The End of the Ashram

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Rishikesh is known as the "Gateway to the Himalaya" but its real claim to fame is that the Beatles came here in 1968 and wrote most of their songs on the White Album, What I've noticed mostly about rishikesh is the amount of yoga studios, ashrams, spirtuality retreats, ayureveda spas ect. it's a place you come to find your inner om I suppose that is the reason I came as well although I am so happy that my ashram was outside of town, quiet, peaceful beautiful. Rishikesh town is as insane as Delhi as I ventured in on my last day with two friends we found ourselves practicing all the tecniques of inner calmness we had been learning over the past three weeks. We lasted about 20 minutes and then we headed back to our safe haven our ashram. Many people have been asking what the yoga is like is it different then back home? There is a saying here " Yoga came to change America, but America changed Yoga." Indeed the yoga is quite different at the ashram I was at but trying some of the other yoga studios in town there were all different styles. I found myself hoping at some point these moves and postures would get a little harder as i wasn't even breaking a sweat in the classes. What i realized is the major difference here is that Yoga is more about the mind then about bending postures, While back home yoga is exercise here yoga is serenity its a lifestyle. At first being forced to stay inside the walls of the Ashram for the ENTIRE three weeks triggered an emotional free fall I had to break out about ten days in and luckily for me two of my friends chose to break the rules with me. We left for just a couple of hours but enough time to gain back my sanity. Returning I found meaning to the Ashram, people came from all over the world seeking stillness of mind, and mental peace, That's why I came aand now I feel so much better about staying within the walls of Sadhana, being silent and practicing stillness every chance I get. As soon as I got out of my head allittle I discovered I wasn't the only one wrestling with inner demons and no matter what our reasons were for coming to Sadhana has been an ideal place to gain clarity and/or seek refuge. So as my time ends here at the ashram something amazing happened, I began to let go. Let go of the fears for the future, let go of regrets of the past, let go of trying to figure out who i am or who I am suppose to be. Maybe it was the lack of liver corrupting substances in my bloodstream or the mandatory hours of silencebut as the days floated by a calmer, version of me surfaced.

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