A Day at Yoga School

A day in the life of a yogi aspirant at Rishikesh Yogpeeth.

05:00 am - Wake Up
Greet the day before the sun does!

05:30 to 6:30 am - Meditation
The hour long morning meditation sessions were something I did for my own practice. I made a commitment to myself to meditate an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening for the 6 weeks I was here. Lucky for me, another Vipassana meditator was in my course, so we were able to having sittings together.

06:30 to 07:00 am - Herbal Tea and Nasal Cleansing
At first the thought of using a Neti pot actually scared me! But as I learned more and more throughout the course there's only one thing to do about your fears: face them.  They're really not as bad as you'd imagine.

The magic of starting my day with a Neti Pot. My life is forever changed.

07:00 - 9:15 am - Kriya/Pranayama/Mantra/Asana
Most days we started with about 45 minutes of pranayama (breathing techniques) and mantra chanting, before getting into asana practice. The classes proved to be challenging phyisically and mentally, especially with week after week wearing on us. Fridays were our Kriya days, which I'll explain more of in a future post.

Anna and Kim discussing poses after asana class.

09:30 am - Breakfast 
Breakfast was similar every morning. A huge selection of fruits accompanied by either porridge, toast, rice, etc.

All you can eat fresh fruit in the mornings!!! I could eat papayas everyday!

10:30 to 11:30 am - Anatomy Lecture
11:45 to 12:45 pm - Philosophy/Psychology/Therapy Lecture

I absolutely loved these classes. I gained a deeper understanding of how the techniques of yoga work holistically to balance body, mind, and spirit. 

My "desk"

Our class set up for lecture.

Lecture with Roshan

1:00 pm - Lunch
All meals were vegetarian.  Lunch usually consisted of dhal, rice, and steamed vegetables. After lunch, we had a few hours of precious free time!

These potatoes were always a big hit!

3:00 to 4:00 pm - Self Study
Before our second asana class, there was a self study hour which I used to work on assignments. During this time, you could usually find me at the Health Food Cafe with my notes at a coconut honey chai.

I'm a student again!

4:30 to 6:30 pm - Asana/Pranyama
The second asana class was taught by a different teacher and primarily focused on postures. We were in asana class a total of 4 hours each day, which does take a toll on the body. My muscles were sore and I felt as if I was LOSING flexibility. My teacher reassured me that this would all chance one I got proper rest.  He even agreed that we were practicing asanas too much!

6:45 pm - Dinner 
Dinner was taken in silence. We usually had a soup, chapati, and some curry dish.

7:45 to 8:45 pm - Meditation

9:30 pm - Lights Out
My evenings were spent winding down, reflecting in my journal and relaxing with a book.


We were in class Monday through Saturday with Sundays as our free day. Each day brought it's own unique challenges and successes. Failures and insight. And when I look back on this time, I'll know that this has been a remarkable 6 weeks of my life.

Opening Ceremony at Yogpeeth

That same day we attended our opening ceremony for our teacher training at Yogpeeth. Our teachers were there all dressed in white chanting mantras and giving pujas (offerings).  They were setting the intentions and wishes of a very successful course.

The aftermath of the ceremony. You can spy flower petals, rice, fruits, oils, fire, and a conch.

As part of the celebration they gave each of us a tilaka on our forehead.

and a kalava.

After the ceremony they also gave us some Hatha swag.

Books, a cloth yoga mat, and our neti pot!

Then we all ate dinner and went to bed for a bright an early start of 6:30 in the morning for our first official day of classes!

Holi

One of the most well known and holidays in India is Holi. Holi is called the festival of colorsand love. It is the celebration of the victorious triumph of good over evil. The night before Holi there is a bonfire with songs and dancing. The next morning people roam the street throwing colored dry powder or colored water on passersbys. Anyone is fair game!

Without my planning or knowing, Holi just so happened to coincide with the opening ceremony of my yoga course. Our entire cohort celebrated together by purchasing bags of colored powder and bravely walking the streets together.

Bags of bright colored powder!

Holi was the happiest holiday I have ever celebrated! Strangers greet each other like old friends. People are running and laughing in the streets. And all the colors make the day the brightest in the entire year!

BEFORE

AFTER

Some tips for those celebrating Holi in India.

1. Go in a large group and if possible celebrate in an ashram or with an organized institute, especially if you're a woman. I've hear horror stories about people using this holiday as an excuse to harass strangers. Never go by yourself.
2. Rub oil on your skin and hair, so that the colors won't stick. Get beneath your clothing. Parts of me were bight blue for days! Ha!
3. Buy the powder beforehand, I couldn't find a place that sold it the day of Holi.
4. Don't bring a camera or phone that's not waterproof. You will get soaked here.
5. Don't go out if you're super sensitive to artificial ingredients. One of my friends got sick because of the chemicals in the powder!

Rishikesh Yogpeeth

My home for the last 6 weeks of my travels is with Rishikesh Yogpeeth. This is the longest I will have stayed in one location since I left Korea at the end of November. There are 24 of us who are taking the course, living together, eating together, sweating together, and learning together.

Here are some pictures of Shiva Cottage, the location of accommodations and where our advance teacher training is held.

The courtyard and rooms

The office

The yoga halls are large and spacious rooms on the second and third level. More pictures to come.

There are also random puppies that come and visit us.

Laxman Jhula

Laxman Jhula is the other suspension bridge in Rishikesh, which is a 20 minute walk north of Ram Jhula bridge. Located there is a busy area with lots of shopping and eating, filled with backpackers and the likes.

looks like the other bridge! same same, but different.

I went to Laxman Jula to have my vedic astrology chart read by Prateek. I was surprise with how spot on his reading was! It literally gave me chills with how detailed and relevant to my life his reading was. He was recommended to me by a friend, and I would certainly recommend him to anyone. 500 rupees for a 30 minute reading. Be sure to come ready with questions to ask him! 

Lastly I stopped by The Honey Hut, a place for anyone with a sweet tooth.  They have a variety of cakes, desserts, ice cream, and cafe beverages.

melt in your moth chocolate cake and chai sweetened with honey. boom.

Surrinder's Roof

These pictures were taken near Surrinder's yoga studio.

The first time trying to find Surrinder's studio is a bit difficult, but well worth it. I gave myself plenty of time to get lost and ended up arriving 30 minutes before class started.  Surrinder saw me aimlessly walking about biding my time by taking pictures. He invited me in to have a chai and a chat before class. What an introduction from this beautiful human being!

The yoga space was located on the top floor of the building. Here are pictures taken from the roof.

India is cool.

Satsang with Mooji

I had not heard of Mooji before I came to India, but apparently he's a big deal in the world of gurus!

Mooji was was holding free satsangs my first week in Rishikesh.  A satsang in Indian philosophy means the company of a guru with an assembly of people who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the highest truth. You can watch some of Mooji's satsangs here.

I went to one of these talks and was impressed by his presence. It was not necessarily because he had answers to all the questions, but rather because he was able to hold a safe space for people.  He acted and spoke with such genuine grace and compassion to those who came to ask him some difficult and sometimes heated questions. And that is a true mark of a wise man.

Random Parade

I saw a procession of sorts while walking down the street.  Still don't know what it was all about, but seemed really important. Culture and rituals are very rich in this country!

yo!

Parmarth Niketan

Parmarth Niketan is the largest and well known ashram in Rishikesh. There are over 1000 rooms and the campus and surrounding gardens are kept pristine!

Three floor of yoga halls at Paramarth Niketan

The location was very beautiful, but the daily hatha yoga practice was pretty mediocre. The teacher just stayed at the front, saying the asana names-- not so interactive. Just because it's the biggest, doesn't mean it's the best.

Chotiwala

Chotiwala has been around since The Beatles were in Rishikesh! It's survival all theses years, speaks to it's consistent service and food selection. They also have a pretty cool (creepy) mascot that sits in the front of the restaurant.

The purple guy in the yellow and red clothes greets customers as they come in. I was too shy to get a picture.

But basically he looks like this.

Paneer Masala and Nann

Samosa

The Juice House

Come to Rishikesh and one of the first cafes you'll here about is The Juice House. The juice house offers fresh made juices, smoothies, muesli, chai, and coffee.  They have fruit salad bowls that are pleasing to both the eyes and the taste buds. They also have vegan options for porridge and chai. Healthy and delicious!

Banana Papaya Orange Juice

Ganga Aarti

The Ganga Aarti is a daily ritual in which offerings are made to Maa Ganga, goddess of the most holy river in India. The ritual is performed in three cities in India and Rishikesh happens to be one of them.

 As dusk descends, people gather to Parmarth Niketan. 

At Parmath Niketan.  Here is the entrance of the site where Aarti takes place.

The International Yoga Festival was just the week before.  The banners were still up.

Hanuman, watching the whole affair.

that's what's up.

The ceremony commences with the singing of bhajans (devotional songs), prayers, and a hawan. A hawan is a purifying and sacred ritual that takes place around a fire, with the offerings made to Agni, the fire god. Lamps and offerings are lit and sent down the river.

During the hawan

The bouquet bowl is lighted and sent floating down the river.