Blogs from Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 10

December 1st to 9th 2008 - Agra, Haridwar, Rishikesh Yo chaps and chapesses. How goes? I hope you are all getting into the Christmas spirit at home, even though I know it just won't be the same for you without me there! Its been a mixed 9 days since last my voice reached out across the oceans to you, starting badly (with, I must admit, some wanting to go home) and ending much better, as I'm sure you'll be glad to hear. So, when I was writing last I was sitting in Bhopal having fled Pachmarhi that morning. Sadly, the next available train to Agra wasn't until late the following evening, so on Monday (1st Dec) I had the joy of wondering round the city. This did not take long, for Bhopal is deservedly not a ... read more

I mentioned to Zakari that we should take advantage of our last day in Derhadun and go check out Rishikesh, which is only about an hour or two drive away. He agreed and I talked to the school who arrainged for a driver right away. I told Sandeep that we're going to Rishikesh and that he needs to come with us. Especially since he wont have anything to do since his students won't be in class. So after some convincing he agreed. I really enjoyed myself. We insisted that our driver, Raj, join us and he was a lot of fun as well. The whole time we were laughing and joking, Sandeep became our photographer. Which was so funny because all you heard was 'click, click, click'. So I was off the hook and didn't have ... read more

Rishikesh calls itself the Yoga Capital of the World. It could well be true. There is a whole lotta yoga going on there. Like Varanasi, Rishikesh is located along the banks of the Ganges River, however that is about where the similarities end. Rishikesh is a quiet (well, as far as India goes), clean, laid-back place where nearly everyone left us alone! A welcome break after Rajasthan and another quick stop in crazy Delhi. Rishikesh is located near where the clean-ish Ganges emerges from the Himalayan foothills. It is an ideal place to chill out, take a course, eat salad, do some yoga or meditation during a stay at an ashram. Being holy town, Rishikesh is dry (no booze) and very vegetarian: no eggs or meat. Although we did discover that one part of town inexplicably ... read more

I was awoken today in my hotel by the ubiquitous ringing of bells and mantra chanting. Laying in my bed, my good old stolen British airways blanket draped over me to protect me from frosty morning air I had to smile... not so many places in the world where you are woken up this way. I am starting to recognise many of the mantras, often find myself subconsciously humming them. Yesterday in our final ceremony at the Phool Chatti ashram where I stayed for the past week, we chanted one of them 108 times, sitting around a small fire, each with a little dish of seven different types of sacred wood shavings which we took a pinch of (using only middle, third finger and thumb - important, although not sure why) and threw in the fire ... read more

As I sit here with a belly full of delicious pizza after having watched the sunset over the Ganga in Freedom cafe, surrounded by gaggles of Israelis getting stoned, I muse about how different the turns that life take are from what we expect. And thank God. Am starting to realize that my journey is going to be so different from what I anticipated, as is the nature of my learning ... Being ill with a cough and cold as soon as I got to Rishikesh meant I had time to look around and find the right ashram, as opposed to jumping straight into the first one a fellow traveller recommended back in Pondicherry...and so I felt my sickness was a blessing in disguise and entered Anand Prakash ashram, a very new ashram run by an ... read more

It feels like the past month has been a kind of introduction to my real trip, which starts now with my arrival in Rishikesh. Yesterday I said my goodbyes to Adam after a month of travelling together and got on a 20 hour train to Haridwar, then a one hour bus to Rishikesh. To be honest, I have not really enjoyed the past month so much... although it has had it's moments, travelling for travellings sake turned out to be something I actually haven't been drawn to at this point in time and so feel so relieved to finally be able to stay put in a place and focus on something. I am constantly trying to be aware of myself labelling all my experiences and everything I encounter as 'good' or 'bad' and judging everything...and so ... read more

Finally! After weeks of living in an ashram, with virtually no internet access and 12 hour days of Yoga and Yoga Teacher Training, finally i am updating my blog and adding pics! Teacher Training was a fantastic experience. It took place at an ashram in northern India, in a city called Rishikesh. It is at the foothills of the himalayas, and is situated on the most holy Ganges river. My ashram, called Parmarth Niketan, is the largest ashram in Rishikesh, with over 1000 rooms, and beautifully landscaped gardens, temples, and yoga halls. Our group was 13 people, from all over the world. US, Canada, Europe, Korea, Iran, the UK, and our 2 teachers were from San Francisco and India/Khasakstan, respectively. The program was to obtain a 200 hour certificate as a yoga teacher, and allow registration ... read more