Amy Landry's relationship with India is built on the kind of respect that comes from genuine study. She does not bring people to the obvious places. She brings them to Udupi, to Sringeri, to the Shankaracharya pitha where they can walk in and out freely and receive Darshan in silence. She dresses traditionally, advocates for her retreat participants to do the same, and believes that the quality of India's welcome is directly proportional to the quality of the respect you bring to its threshold.

Her work as a teacher is a direct extension of this philosophy. She is not interested in yoga as a fitness trend or as a brand. She is interested in yoga as a complete system — thousands of years deep, encompassing everything from the gross body to the subtlest layers of consciousness — and she has written a book to prove it. The Ocean of Yoga is her attempt to give Western seekers a map they can actually use: not to tell them what to believe, but to show them how vast the territory is and invite them to find their own way through it. In a world that keeps flattening yoga into a shape or a lifestyle, Amy Landry is one of the voices working to give it its depth back.

Amy in Her Own Words

Does following yoga or Ayurveda make someone Hindu?

I think yoga particularly transcends religion. You don't have to be converted — there's no doctrine, no one and only text, like the Quran or the Bible. When we look at the evolution of yoga over a very long time, it has continued to develop and change and evolve, informed by many traditions. Hindu is really an umbrella term for many different traditions — Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava — with connections to Buddhism as well. It would be an oversimplification to say yoga is religious, but it has been developed within a certain spiritual context. If you come from any other religious background, I absolutely think you can wholeheartedly walk the path of yoga, and certainly engage in Ayurveda — because Ayurveda is primarily about tending to the mind and body and having health, resilience, and longevity.

What does a true guru relationship actually teach you?

I think the relationship with the guru creates a humility that doesn't quite exist when you don't have that relationship. And it teaches great patience — because the greatest masters don't just freely give information whenever you ask for it. Everything is fed very, very slowly, for very good reason: you need to imbibe those teachings and techniques and work with them for an extended period of time before you're given anything else. In the Western world we're not used to that. We're used to having whatever we want whenever we want it. Having the role of the guru through the more traditional lens teaches us surrender — and by surrender I don't mean we lose our autonomy. We still have to have self-responsibility. But there is solace and refuge to be found in embracing that relationship.

What about teachers who have fallen from grace?

We can't throw out the teachings if we choose not to stay with the teacher. The teachings are what is timeless and what is potent in giving us transformation. That's always worth remembering.

I've been doing asana for five years and feel I've mastered it. What next?

I would first ask: what is perfect asana? Is that something external — the way the shape looks — or is that your state of being internally in that posture? We can get quite competitive in asana practice and it takes us away from the goal, which is to promote physical and mental steadiness so the mind can become quiet enough for meditation. But I would say: are you familiar with mudras? Are you working with bandhas, pranayama, kumbhaka? These are still physical, tangible things we do with this body — but they're more refined and potent. And at the end of the day, if you're still the same person and the practice hasn't changed you very much, then maybe we've missed the point.

What makes India retreats different from retreats anywhere else in the world?

My personal intention for taking groups to India is that I want people to experience parts of India beyond the typical tourist sites. I wanted people to come to temples where they didn't see other foreigners, where everybody is dressed in traditional clothing. Once you have an experience in India where you go off the beaten trail — go to the less commonly known places for foreigners — and maybe you dress more traditionally yourself and respect the local customs, your experience is even richer. It's a wonderful deepening. And when you can do it in a group with someone who knows what they're doing, you have the connection with other people to experience it together, and that can be very very special.

What was the most memorable moment from your recent Karnataka retreat?

We went to Sringeri and to the beautiful pitha that Adi Shankaracharya first installed and established — and there were no other foreigners there. It was so calm, no lines, no chaos, and the architecture was just sublime. We were able to go in and out and have Darshan multiple times over. That is the India that most travelers never find, and it is absolutely extraordinary.

What are your top tips for solo women traveling to India?

Look at doing homestays and staying with families — through recommendations of people you know. I think homestays can be wonderful because you have a safe haven where you feel like you have people taking great care of you. You're being fed beautiful food and you have a more relaxed, safe experience. Staying in hotels can be quite risky unless they're part of a known global chain. I would also say trust your instincts — if something doesn't feel right, trust that no matter what's going on around you. Avoid arriving somewhere late at night especially somewhere unfamiliar. And I would strongly recommend dressing traditionally — invest in long kurtas, have your dupatta, your shawl. You feel more comfortable and you have a richer experience because it reflects your respect for the culture.

Tell us about your book, The Ocean of Yoga.

The Ocean of Yoga is for students, seekers, and teachers of yoga who want to honour yoga in its full spectrum of teachings and traditions. There's a section on the history of yoga, on the idea of religion and Hinduism, on subtle yogic anatomy — which is more important and relevant than the Western anatomy we put so much emphasis on. There's a section on different traditions, paths of yoga, lineage, the role of the guru. Then a practical section working from the outer to the inner — broader than Patanjali's eight limbs, with some less commonly known techniques. And then the last section focuses on Shastra — the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutra, and some less commonly known texts like the Yoga Yajnavalkya — and then Sanskrit, sound, and mantra. It's intended to be comprehensive yet very accessible. The aim is to represent this full ocean of yoga so people are more inspired about which direction to take and how to move forward.

Conclusion

Amy Landry's work is a quiet act of restoration. At a time when yoga in the West has been compressed into sixty-minute fitness classes, Instagram postures, and wellness branding, she is one of the practitioners working patiently to give it back its breadth. The ocean of yoga, as she calls it, is vast — and most people who practice it have only ever stood at the edge of the shore.

Her travels in India are an expression of the same commitment. She does not bring people to the famous places. She brings them to the places that are still alive in the way they have always been alive — quiet, traditional, unhurried, and indifferent to being photographed. At Sringeri, at Udupi, at temples where no tourist map has yet arrived, she creates the conditions for the kind of experience that quietly reorganises a person's understanding of what yoga is, where it comes from, and what it is actually for.

As Moses reflects at the close of this conversation: "So much learning in this conversation itself." That, ultimately, is what the India Calling podcast and Smukti continue to offer — not a highlight reel of spiritual tourism, but genuine encounters with people who have done the real work, and who carry its gifts home to share.

The Ocean of Yoga by Amy Landry releases March 31st, 2026. Pre-orders are open now.

Listen to the full episode on the India Calling Podcast by Smukti. Follow Amy on Instagram at @amyelandry and visit amyelandry.com/ to explore her retreats, teachings, and book pre-order links worldwide.