Oh Rishikesh, I will miss you so. Home to all creatures, big and small, from near and far... the monkeys, the cows, the dogs and their puppies, the children, the old men in orange, the street cart vendors, the drifters, the yogis from all over the globe... All living together tucked into your foothills. Mother Ganga as the provider to all—whether the need is a wash, cleaning dishes, whitewater rafting, blessings, or a peaceful sight for the eyes, she never fails. I can still taste the chai and fruit bowls and lassies and curries.. I may have to return someday just for the food. And to visit the amazing teachers who guided us along our journey this past month.
Kamal, Sunil, Anil, and Jessica were with us through it all. From pranayama class before the sun, to powerful asanas, to relaxing yoga nidra, eye-opening discussions to deepen our understanding of yoga and our lives, repeatedly practicing adjustments for every asana, and unique meditations every night... I have so much gratitude for their commitment to our experience.
The last few days went flying by, as they tend to do. I led a small group in an hour long practice on Friday and was humbled by yoga teachers everywhere—there is so much to consider when you're teaching and I paid close attention to the feedback I was given. In general I just needed more practice to get a rhythm down, so I practiced over and over, then when the exam day finally came I really did feel prepared.
We first had a written exam, 15 questions in 3 hours, which sounds like plenty of time but the questions were so thought-provoking that I could have spent much longer than a few hours on them. We had a (food) break and met back up for our practical exam schedule. We would be rotating teaching in groups for the next couple days and would have about 30 minutes each. My group was scheduled to be done by 6:30pm, but I didn't even start teaching until 7:30pm because the groups before pushed us back a bit. I was the last one to teach of the day and I think knowing this kicked me into gear—I knew I had to bring my best energy out to keep everyone engaged. So I just had fun with it! And it went pretty darn well, I hardly received any negative feedback. Needless to say I was pretty ecstatic and relieved to know I did it! I passed! I became a yoga teacher :)
On the second day of practical exams for the rest of the folks, my group was waiting for all of us to arrive and Kamal asked if we could break for 30 minutes of yoga nidra and had me lead it! I had never led it before but I just channelled Sunil's words and pulled it off nicely. Then we finished up teaching and all had our last meal together, at the same table as our first meal. Towards the end, Kamal handed his phone which was video recording to Emma across the table from me and told me to stand and start giving feedback on my experience. Another spontaneous experience that I felt oddly comfortable with, I'm loving seeing the changes I've been feeling play out so quickly in my life. We all went around and shared some beautiful words and managed to hold back our tears. So grateful to have been surrounded by some of the most beautifully spirited people from all around the globe for this journey.
I woke up on our last day to a crazy thunder and lightning storm. As soon as I heard it, my legs carried me up to the roof where I sat just out of the rain and watched the storm roll though the valley with bursts of colorful lightening followed by booming thunder. Once it lightened up I got ready for the puja—our final ceremony. Because of the storm we couldn't have it on the roof which led us to having an open fire inside the room at the top floor of the guesthouse... Only in India!
The ceremony was beautiful and involved a lot of flowers, singing, and throwing things into the fire. I kept having rushes of positive feelings for the journey that we all took on and excitement for all the good things to come. After the ceremony, we were individually presented with flowers around our necks and the certificate of completion! (Well, a few of our certificates were still in the print process so I'll be getting mine in the mail... Regardless I'm still feeling accomplished!)
The rest of the day was free for our own exploration. I wrote thank you cards, had some fresh baked banana bread with street chai, and let me feet take me down the road to the Maharishi Mahesh Ashram, coined "The Beatles Ashram". This was Rishikesh's first ashram that is now abandoned, but it is a famous destination because The Beatles spent time with Maharishi as their guru there in 1968 during a beautiful time in Rishikesh's history. Most of the White Album is said to have been created out of their time there.
A nice local man showed me around to some of the buildings
One building was turned into a beautiful, positively charged art hall
We spent a few hours wandering and climbing around the crumbling buildings and the old meditation pods (121 in total!) all of which are becoming overgrown by the surrounding jungle.
This one - #9 - was apparently the one they spent the most time in, so I went in and sat for a powerful meditation
^ one of the art pieces in the dome
Afterwards I went and felt Mother Ganga for the last time of my trip... I purified my jade mala beads in her water so I will always have the spirit of the river with me. I spent the rest of the day researching travels for my last week in India and spending time with my beautiful international friends, daydreaming of reunions that we will have all over the world.
Today was a whirlwind of packing and goodbyes and last minute travel arrangements. I wished my home away from home a final farewell and set off on the next adventure! So Rishikesh, even though I am no longer with ya, you're with me, and I'll be making my return someday down the road if you'll have me
