Yoga and Meditation

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Indian People have been coming to Rishikesh on spiritual pilgrimages for thousands of years. The river that runs through here, the Ganges, is considered sacred to Hindus. It is often referred to as "Maa Ganga" Mother Ganges and is believed to be a goddess on earth. Where I am in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains is where the Ganges River starts

There have been ashrams here for hundreds of years. An ashram is a place where people go to meditate and study. It's like a monastary for Hindus. Often nuns and monks live there. At the Yoga Niketan Ashram there are monks who live here and there are people like me who come here for a short time to learn about yoga.

Meditation means to take time to sit and think about God. Meditation is often thought of as a Hindu or Buddhist activity but Christians meditate too. You might recognize that word from chapel.

In 1968 the rock band The Beatles came to Rishikesh to study meditation.

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Photos

Hindu River Goddess
This is a carving of a river goddess. Notice how she looks like a river.

Becca in "Tree Pose"
"Tree Pose' is one of the many balancing poses in yoga.

Yves in "Bow Pose"
This is me in a yoga pose called "Bow Pose"

Me in front of my Ashram dorm room
The gates around the doors are to keep the monkeys from getting into our rooms.

Monkey on the office balcony
There are monkeys everywhere here. They are comfortable with people-- so comfortable they steal our food all the time.