Blogs from Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 7

Sushil is 49 years old and has, for the past 20 years, run a chai stall which for the last 14 years has been under a peepal tree next to the river Ganges (Ganga) in Rishikesh. He was born 100 klms away and moved here with his family in 1979 when his father, a Village Development Office with the government, was stationed there. When he was 20 and his father and family again moved, he stayed on in this ‘World Capital of Yoga’ (made famous by the Beatles in the 1960s who discovered eastern mysticism there), living and learning yoga and meditation in local ashrams for about 15 years. He was a devotee of the famous Yogeshwari Malati Bal, who gave him Mantra Diksha (described by Sushil as the real deal and ‘proper way’ unlike a ... read more

nice to be weighing in at 50kg again. didn't want anyone freaking out but i was waaaaaaaaaay too skinny for a few days there. im talking emaciated. but with loose skin. grossss. need to hit gym bigtime. am doing yoga but only one of the two classes that are on offer to me each day because i am still weak and really tired from the illness and havent completely recovered. have lost so much muscle tone its quite disheartening. there is no chance i could do any man push ups. having enough difficulty with plank into chaturanga. its a huge struggle.. im shaking all over just to get down. its a big difference to the way that i used to feel about my body. i need to be gentle on myself because i was up all ... read more

the big kesh is the bees knees. being here fulfils every fantasy i had about my experience in india. its exactly everything i love about all the culture, people, spirituality, pace of life, warmth, shanti, , the consistency the river impresses upon everything, the clean, clear air, the outpouring of ideas and identity, this is a place to be lost for sure. im not sure that one can exactly 'find oneself'. this is something that some of my less spiritually inclined friends smirk about and i think to some extent they are very much right. you're not going to find a different self just because you are in new surroundings. the landscape and experiences can only offer you speckles of colour, they are in themselves very much meaningless. the only shift that can happen is through ... read more

Well i must say the last few days have been eventful to say the least. Sunday was our day of our usual yoga classes so we spent most of the morning visiting an Ashram in Haridwar, a town about an hour from where we are staying in Ramsjula near Rishikesh. It was interesting to see, but not that interesting as to what actually goes on in there. It is more like a community hall, where people go for free doctor consultations, eat very low priced canteen style meals and practise yoga, as well as lodging there. Anyway the point is that we crossed paths again with some lovely people, had some laughs, took some pictures and then headed back to our little town. Once almost back is when the mission started of actually trying to get ... read more

Ein Sonnengruß aus Rishikesh the City of Yogis! Wieder ein Stück weiter im Norden bin ich in Rishikesh gelandet. Der Norden Indiens hat seine eigene Qualität und ist so reizvoll wenn auch ganz anders als der Süden mit vielen Bergen und viel Wald. Erinnert ein bisschen an den bayrischen Wald:-) Aufgrund des Monsuns und somit täglichen Regens hab ich mich dazu entschlossen ein Training in Ayurveda Massage zu machen. Hab es bereits erfolgreich abgeschlossen und somit jetzt Ayurveda Massage, Kräuterstempel Massage und Shirodhara (Stirnguss) im Angebot. Während meiner Zeit in Rishikesh war auch gerade das Shiva Festival und tausende Inder kamen um im Ganges zu baden. Auch ich habe es gewagt und war in dem Eiswasser des heiligen Flusses beim Baden - brrrrr war das kalt! Was mich sehr beeindruckt hat war der Ashram in dem ... read more