My trip to India
Yordanka Naydenova • July 14, 2020
My yoga teacher training in India
It`s been more than six months already, but I decided finally to sit down and write about it while I still have some fresh memories, and I can also compare how I developed meanwhile.
People often ask me how I decided to go to India for yoga teacher training. The funny thing is, I don`t even remember how and when exactly I decided I want to do it. I assume I planted the seed for this decision when I first started reading about yoga and practicing, and it was growing ever since. I was 15 years old when I started developing my interest in meditation and eastern teachings. I count myself as a lucky girl because my first meeting with yoga was exactly with traditional Raja yoga and not just with the physical practice of yoga that many only know.
Additionally, I was reading the journal "Yoga for every day" while I was still in Bulgaria. It was a monthly edition which was offering quality articles on all possible aspects of yoga and alternative way of living. At the end of it, there was often the story of a yoga teacher who spent a month or few in an Indian Ashram, obtained his/her Sanskrit name, doing Seva cleaning the whole place, and so on. Some of them shaved their hairs. I was observing with interest that some people on the pictures didn't do it, so I was hoping I don't have to shave my head if I go to India one day.
I was happy to see that Julia Roberts didn't have to shave her head either in the movie Eat, Pray, Love. She had to wipe the whole floor kneeling even though. I was relieved to find out that you can only go for a teacher training course in India, without having to do the dirty job. You pay (a nice amount) and what you are going to do all day is yoga, eating vegetarian food, meditating and a little bit of sightseeing. Now, tell me, doesn't it sound to you like a dream holiday?
I remember, already in 2015, I was telling the people that this is my dream, and I want to do this one day. For different reasons, I was postponing accomplishing, there was either no time, no money, or both, but besides that, I had my concerns connected with health, hygiene, pollution, and climate in India.
Before the trip, I was looking for a blog post like this. I wanted to read about the experience of somebody else who did a yoga teacher training course in India, but I couldn't find exactly this. For sure, there must be plenty of them, but Google didn't show me. I hope my story will provide some answers for another modern spiritual seeker. I will try to keep it detailed but not watery for you.
What defined the final decision was the fact that I didn't have a healthy lifestyle before the course. I was smoking, drinking, eating junk food. At least I was vegetarian, which was good for my mind, but slowly I was reducing the sports activities and limiting the yoga practice to a little bit of stretching from time to time till it was completely absent. I had a stressful job which I didn't like. I was tired of working something only because it was well paid because the working times suit me or just because I had to do something. I just wanted finally to do something that I like. I had to take my health in hands as well, as I developed some issues with my feet, and as a result, I had pain in my knees and back. I was so stiff and stressed out that eventually, I had pain all over my body. Just before the course, I realized that I was not able to do the dancer pose anymore. I couldn't center my mind, and I couldn't keep any standing balance. I couldn't lift myself for the wheel pose. There was no strength, and my spine just felt like a big brick. It was painful and frustrating. The postures I did once to warm-up as a yoga student while waiting for the teacher to come in were not accessible to me even as peak poses anymore. Attempting arm balances were a mirage, and sitting in lotus was just a memory.
So this is the law of Murphy. All these years, I was waiting to be in good shape, becoming an advanced yogi and then accomplishing a teacher training, but instead, I went to India in my maybe worst ever physical state. Life makes its plans. We are all students anyway. Moral of the story so far, you shouldn't wait too long if you want to do something.
In my case, the pain was a blessing. Besides the pain all over my body, I have experienced disgusting migraines. When I started accepting them as something usual in my life, it was just clear I have to change something. Migraines are often the sign for discrepancies between one`s material and spiritual world. The way of life might not correspond with the inner beliefs, and this was just my case. I booked a flight ticket to Delhi in a moment of despair, and then I had to live with the decision analyzing if it was correct or not. One month after the spontaneous booking, I had to be in India, and I had no clue how many preparations still had to fulfill.
Booking everything was the simple part, but I thought this was pretty much everything. So, I booked the connecting flight from Delhi to Dehradun, the taxi, and the training course. Choosing and adjusting dates, times, prices so that everything can fit my calendar and pocket. I decided to arrive just one day before the training started, and leave on the day after as I thought it should be just fine. Then I come back and continue working immediately on the next day.
Indeed, googling took me the most time for the preparations as I wanted to do the things right, and I was scared to not miss out on something important. Now it doesn't seem so difficult, but there was just the fear of change that was disturbing me on each step.
So, I had to ensure the Visa on time. I have been advised to do plenty of vaccines in the Tropical Institute, which were all expensive. I hear many people go away without them, and they are just fine, but I was scared about my health, as I mentioned above, it didn't feel very stable at that moment. I was in the hospital a few times over the past years, so I was scared, and all possible scenarios were coming to my head. I did health insurance and bought a big bag with medicine. Both of them, happily, I didn't have to use.
There must be something else I forget right now, but, yeah, I did a lot. I admire people who are brave enough and don't overthink. They solely go somewhere and do what they want to do. Anyway, those layers of fears and anxiety were gradually vanishing as I settled slowly down in Rishikesh and started getting used to the new daily routine.
I remember being scared to not touch anything already on the plane to Delhi. Luckily, I slept most of the time. I landed in the morning and had to wait for the internal flight to Dehradun. I was sitting lonely and thirsty at the airport in Delhi, waiting for the delayed connection. I've brought my bottle of water, but eventually, I've finished it, and I was scared to refill it with the filtered tap water. I was observing the locals drinking gracefully without touching the bottle to their mouths. It looked easy, and I decided to give it a try and bought a bottle of water. I spilled it immediately. Till I left India a month later, I was still not able to drink from a bottle without touching it to my lips. I had to either get wet or risk my life.
After the water, I had my first masala tee at the airport. The trip advisor was recommending me to go for hot beverages as it was safer.
From the Airport, in Dehradun, they picked me up with a new and clean taxi, with air conditioning. I was happy it was not a rickshaw, a motorcycle, or who knows what. I was relieved but not for long. To my surprise, in the middle of the road, the driver just stopped, and with bad English, he told me that I have to switch to another car that was waiting for me. The new taxi didn't look so spectacular, and I was a bit concerned about where are they taking me as the new driver didn't speak English at all. To complete my horror, he was stopping the car from time to time and talking to me something in Hindi, which, of course, I didn't understand. That 20 km was very long. It took almost an hour through the mountain dirt roads, and I was not sure yet if I had taken the right decision to make this trip. Eventually, I found out the driver just wanted to show me beautiful views, and he was only stopping for me to take a picture! I think so. I also think he was also a bit concerned with my anxious behavior.
Rishikesh is an astonishing place situated in the foothill of Himalaya along the Ganga river. Simple but colorful life. People seemed happy. There were, unfortunately, a lot of street dogs, but they were all behaved and quite, from which I did the conclusion they don`t face much aggression from the people. The attitude towards animals can say a lot about society. If you don`t know about the Bulgarian street animals, it is better for you to not find out about it at all. (But if you change your mind go fund Animal Rescue, Bulgaria. It will be appreciated.) During my stay in Rishikesh, I have seen few times a local hitting a street cow or his donkey with a stick or trying to scare a dog or a monkey. I hope those were exceptions. Hope dies at last.
The name Rishikesh comes from word Rishi which is a word for enlightened Hindu, somebody who reached Samadhi, a holly person. However, even locals joke with the name of the town as Rishi-cash, so commercial it is nowadays. Many "gurus" will sell you everything in exchange for some cash. The whole Rishikesh seems to survive mainly from tourists. So many young, lost souls go in Rishikesh to seek for themselves, smoking weed all day and believing they are spiritual. Compared to most European countries, it is super cheap in Rishikesh, which local merchants use very well. Most of the shops don't use price tags, and you will evaluate you first. They always ask you first from which country you are from, especially they like to here the US or UK, but Germany and Switzerland also sounded good, in my opinion. I always said I come from Bulgaria I avoided to mention I live in Austria, it was just cheaper. I preferred to visit one same shop with fixed prices, where the merchant didn't seem so into playing Robin Hood game. I think it was also cheaper if you shop in a group. They can get a bit confused when so many nationalities enter the shop at once, but if we enter separately, then we all get a different price. It is somehow ridiculous, but maybe somebody who likes negotiating would appreciate this experience.
I have arrived in Rishikesh in the Evening on 31st October. It was almost 24 hours since I had left home, and I was tired, sleepy, hungry, and thirsty. I didn't sleep so well during the night on the plane, and I was careful what I am drinking, eating, and touching. Besides, I was in a culture shock.
People were super friendly and polite, which is something I haven't experienced in any other culture, but before even I reached the school, I got triggered by the poverty and contrast of life in India. I was surprised to see with my eyes that the caste system still exists.
I was so looking forward to spending a month eating tasty, mainly plant-based, Indian food. I have tried many times to change my diet, but so far, I couldn't make it to quit eggs and diaries for a long time. Somehow it didn't correspond to my state of consciousness, and it was difficult to change eating habits. Usually, people choose this way of life for animals. They say, accepting the lives of other living beings as less valuable than ours was the deep root for world suffering.
A significant percent of the Indian population is vegetarians and vegans, so I thought this influence their minds in a positive way. I was looking forward to getting in touch with this enlightened culture, but its social stratification made me doubt.
So, I didn't have it very easy in the first few days. People who regularly travel to exotic destinations and meet distant cultures for sure adapt easier. I believe my second trip to another continent should cause me much less anxiety. I was just not ready in my mind for the first one. It was so sudden and spontaneous that it felt as somebody had taken the decision instead of me. At first, I wanted to go to India in a group but plans changed, and I couldn't travel with the others. I believe it was for the best as a solo trip provides many more opportunities for growth and self-awareness.
Things must be lighter if you arrive with an open heart. My upper back felt so stiff that I couldn't do any back-bends. As soon as my stereotypes started to fade away during the training, I also started to experience relief of the back stiffness, and I felt the opening of the heart center. Even now, when I allow myself to be stiff in my mind, and I don't accept other opinions, I feel shoulders dropping down, back rounding, heart center closing. Back-bends in those days are not pleasant but help to deal with unprocessed emotions and impressions.
First few days, I only saw the dust and mold everywhere and cow excrements on the streets, which was synchronous with my hostel room (they called it "hotel"). They accommodated me in a moldy, cold room without direct sunlight. Something I didn't expect was that I could feel so cold in India. The room was on the first floor, at the corner with a new building under construction, facing the mountains, so there was no direct light coming inside. The window couldn't close properly, so it was cold day and night, from outside was smelling like cow shit and from inside was smelling like mold. The washed clothes couldn't get dry. When I arrived the first night, it was everything so dusty that I had to wipe for hours before going to bed. Then I wanted to take a shower after this long day. There was a problem with the hot water, so I had to shower with a cold one. It was so hot during the day in India, but at night felt chilly. I was not happy with the accommodation, but after crying on the phone with my boyfriend, I felt a bit better and decided finally to sleep. To my surprise, I couldn't find the cover for the blanket anywhere. The woolen blanket was warm and soft, but there was no cover for it, and I couldn't believe everyone had to sleep with the same one without covering it. Something made me doubt they wash it after every guest. It was already 2 AM, and I had to be awake in a few hours. I didn't sleep very well, as you can imagine.
The next morning I asked already at breakfast some of the other students if they had blanket covers. They explained to me here it was not provided. Some of them were prepared and brought their own, but others seemed not disturbed. I thought maybe something is wrong with me and I should complain less. A strange thing that I could not find this information before the trip considering I was googling day and night. Never before in my life happened to me to go somewhere and do not have bedclothes, even in cheap hostels, but I accepted it might be common for some parts of India.
I also thought I should be modest and less sophisticated. Wasn't this trip was about spirituality and growth and not about the comfort of the material world? When they told me there was no other free room, I wanted to believe I should live in simplicity for one month and meditate more. Tapas, one of the Niyamas, is referred to as discipline and enduring difficulties.
What bothered me was that I asked them per email, if possible, to have a room facing the river. I went to this school by recommendation of one of my Bulgarian teachers. She advised me to ask for a room facing the river because those facing the mountain are cold and wet, and the clothes get moldy, which is why I insisted prior the course to have one of those rooms. However, I arrived last, and I got the basement (this is how I called it).
I was just scared for my lungs because I had many respiratory diseases in the past, and I was worried this mold might not cause me good. Besides that, outside was dusty because they don`t have many roads. The main street serves as well as the pedestrian area, market, natural habitat for the street cows and dogs, and my smoker`s lungs were having a hard time.
Something important I learned in India is that Ahimsa, non-violation, the first Yama, always start from ourselves. All these years since my first meeting with yoga philosophy, I thought Ahimsa was only being a good person and not hurting other living beings. I remember so many situations in which I was struggling with a decision, not hurting somebody. I would suppress my anger, or I would compromise with myself to make somebody happy. Truth to be told the opposite, to only act according to your interests, will only turn you into egoist. Balancing assertive behavior and empathy is the key. The thing is, all those cliches how you should love yourselves first and so on are easier said than done. Many people, for example, force themselves to become vegans or vegetarians because they read or heard somewhere it was for the animals. However, if this change does not come from inside, it is violence according to one's nature and thus will not cause good to him. Another thing I have learned is that it is not always wrong if you experience Santosa (contentment and satisfaction) from material goods. We live after all in a material world. Being spiritual is good, but something needs to ensure the food and pay the bills. Besides, the inspiring job of a yoga teacher requires expensive training. Something for which even Wolf of Wall street was right is that if you want to do something good with a significant impact on the world, usually you need money. For example, yoga schools in India increase the price all the time. If they want to educate teachers who will spread the knowledge of yoga around the world and thus create it a better place, why they all the time want to charge more and more like a good business instead of keeping it accessible? For a good education you need to pay, and it's worth it, this I respect, and I understand very well, but in Rishi-cash there are so many yoga schools, that I doubt all of them are good quality. I also tend to doubt that employees' salaries increase progressively with increasing the course fees. Do you know The Monk who sold his Ferrari? In our case was: the guru who bought a Mercedes. Literally.
We live in a modern world. Yoga has changed over the millenniums, but so has humanity as well. I thought traditional yoga is the best, and I was not so open to its contemporary modifications, but not everything ancient is applicable or beneficial to people nowadays. We should keep the tradition and cherish the experience of our ancestors, but we should not underestimate the power of current generations to create the traditions. Yoga is good for life, but life is not only yoga. I think we should be stable grounded to reach high. I have also seen people who tend to forget themselves and sink too deeper into spirituality. I think we should also be able to doubt things, not everything we hear even from a specialist is genuine, and not everything which works well for somebody else is valid for us. A reason for me to start smoking again at the end of the course was that I was not sure anymore if I was finding or losing myself. I did quit smoking one more time when I got back home but, see, not the trip to India itself is the life-changing experience. It is more like, in my opinion, the willingness to adopt new habits, the desire to get answers. Yoga philosophy gives answers, but we all understand them (or not) according to his own experience. So, you should also not believe everything I am sharing here. That is just my experience, my opinion, my point of view. Sometimes, it is good to think paradoxically and change thinking patterns.
For me, the trip became enjoyable after the first few days when I was finally able to change the room. I had to pay for an upgrade to a room with AC, which I didn't need because AC in India only blows cold, and in the night I was cold anyway, during the day, I was not much in the room, and it was not so hot in November. The room was facing the river, and it was bright and dry, with a breath-taking view. Even though it didn't feel somehow right for me to pay extra only to accommodate in an ordinary room, but I was scared to not getting pneumonia again, and I didn't have much choice. I didn't want to risk my health. Besides, the view was just worth it. The rooms next to mine didn't have an AC, and they had the same room view, but lower price. It was not that the case, it was just frustrating to me because I asked for something in advance, and it was important to me, not just a caprice. It was not only ignored, but I got the exact opposite result. I assume I sounded like a spoiled European girl who had to meet the real-life or maybe just the communication between the school and the hostel was not proper. Whatever, you should be prepared for surprises.
I was so happy with my new room. It was dusty, of course, so I had to wipe a lot, but I was just fine. Anyway, I like to touch and clean everything with my hands, cause then it feels like it charges with my energy. There was just a little bit of mold, but everything is just a matter of perception. Amongst all, I think the most I was enjoying the monkeys coming on my balcony.
I could watch them all day. Monkeys were my mediation. I was not scared, and I was enjoying their presence. Sometimes, instead of monkeys, I found only their poo, but I was just fine with that one as well. If you have a pet, you need to clean after it. I am just kidding, of course. Wild animals should belong to nature. I was struggling if I should feed them or not but decided not because I leave soon, and they would continue to come back and look for food, but maybe the new guests would be not happy to meet them. Hotel staff was using a gun to scare the monkeys when a guest complained there was one on his balcony.
For me, their visits were a blessing.
Those little guys can be very nasty. I think they like to play and make jokes with people. When one of my shoes disappeared in front of the Shala, not only I was not angry, but it was even somehow funny. I traveled light, I went there with only 11 kg luggage for one month (but I shopped a lot and came back with more than double, oops, not so minimalistic anymore) so I only had one pair of sneakers and was only wearing them. I didn't feel comfortable at first to switch them with sandals because of the dusty roads. When I finally did, I was even happy that a monkey stole my shoe. India is not India if you don't wear sandals/flip-flops.
Unfortunately, I was a little bit sick. I thought first I was coughing only because of the dust or just my lungs were cleaning because I quit smoking there, but it was getting worse, and I was a getting worried, but once we had the first day off, I was able to spoil myself, relax and then started recovering. You know I arrived there very tired, and I had to dive in immediately into the intense daily schedule, which is why now I know its better to get there a few days before to get used to the time zone, to the climate, and the culture. It would be good if I would have also given myself a few days off after the course to remain there and proceed with the impressions or do some sightseeing without time pressure. I wanted to speed it up the trip, but I have met my experience for the next time.
The schedule was very intensive. We started at finished with the classes when it was dark outside. We were beginning the day with mantra recitation. I like listening to mantras as well with their singing so I would enjoy longer chanting sessions. However, for some students, even this length was too much. We were a very mixed group of many nationalities from all over the world. We all had been going through different yoga styles and systems. Some of the students never practiced meditation before, another never attempted cleansing procedures or pranayama. There were experienced teachers besides almost newbies. Even though I think we all enjoyed the course and we took the best out of it. The material was thaught detailed, gradually, so everyone could progress with his temp. However, those who didn't have experience with yoga philosophy were having a harder time when preparing for the exam, but everyone made it even though. As I shared already, I arrived in India in bad physical shape. I was not practicing for a while, so I had a hard time adapting to the intensity of the practice, but at least I was familiar with the alignment of many postures. My sports education was also making it easy with yoga anatomy. After the first week, I started to recover my flexibility when I was well warmed-up, and I was getting on fire. I was practicing even during the breaks. As a result, I injured myself and had to take it slowly until the end of the course. It was the only lesson for my ego, which was craving approval and admiration of the outer expression of a practice which was determined to the inner world, calm, modest, and rational mind. It was also a significant experience for my future work as a teacher, knowing what people in pain go through.
After learning mantras in Sanskrit, we continued with Cleansing processes. We performed Jala Neti by the river. For most of the people that was already too much. Later on, we added Vaman Dhoti. It was quite awkward to perform those procedures in a group, but eventually, we got used to it. Sneezing, squeezing, spitting, puking was just the usual start of the day. I remember once an angry woman whose room view was exactly us cleansing our noses, opening the window, and screaming that she couldn't do this anymore and that our noises were a bit disturbing for that time of the day. Sorry for her and many others who didn't even complain.
When we tried the Sutra Neti (cleansing the nasal passages with the help of a rubber catheter) it was the highlight of the day. It was ecstatic whose Nadis (energetic channels) are clean. It was not so easy as it seemed, but with the right amount of dedication, it was possible.
Something I find very funny, long time ago when I first started reading about yoga, I ended up exactly on material for Shatkarma (cleansing processes) but the hardcore. I remember not finding enough info about yoga on Bulgarian websites (at that time, yoga was not such a trend in my country) so, I went for Russian portals. I assume, because I didn't understand free the detailed texts, I accepted those procedures as something usual and essential on the yoga path. Before the course, they sent us an email with instructions from the school about what to bring. There was "an open heart" on the list. They mentioned we would perform ancient cleansing procedures and that we should be open to the different cultures. I recalled the drawings of yogis from the Russian websites swallowing a cotton strip and then taking it out. We only had to do this with our noses, that was just fine. I was happy I didn't have to shave my head.
After Shatkarma, we proceeded with Pranayama. Breathing with clean nasal passages was a thing! We were welcoming the sunrise during the Ashtanga class. After an hour and a half Primary series, we had an abundant breakfast. I felt awkward that I was awake for four hours, but it was only 9 AM. Everyday. Eventually, my biorhythms adapted, and I was waking up before the alarm, but it was still painful. At that time in Austria was a bit after midnight - the time I usually go to bed.
You see in the picture above: Breakfast in silence. Don't trust that. We only succeeded for a meal and a half.
By 9:30 AM, usually, we were done with breakfast, and we had two free hours, which was the time for the first nap/self-study/coffee/tee/shopping/laundry or whatever you want. At that time, the sun was still hiding behind the Himalayas, and it was chili and fresh, sometimes even cold. It was such crazy weather, so cold in the night and so hot in the afternoon.
After the first break/nap/self-study/masala tea, we continued with philosophy. Sanskrit and Yoga Sutras were challenging enough. Add Indian English, and I wish you good luck. I learned fast, and after one week, I noticed myself even pronouncing English words with an accent, skipping definite articles and pronouns here and there.
I was not even hungry, but I was happy the philosophy class was over, and I was first for lunch.
However, philosophy classes had an impact on me as we were able to ask questions, get answers from the teacher, and discuss with each other. A book itself is not enough if it is ancient knowledge, not fully applicable to contemporary people.
After lunch, we had Yoga anatomy. It was just basic of the basic but presented interestingly. I was surprised to see that Ayurveda had such an understanding of the human body already thousands of years ago. It is just after lunch was so hard to keep my eyes open.
The afternoon break was the time for the second nap/self-study/coffee/tee/shopping/laundry or whatever you want.
Very often, we just did yoga pictures.
At first, I was going to my room for a nap, but then I hat to live the nightmare of waking up again, and then I was so stiff for the Hatha yoga class. My dear friend Solange (with the white blouse above) taught me that going for Masala tea is the better option. Immediately I was into creating memories instead of oversleeping them.
We were meeting the sunset during the traditional Hatha Yoga class. The day was short but not for us. It was only hot for a few hours at that time of the year, so that the earth couldn't absorb the heat and the nights were getting colder and colder. I wanted to be summer all the time, but during the day I was wearing a T-shirt, so it was summer for me.
We were only doing yoga all the time. The break from yoga was often yoga. We improved a lot together. It was funny in a group and always wanted to try something new or to improve the alignment of some posture.
I've learned a lot from both Ashtanga and Hatha, regarding correct alignment and leading a class, and I was looking forward to implementing it in my self-practice
I was wondering how we are going to spend one hour meditating, but the first time I slept so well during it, that I was not worried about it anymore. I was imaging something else, sitting one hour in silence, without changing the position. We didn't go so far. We did soft modifications for urban, busy minds, a lot of relaxations, guided mediation, yoga Nidra. I was so tired sometimes that I learned to sleep in half lotus. (Some say you mastered the pose when you were able to fall asleep in it)
When in Savasana, it was just usual to hear snoring from time to time. Sometimes a tired soul continued sleeping after the class finished, and we had to wake her/him up for dinner.
After dinner, we would sometimes go for a tee, walk. We didn't have those special activities according to notice, so I was relieved, but some students were disappointed. Even without extra activities after dinner, I went to bed after midnight. Stay in touch with friends and family, playing with my phone, washing clothes, reading. Time flies.
Food was one of my highlights. I observed the change in my mind according to the food I am taking. I also noticed the reverse process, a change in my mind would define the food choice. You are what you eat. Inner motivation might determine the change in eating habits, but a change in eating habits might cause a shift from inside. It is necessary to put effort, but you should also not be harsh to yourself. I know that it is a sensitive topic, so I hope I do not hurt anyone's feelings, it's not meant like this, just my opinion.
We had sattvic (nature, essence, vital), simple, plant-based food for a month, and I loved the way it made me feel. I even enjoyed more than food in five stars hotel.
You know, cows in India are totem. People usually don`t eat them. Cows are everywhere undisturbed, so I always thought you are lucky to be a cow in India. However, as always, things are not exactly what they seem to be. Cows on the street often belong to nobody anymore. If they cannot give milk anymore, their owners cannot afford to feed them anymore, so they set them free. I have seen them eating trash from the bins, plastic, anything they would find. Their destiny is similar to street dogs`, but only with the difference, they are bigger and holly. In contrast with cows, dogs are perceived by people as dirty and unworthy (kind of like pig in Islam).
We had Sundays off, but except the first one, as we had to catch up with the material. So, the first day off was after ten days. I needed some quiet, and I was still sick, so I used to have a good rest. Second Sunday, we spent outside Rishikesh. The school organized a trip to Vashishta Cave (Vashishta Guha Temple). It is named by Vashishta Rishi, who meditated there for a long time and eventually reached Samadhi (oneness with the object of the meditation, union, the goal of yoga, and not, as you ideally shouldn't be attached to a goal). After a short meditation in the holy cave, we took a dip in the Ganga river. The water there looked clean, as it is close to the source.
What I like the most is that the course was so well balanced and suitable for all levels. We had excellent teachers who were patient for all stupid questions, but who could also give challenges for the more experienced. We were a very diverse group with a completely different experience and background.
People often ask me if this course is suitable for beginner yogis or you need to be very experienced to go there. I try to explain that you don't have to be able to put the legs behind your head (I still can't), but the previous experience is a plus. Everyone learns according to his/her understanding, so when the starting point is different, also the result will be different. If you have a base, you will be able to upgrade it. If not, you might only come home with the foundation and miss out on a lot of substantial details for which just the mind is not ready to accept and proceed. It is too much information if you are new, but we had people who never did yoga before or just a little bit, and they learned so fast and determined that they showed deeper understanding than more experienced.
A thing I loved in India is colorful clothes. Walking on Rishikesh streets felt like a fairy tale., a completely different feeling compared to urban, European life. The pace of life in Rishikesh was slow, no rush, no public transport, nobody seemed to be stressed out in a hurry. Locals said it was not so easy as it looked like and that living there was not so pleasant as being a tourist, which I tend to believe. Even though people seemed happy and they were always friendly and polite. Sometimes even too much, the Indian men can be very annoying but, luckily, I only experienced this online after I came back from India when unknown Indian men started to disturb me on Facebook. I made the mistake of accepting strangers' requests, but then they were texting and calling. I had to block them. Since then, no more Indians on Facebook. If this happened to me before the trip to India, I would never go there. Luckily, I didn't have any problems in India, except that once I tried to meditate by the river and within 20 minutes, four people came to talk to me and interrupted my meditation.
I didn't try to meditate in public anymore.
The views of Rishikesh are incredible. I enjoyed them from my room, from the school, from numerous coffee places, all of them facing the Ganga river. The combination with Himalaya is breathtaking.
The weather was quite good. It was getting colder at the end of November, but it was still sunny most of the time. Only at the end, it was raining. It was in unison with our moods. Most of us were sad to leave but nostalgic at the same time.
I had a healthy lifestyle in Rishikesh. I didn't smoke, didn't drink alcohol or a coffee for a few weeks, and we prominently had healthy food. It was not difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle in a holly town. Felt like a saint. However, despite the alcohol and meat prohibition in Rishikesh, some locals were importing meat from other places nearby. I was shocked, but as I mentioned above, eating habits change is something that should originate from inside, in synchrony with the state of consciousness.
I was very happy to meet people from all over the world. Now I have friends from almost all continents. I have learned a lot about different cultures. It's interesting how the way of life might determine our experience, but not who we are. Different people with a completely different background and lifestyle might share similar or the same moral values. The other way around, different situations and circumstances might cause the same feelings and experiences.
People sometimes ask me if it's OK to do yoga if you are not Hindu, for example, if you are a religious Christian. The topic of religion is even more sensitive than all mentioned above. There is no bad or good religion, wrong or right, in my opinion. All religions teach you to be a better person and provide you with answers science or the material world cannot. However, fanatics is something that scares me a lot. Being dogmatic, understanding words, but not sentences. I see it's easy to slip and stick to a believing system that will give you answers and will make you feel stable and secure.
Some of my students were even scared to chant OM because they knew somebody who went too far in spirituality. What I usually say, you should always be stable grounded if you want to extend high.
I need to tell you that I know religious people who practice yoga without any doubts. After all, isn't the religion of love universal?
I went to India to get the paper I wanted finally to become a legit teacher. When I got the certificate, I already had so much from the trip, that obtaining a document itself felt meaningless.
Anyway, nobody ever asked me about it.
If I didn't have the goal to finish a teacher training and get a certificate, I assume I would not allow myself this holiday. The busy mind always wants to have goals. Without an objective, in the end, there is no motivation to walk the way. This unsatisfactory cause burn-out and crown-chakra blockages. It's good to stop for a moment to appreciate and be grateful for everything so far.
So, this was more or less my experience. I didn't want to describe details about Rishikesh that you can read on Wikipedia ot Trip Advisor, but to share my impressions and how this trip affected me.
If you have any further questions that I didn't answer I would be happy to see them in comments and give you my answer.
Plase share what do you think about my experience.
Have you ever been to India? What is your experience then?
Are you dreaming of a trip to India in future? I hope travel ban fall and can accomplish it soon!
Maybe you are some of the skeptics?
You didn't read, and you only scrolled through the pictures? There is a video for you:
Do you need a reminder to go to outs ide?
You ask, I answer
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