 7 Days

Location: Puducherry, Puducherry, India

Program Type: Residential Program

Format: English, Hindi, Tamil

The Art Forest Residency is a forest-based living experience near Auroville, in Tamil Nadu close to Pondicherry, for people who feel disconnected from themselves and want a more authentic, playful way of living. It is not a conventional retreat but an immersive lifestyle: yoga, art, music, play, nature immersion, healthy food, body movement and conscious community living, held together as one connected rhythm rather than separate activities. Days follow a gentle, grounding structure, with room to shape certain sessions around your own interests. The heart of the residency is reconnecting with your inner child, not as an idea but as a lived experience, through creativity, presence and play. The environment invites authenticity over performance, a space where you can feel safe to be seen as you are. Alongside this, participants often notice practical shifts such as less stress, better sleep, more energy, greater mobility, clearer thinking and healthier daily habits. Choose a 7, 14 or 21 day stay. New participants begin on Mondays. Suitable for all levels.

After This Program

Objective of the Program

After this residency, participants often describe feeling lighter, more present and reconnected to a sense of curiosity, freedom and joy.

Best Suited For

People this experience is designed around

Individuals Couples Families Small Private Groups

Ideal Setting

Environments that complement the experience

Nature Integrated Forest Rural / Farm

8 Activities

06:00 70 min

Pranayama (breathwork) and body movement

08:30 60 min

Healthy breakfast

12:00 60 min

Karma Yoga

14:00 60 min

Simple lunch

16:00 70 min

Arts and craft

18:00 60 min

Sound bath or philosophy circle

20:00 60 min

Early dinner

21:00 60 min

Jamming or journaling

Signature Experience

Daily Yogic Practice

Each morning begins with pranayama (breathwork), meditation and Hatha yoga to ground the body and settle the mind, with optional advanced yogic practices such as Jalneti and Sutraneti for those who want to go deeper.

Signature Experience

Karma Yoga

Simple, shared conscious work woven into the day, a chance to practise presence and contribution as part of community living.

Signature Experience

Arts, Craft & Creative Expression

Hands-on creative sessions including clay and painting, where the aim is expression and play rather than mastery.

Signature Experience

Sound Bath & Philosophy Circle

Evening sound baths and conversational philosophy circles that invite stillness, reflection and a gentle sense of perspective

Signature Experience

Body Movement & Flow

Playful movement spanning rope flow, animal flow, contemporary dance, contact improvisation and aerial silk, guided by professional movement artists.

Daily Movement / Fitness Sessions

Included

Meditation / Mindfulness

Included

Cultural / Nature Activities

Included

Accommodation

Included

All Meals

Included

Emotional Resilience

Stress Reduction

Better Sleep

Increased Energy

Digital Detox

Sustainable Living

Somatic Awareness

Social Reconnection

Community Belonging

Inner Stillness

Self-Awareness

Alternative Living Experience

Chronic Stress

Burnout & Emotional Exhaustion

Poor Sleep Quality

Digital Overload & Attention Fatigue

Reduced Mobility

Sedentary Movement Dysfunction

Balance & Coordination Decline

Movement Anxiety / Fear of Movement

These are wellbeing support areas and are not medical or guaranteed outcome claims.

Plant-Based (Fully Vegan)

Vegetarian

Customised / Special Dietary Options

Our Approach to Nourishment

Meals are simple, healthy and mostly plant-based, prepared with organic and seasonal ingredients. A typical day includes a nourishing breakfast, a simple lunch and an early dinner, in keeping with the residency's natural rhythm. Vegetarian and fully vegan options are standard, and special dietary needs can be accommodated with advance notice.

Rooms are built with natural materials like bamboo, wood and earthy textures, blending into the surrounding forest for a warm, grounded feel. Soft neutral tones, minimal design and open layouts help the mind slow down, while small details like warm lighting, sheer curtains and handcrafted touches add quiet comfort. Quiet corners invite stillness and reflection, and shared spaces naturally bring people together for conversation, practice, jamming and dance. Choose a studio or family room, a tree house or private hut, or a place in the shared dorm.

Riddhi Jai

Conscious Living Coach

Riddhi is a facilitator of inner journeys through yoga, sound, movement and art, working at the meeting point of ancient practice and modern science, where silence and playfulness become tools to reconnect with the self. She has been teaching for over four years and creates spaces where people can pause, feel and soften. She shares yoga philosophy integrated with psychology to help participants understand themselves more deeply and reconnect with their inner voice, and supports them in building habits that last well after they return home. Above all, she loves helping people fall in love with themselves and their lives.

Qualifications

900-hour YTTC, 500 RYT, Certified Advanced Sound Therapist.

Gopal Dalami

Movement Artist

Gopal is a professional dancer, teacher and aerial performer whose practice moves fluidly across disciplines and continents, from the stages of Edinburgh to the temples of Auroville. He trained for five years at Voxpop Dancers India under Vikram Mohan, and for a year in aerial arts at Vertical Circus under Catherine Daniel. His work spans ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, Bollywood, contact improvisation and his own evolving practices of Authentic Flow and Dance with Prana. He has danced alongside A.R. Rahman, performed in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding Musical at the FIFA World Cup in Doha, and appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. He is also a certified massage therapist with a somatic approach.

Qualifications

contemporary dance and aerial movement training, 10+ years of teaching and performance, certified massage therapist.

Setting

Forest · Farm · Garden

Transportation

Self-arranged Transportation

Nearest Airport

Chennai International

150 km

Railway / Metro

12 km

Program Location

Puducherry, Puducherry, India

Art Forest sits in a quiet stretch of forest near Auroville, in Tamil Nadu close to Pondicherry, an area long associated with conscious living, art and community. The land is green, open and eco-conscious, with natural building, outdoor practice spaces and room to wander. It is an easy base for exploring Auroville and the Pondicherry coast, while remaining a calm, self-contained world of its own once you arrive.

Exact Address After Booking

For your privacy, the exact venue address is shared only with confirmed participants.

Location Preview

Puducherry, Puducherry, India

Starting from

Residential Program

3 Packages Available

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Different dates, a different duration, or your own group? Let’s talk.

Customise this program

Chat with LIFED on WhatsApp

Customisation depends on host availability. We’ll confirm the options and price before you book.

Simple, secure booking

All-in price · No booking fee

Secure encrypted payment

Instant booking confirmation

Program

Residential Program

₹16,000

Cancellation policy

Full refund when cancelled 30 or more days before the program start date.

Program details

Duration 7 Days

Schedule Start any day

Group size Max 14

Fitness level All Levels

Language English, Hindi, Tamil

Location Puducherry, Puducherry, India

vaigayi

LIFED Verified Healthmate

From ₹16,000

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Booking protection

Cancellation policy

Standard Tier Residential

Just booked? You have 24 hours.

Cancel within 24 hours of booking and get 100% back, whatever the table below says. Available once per program, and only when your start date is more than 14 days away.

If you cancel

Refund schedule

30 or more days before the start

100%

15 to 29 days before

50%

7 to 14 days before

25%

Under 7 days, or you do not attend

Nothing

All timings run from the program start time in Wayanad local time (IST). A cancellation counts from the moment you submit it on Lifed, so please cancel here rather than by message or call.

If your Healthmate or Lifed cancels

You get 100% back. Always.

This overrides the table above. If your Healthmate materially changes the dates, venue, accommodation type or the named lead practitioner, you choose: accept it, move to another date at your original price, or take a full refund.

If a cancellation or material change reaches you within 14 days of your start date, we also add Lifed credit worth 10% of your booking, up to ₹5,000.

Moving instead of cancelling

Ask to move your dates from your dashboard. If your Healthmate has space, you keep your original price, even if it has gone up since you booked. If a move is not possible and you cancel instead, the table above applies.

What is not refunded

Not turning up, on a booking you never cancelled.
Leaving early for your own reasons, for the nights you did not use.
Being asked to leave for conduct, or for not declaring something material about your health.
Travel, visas, insurance and anything booked outside Lifed.

Getting your money back

There is no Lifed booking fee to deduct, so a 100% refund is 100% of what left your account. We start the refund within 7 working days.

UPI usually completes in 3 to 5 working days. Cards and bank transfers take 5 to 10 working days after we start it, which is your bank's timeline rather than ours. Lifed credit is issued straight away.

Worth knowing before you book

Personal illness, a family emergency, a visa refusal or a cancelled flight are handled by the table above, because your room is held and others are turned away. We recommend travel and medical insurance for every residential booking.

If you have documentation of a serious medical emergency, we will raise it with your Healthmate and ask them to consider a date move or a discretionary refund. They decide, and we will tell you either way.

Become a Healthmate

Forest Living Residency near Auroville for Reconnection & Reset

A forest living residency near Auroville rooted in yoga, art, music, play and community, for deep reconnection.

Objective of the Program

Designed for the right people, in the right setting

A Typical Day

Pranayama (breathwork) and body movement

Healthy breakfast

Karma Yoga

Simple lunch

Arts and craft

Sound bath or philosophy circle

Early dinner

Jamming or journaling

Signature Experiences

Daily Yogic Practice

Karma Yoga

Arts, Craft & Creative Expression

Sound Bath & Philosophy Circle

Body Movement & Flow

What’s Included

What You’ll Take Away

Wellbeing Outcomes

Preventive Wellbeing Support

Nourishment Throughout Your Stay

Dietary Approach

Accommodation

The People Guiding Your Journey

Riddhi Jai

Gopal Dalami

Location & Travel

Where You’ll Be

Meet your Healthmate

vaigayi

About vaigayi

Areas of focus

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