Rishikesh - Final Week of YTT 300
The penultimate Rishikesh installment - which makes my heart break a little bit inside. So so sad to be leaving this magical bubble of yoga, love, happiness and contentment that has become my routine, my home, my family for the last 6 weeks. Rishikesh Yog Peeth has been a safe haven for me, and I will take something from my experiences here every single day for the rest of my life. My mission now is to share everything that I have leant and inspire those around me.
It has been a whirlwind. Long gone is the day in which I arrived and looked around me and wondered if I would survive 6 weeks in this crazy place. Now my thinking is the exact opposite, just how will I survive without being here? Without my friends, my teachers, my inspirational role models, my routine, my daily asana, pranayama and meditation schedule. Will I ever hear anyone speak as wisely as Roshan? Will I remember everything that I learnt here? My mind aches with the questions that came fast and furiously as the end drew near.
My friends and I have all held on a little bit tighter these last two weeks, making the most of every day, every moment, every second in fact. Preparing each other for "life after Rishikesh" and life after "YTT 300". There have been tears. I know I am not alone in knowing that this place, this course has changed my World as I know it.
Never have I felt so much love, so much gratitude, so much positive energy. I have a friend who calls me a "******* hippy" which I know he means affectionately, and it makes me smile. I am. I am a gypsy without a home, and a happy one. Also a little bi of a terrified one about that thought of what will happen when I cross that bridge out of here....can I keep this amazingness alive?
Watch this space.
And breathe... :) All of my assessed YTT 300 hour course practical assignments are completed! I have taught a 90 minute yoga class to the YTT 200 people, and just finished presenting my Yoga for Runners workshop to my fellow yogis. I feel so good right now!!! We were allowed to present a topic of our choice, and it was to be an interactive and informative session. I had been stressing out big time about presenting for that long with 18 pairs of eyes on me and only me at the front of a sweaty yoga hall without AC or fans and the heat of an Indian summer fast approaching! If only I had known just how much I would actually enjoy it once I got started lol. I chose a subject which was close to my heart - Yoga for Runners. I could talk for hours on this subject so it seemed an obvious choice. I talked about the link that I see as key between running and yoga, despite at first glance the two seeming as opposing as yin and yang. I showed people how to understand their bodies, which stretches were most pertinent to their individual body and muscles. How to warm up for activities gently, and how to cool down post a training event with gentle restorative or yin yoga techniques. It was a really good session, and people asked a lot of questions. They even joined in when I made them run for 10 minutes around the garden in the summer heat to stimulate the muscles post warm up and pre cool down! So much fun :)
Yay! I have officially finished all of the hard work :):) So proud of me!!!
Best way to celebrate? With a massage :) I was lucky to enough to find an awesome masseuse in Rishikesh called Vicky who just about everyone at Rishikesh Yog Peeth raved about. The man was amazing with his hands, and his words of advice were so true and relevant to each of us. It felt very much like a visit to my sports physio from Bermuda, Glenn, who always brought my body back to life with his brutal massage, and brought my passion for running to new levels, and confidence soaring with his pysch sessions pre and post races! He prepared me for endless races during my last 6 months in Bermy. Awesome. Vicky told me quite bluntly that my body was not ready for the Ashtanga yoga that I had come to love quite as often as I was attempting to do it...so reluctantly I cut back! I may be addicted, but even I can listen to my body at times ;)
On our final week with the wonderful Krishna, he invited us to meet in the ashram garden for some crazy stuff instead!! You can see from the photos below that my fellow yogis took part in sutra neti and throwing up in order to cleanse their bodies... I was the photographer....having thrown up quite a lot myself quite naturally that week, I wasn't really too keen to do it for fun strangely enough! They then went on to perform contortionist moves with their stomachs in the classroom afterwards! Krishna is one amazing teacher and we were so lucky to learn as much as we did from him :)
On our final, final evening before graduation the girls organised a movie night which actually turned into several of us doing last minute studying in order to meet the deadlines for handing in our prepared yoga class routines and exam paper, and in the background Faraaz and several others dancing and enjoying music and each others company! A fun evening and happy memories :)
The final days flew by and we all hurried to tie up lose ends so we could see as much of Rishikesh as we could, and spend those final precious days together. I saw the temple that I had looked at on the hill for weeks finally. I packed up my bedroom, preparing parcels to send home as I had bought so many yoga books, clothes and gifts for everyone!! I absolutely love how they prepare our parcels in India - a man literally packs them into boxes, then sits and sews cloth all the way around the boxes and onto this cloth you write your to and from address and deliver these to the Post Office! So beautifully presented!!
Krishna was kind enough to let us off a yoga therapy class to spend the time instead attending our final (and for me the first) Puri at the local ashram. It was an amazing experience for me and I was overwhelmed by how many people, both locals and westerners, attended to give their offerings to the River Ganges. There were people everywhere. Everyone could buy offerings which were small baskets made from banana leaves and filled with petals and a small incense stick and candle. During this occasion beautiful Indian music and chants were played, people sang and meditated and gave thanks. Then a candle burning is passed around in a large copper container for people to circle several times in each direction before passing to the next person - this was chaos, and thankfully Amanda managed to smile sweetly in the direction of one of the young boys who took pleasure in making sure we were able to take part. After this we lit our offerings, took them to the River and said a small prayer and released them into the current in the River Ganges. Such a special evening.
Check out the amazing street art that a very cool girl, Ali, who I met along the way painted! It's all about encouraging locals to take care of their environment and she has been traveling through India doing such street artwork and spreading her message. Kick ass girl :)
I spent as much time as I could by the water, well aware that I would not be near it for quite some time after Rishikesh. I absorbed as many of the scenes of India as I could, particularly the hippy ones such as below ;) I did as many yoga poses with beautiful settings as I could fit in also!
On the morning of graduation, I received some terrible news from a friend via facebook. His brother had been diagnosed with cancer in January and sadly, and unexpectedly, passed away during the night. I first met Liam in Borneo diving as a customer, and soon after completing my divemaster course in Thailand I returned to Borneo to work and had the pleasure of working closely with Liam. Liam was such a positive and fun and wonderful personality with the kindest heart. The whole dive community was devastated to hear this sad, sad news and it really hit home just how fragile life is and we really must make the most of every moment.
The penultimate Rishikesh installment - which makes my heart break a little bit inside. So so sad to be leaving this magical bubble of yoga, love, happiness and contentment that has become my routine, my home, my family for the last 6 weeks. Rishikesh Yog Peeth has been a safe haven for me, and I will take something from my experiences here every single day for the rest of my life. My mission now is to share everything that I have leant and inspire those around me.
It has been a whirlwind. Long gone is the day in which I arrived and looked around me and wondered if I would survive 6 weeks in this crazy place. Now my thinking is the exact opposite, just how will I survive without being here? Without my friends, my teachers, my inspirational role models, my routine, my daily asana, pranayama and meditation schedule. Will I ever hear anyone speak as wisely as Roshan? Will I remember everything that I learnt here? My mind aches with the questions that came fast and furiously as the end drew near.
My friends and I have all held on a little bit tighter these last two weeks, making the most of every day, every moment, every second in fact. Preparing each other for "life after Rishikesh" and life after "YTT 300". There have been tears. I know I am not alone in knowing that this place, this course has changed my World as I know it.
Never have I felt so much love, so much gratitude, so much positive energy. I have a friend who calls me a "******* hippy" which I know he means affectionately, and it makes me smile. I am. I am a gypsy without a home, and a happy one. Also a little bi of a terrified one about that thought of what will happen when I cross that bridge out of here....can I keep this amazingness alive?
Watch this space.
And breathe... :) All of my assessed YTT 300 hour course practical assignments are completed! I have taught a 90 minute yoga class to the YTT 200 people, and just finished presenting my Yoga for Runners workshop to my fellow yogis. I feel so good right now!!! We were allowed to present a topic of our choice, and it was to be an interactive and informative session. I had been stressing out big time about presenting for that long with 18 pairs of eyes on me and only me at the front of a sweaty yoga hall without AC or fans and the heat of an Indian summer fast approaching! If only I had known just how much I would actually enjoy it once I got started lol. I chose a subject which was close to my heart - Yoga for Runners. I could talk for hours on this subject so it seemed an obvious choice. I talked about the link that I see as key between running and yoga, despite at first glance the two seeming as opposing as yin and yang. I showed people how to understand their bodies, which stretches were most pertinent to their individual body and muscles. How to warm up for activities gently, and how to cool down post a training event with gentle restorative or yin yoga techniques. It was a really good session, and people asked a lot of questions. They even joined in when I made them run for 10 minutes around the garden in the summer heat to stimulate the muscles post warm up and pre cool down! So much fun :)
Yay! I have officially finished all of the hard work :):) So proud of me!!!
Best way to celebrate? With a massage :) I was lucky to enough to find an awesome masseuse in Rishikesh called Vicky who just about everyone at Rishikesh Yog Peeth raved about. The man was amazing with his hands, and his words of advice were so true and relevant to each of us. It felt very much like a visit to my sports physio from Bermuda, Glenn, who always brought my body back to life with his brutal massage, and brought my passion for running to new levels, and confidence soaring with his pysch sessions pre and post races! He prepared me for endless races during my last 6 months in Bermy. Awesome. Vicky told me quite bluntly that my body was not ready for the Ashtanga yoga that I had come to love quite as often as I was attempting to do it...so reluctantly I cut back! I may be addicted, but even I can listen to my body at times ;)
On our final week with the wonderful Krishna, he invited us to meet in the ashram garden for some crazy stuff instead!! You can see from the photos below that my fellow yogis took part in sutra neti and throwing up in order to cleanse their bodies... I was the photographer....having thrown up quite a lot myself quite naturally that week, I wasn't really too keen to do it for fun strangely enough! They then went on to perform contortionist moves with their stomachs in the classroom afterwards! Krishna is one amazing teacher and we were so lucky to learn as much as we did from him :)
On our final, final evening before graduation the girls organised a movie night which actually turned into several of us doing last minute studying in order to meet the deadlines for handing in our prepared yoga class routines and exam paper, and in the background Faraaz and several others dancing and enjoying music and each others company! A fun evening and happy memories :)
The final days flew by and we all hurried to tie up lose ends so we could see as much of Rishikesh as we could, and spend those final precious days together. I saw the temple that I had looked at on the hill for weeks finally. I packed up my bedroom, preparing parcels to send home as I had bought so many yoga books, clothes and gifts for everyone!! I absolutely love how they prepare our parcels in India - a man literally packs them into boxes, then sits and sews cloth all the way around the boxes and onto this cloth you write your to and from address and deliver these to the Post Office! So beautifully presented!!
Check out the amazing street art that a very cool girl, Ali, who I met along the way painted! It's all about encouraging locals to take care of their environment and she has been traveling through India doing such street artwork and spreading her message. Kick ass girl :)
I spent as much time as I could by the water, well aware that I would not be near it for quite some time after Rishikesh. I absorbed as many of the scenes of India as I could, particularly the hippy ones such as below ;) I did as many yoga poses with beautiful settings as I could fit in also!
I realised during this last week just how much my yoga teacher from my YTT 200 course had prepared me for the YTT 300 course. He had always been teaching and talking to us about fascia tissue, and the importance of meditation and a personal practice. He slowly tried to introduce us to the spiritual side of yoga, and we all very adamantly insisted we were doing the course for the physical aspects only. If only I had known then what I know now I would have been so much more receptive to his words and been open to learning more all the way back then. But as the story says - we are exactly where we are supposed to be, so I guess I just wasn't ready back then. But a big thank you to Michael Watson in Bermuda for introducing me to this wonderful world of Yoga. My enthusiasm for the subject totally comes from his amazing classes in the Aquarium in Bermuda all those years ago. He set a magical scene with the lights down low so that all we could see was the lights glowing in the fish tanks, the sharks and fish swimming around us, the music touching our heart. His soft voice which sounded like a lullaby, and his wise words and stories, which somehow always felt like he was reaching out to you personally and letting you know that he felt you, saw you, understood you. Thank you Michael for your support and guidance through some really testing times in my life. I will always be grateful for your time and energy, and lessons learnt.
On the morning of graduation, I received some terrible news from a friend via facebook. His brother had been diagnosed with cancer in January and sadly, and unexpectedly, passed away during the night. I first met Liam in Borneo diving as a customer, and soon after completing my divemaster course in Thailand I returned to Borneo to work and had the pleasure of working closely with Liam. Liam was such a positive and fun and wonderful personality with the kindest heart. The whole dive community was devastated to hear this sad, sad news and it really hit home just how fragile life is and we really must make the most of every moment.
"May you live all the days of your life. "
~ Jonathan Swift
Life is short people - live it well, make good choices, take each and every opportunity life throws your way. We are all here for a purpose, find out what that purpose is and go live life fully. Smile every day, and be grateful for your health and loved ones. RIP Liam :( xx
~ Jonathan Swift
Life is short people - live it well, make good choices, take each and every opportunity life throws your way. We are all here for a purpose, find out what that purpose is and go live life fully. Smile every day, and be grateful for your health and loved ones. RIP Liam :( xx
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