A journey from UK to an Ashram in India

I’m not sure how I ended up here? Some might say it happened when the stars aligned, and maybe that’s true.

It began March last year when Starma announced the biggest cuts to NHS in years, and my name was on the list.

Completely out of the blue, we had just moved house neighbourhood, renovated, the last of the children had flown the nest, a new puppy and this was the icing on the cake. The news floored me, literally, it took over 6 months for this process to get moving. During that time I questioned everything. Do I like my job? Do I want to stay working 9-5 sat at laptop all? Do I even need to anymore? So many questions and so few answers.

Then one day I see a post that ignited something inside my, an ashram in India. I’d had the dream since I was around 17years old when I’d met a yoga teacher who told me about her training in Rishikesh. But of course life got in the way, until now 28years later. My husband was supportive as he always is, one of his many attributes. The children now independent adults, the dog sitter booked and all was left for me to take the first step.

The weeks leading up to departure my anxiety was growing. Questions about whether I was capable, could I keep up, what if my long Covid flared up? How could I possibly be without my husband for so long. I could have easily cancelled the whole trip those few days leading up to it. I’d never been to the far east, never flown that far by myself, and certainly never been away from home longer than 2 weeks. I was feeling nauseous, crying, distracted.

But the day arrived and I stepped on the plane, and that was the scariest part of all.

I soon met others on the flight doing the same, navigated our internal flights together and said goodbye at the other side.

In the back of the taxi I looked up at the mountains in the distance, the blue skies, the heat and I was overwhelmed with emotion. “I’m actually doing this, I’m here.” I said to myself. Strangely my anxiety had mostly subsided at this point.

It had taken 27years of dreaming and I was finally here.

The drive up to the ashram was exciting, there’s a buzz in Rishikesh as soon as you arrive. Despite the traffic there were monkeys, cows and dogs everywhere and plus everyone honking there horns for a reason I’m unsure.

We finally arrived at the gates and drove through. Amongst the chaos I found peace and tranquillity. The grounds were stunning, set against the Himalayan mountains.

I received a warm welcome and immediately given food following my long journey. The food was not at all spicy which I had wrongly assumed it would be. But consisted of mild curry flavours of beans lentils and vegetables served with rice and chapatis.

I was fortunate enough to be able to upgrade to my own room. Following the war they had many cancellations as there normal flight path was disrupted for many. The room was clean but basic, with everything I required.

That night I couldn’t sleep a mixture of jet lag and anticipation. The next morning we had our welcoming ceremony, we learnt our first mantra, were introduced to the discipline of yoga. Which includes eating in silence so you are able to fully digest and enjoy your food.

We were blessed by a local priest through words I did not understand, but nonetheless I felt a calmness stirring inside.

There were 6 of us that day, I was by far the eldest by at least a decade. I was also the heaviest by what felt like 3 stone!!

This made me anxious, was I going to be able to keep up, what if I struggled? What if my Long COVID flared up? But it was too late, I was there and I had to get on with it.

That evening we travelled down to the river Ganga for the Aarti ceremony of fire, where an unexpected guest made an appearance and preached in Hindu for a full hour before it started.

I wasn’t use to sitting on the floor, and my first day was a challenge, my hips were screaming, despite this the atmosphere was calming and there was a distinct beauty amongst the crowds of people.

The next morning was the first of many, we woke at 5am and began every morning before sunrise with pranayama, not only did this consist of Breathwork but included Shatkarma the cleansing practice and preparation for pranayama. Ashtanga asanas followed, which created energy for the remainder of the day. Each lesson unique and taught by an expert in their field. One lesson after another until 7.30pm when we finally stopped for dinner.

Meals were lovingly prepared by the cook, a Satvic diet, well balanced and nutritious, all fears placed upon me from others about getting sick from the food soon evaporated.

As the days went on, I felt myself growing stronger and calmer. Despite the intensity of the heat and classes I managed. Most days I retrieved to my room at lunch time for a power nap and to hide from the heat. I'm not sure I could have managed without this. Some days the temperature was 36c, with no air conditioning and being fully covered the exhaustion began to set in.

The programme intense and their core value being 'discipline' which they were very aligned with, meant we were only to have one day off a week. One week, we were lucky enough for them to arrange a visit to a temple on top of the mountain to watch the sunrise, despite having no lay-in on our day off, the extra early morning was worth it. There were others all having climbed the many steps to the temple just to witness Gods nature at it's best. There were many moments I was blessed with during this journey.

There were other days off exploring the city, meeting the locals, swimming in the River Ganga and trying out the local cuisine. Most of the time, I was unsure what it was I was eating, fortunately Hindus are vegetarian so eating meat was not a concern for me. The food was mostly delicious with the exception of a local street food vender, when I fed it to a stray dog, even he did not eat it.

It was the third week shortly after we had completed 108 sun salutations in our Hatha class when I really began to struggle. My body ached, I missed my family and I longed for undisturbed sleep. Studying in India meant I was to learn Sanskrit mantras for our exams, the books did not translate these accurately, so I really struggled. They consumed me, I worried I would not pass if I could not learn them. It was the last thought before I went to bed and the first thought I had when I woke. But my peers were there to assist, and day by day I learnt a little more.

The course eventually came to a close, I passed my exams and we all celebrated during our closing ceremony. The journey was magical, and I feel truly blessed to have experienced it. The people, the place, the wildlife and practices all live within my heart never to be forgotten. Will I go back, I hope so. For now, I plan to share this wonderful Yogic lifestyle with as many people as possible.