Yoga Ashram

So here I am in Nashik.....about 170km (6 hours) on a non-airconditioned bus
from Mumbai.....

The Ashram - Yoga Vidya Dham - is surrounded by such beauty.....mountains that resemble temples and such an expanse of beautiful nature. It's very sacred and spiritual land and you can feel the energy of the place!! The perfect setting to wake up before sunrise and start chanting mantras and meditating before a couple of hours of yoga asanas.

After the asana class in the morning, we would have a few lectures then yoga nidra (the best relaxation I think I've ever had.....where you're 'riding the wave' between awake and asleep! It's the nuts!!!). In the afternoon we would have a bit of 'self-study' time where Ky and I would lie on our 'day beds' and try and cool off as much as possible (most of the days were about 40 degrees!!). We would then either have another lecture or Karma Yoga (where we'd have different chores to do). Another 2 hours of asanas followed by dinner and then our discussion/story-telling time before dinner.....
Then we'd do it all over again the next day!!

On our 'days off' (one day off per week!) we ventured into the big outside world.....temples galore, caves, carvings, fabric shops, mountains, little towns etc....

There were a few days that felt pretty challenging, and not everyday was rosy, but on the whole, it was such an amazing experience that will always be close to my heart! We had exams (practical as well as theory) that I ended up doing really well on.....and came out at the end of the month with the certificate.

I learnt so much during that month and met some beautiful souls there that I'll keep in touch with. I knew that there was much more to yoga than just the asanas....but to experience it is another thing!

Just in case anyone is interested in learning a bit more about 'Yog'.....here is the website from the Ashram:
http://www.yogapoint.com/
There are lots of interesting articles etc on there!

Hari Om Tat Sat

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