A journey to the heartland to find my soul

As I look back over the past year, I realize that I was fortunate to travel to 15 countries plus an additional 10 trips across India. Yes, it has indeed been a period where I often unpacked and packed on the same day! Yet while travel dominated my calendar in 2011, there is no doubt that the most rewarding trip was not one which involved planes, trains and automobiles, but the journey within.

For the past few years, I have been flirting with physical exercises associated with Yoga on one hand and the desire to learn more about the essence of Indian philosophy. In the last quarter of the year, I learnt first hand that these two pursuits were indeed intertwined and my nine-day trip in December to the two Ashrams of the Bihar School of Yoga have energized me like no other! Its early days yet since my trip ended, but the sense of peace and joy that I continue to experience ten days after the trip have given me strong pointers on how I can simplify my life, become calmer and find more joy in all aspects of life!

So, what made the trip special? Here is a quick summary:

1. Why the heck was I doing this trip?

In October last year I joined 136. At the point, I had had some prior experiences with asanas, and while physical fitness was the main reason I joined the studio, I was indeed looking for something ‘more.’ When the first notice on the Bihar trip came out, I had my first chat with Yash and enquired about the trip. He asked me straight up “what are you looking for?” I responded that I was interested in a holistic experience which beyond the physical asanas. If you have not figured it out by now, I am not very fit. On a good day my hands can reach somewhere between my knees and ankles. Suffice to say, the horizontal headstand is one of my favorite positions!

Yash responded that then the trip to Bihar was exactly what I was looking for. I must confess that I walked away unsure. His response seemed too ‘pat’ and almost too good to be true. Anyway, I had previously signed up for another experience in an ashram for the Nov-Dec period, but the timing of the Bihar trip was better, nay, almost perfect. I was scheduled to return to Chennai on the evening of the 11^th and had to be in Chennai on the morning of the 23^rd. The Bihar trip was scheduled Dec 13-22! So, I signed up immediately.

For the next few weeks leading up to the trip I asked Yash a few basic questions but nothing very detailed. In fact, I can’t recall ever going for ANY trip with so little awareness of what I was getting into. Herein lies one of the major reasons for the magnificent experience I had during this trip – having an open mind with no expectations.

A plane ride on Spice Jet, hanging out in Salt Lake City, Kolkata, a comfortable overnighter (by train) from Kolkata to Jamalpur and then a short taxi ride brought us to gates of ‘Ganga Darshan’ – the HQ of the Bihar School of Yoga. GD is set up like a college campus- in fact, it pretty much runs like one. We spent four days here and then drove (4 hours) to Rikhia – another ashram located amidst villages. A whole different world! It was awesome to have the experience of these two places in one trip!

2. So, what did we do?

Well, this was clearly an immersion into a part of India and culture/practices that I have heard and read about, but I have had little experience in. (Read the ‘Pray’ part of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’). Sure, I had spent one-two days in other ashrams in the past, but a nine day deep dive is something else! While the two ashrams and our experiences there were so different, here is quick synopsis of an average day:

· Wake up between 4.45-5.15am

· Asana (physical stretching) classes 6-7

· Breakfast at 7, lunch at 11, tea at 2.30, dinner at 5pm (yep, that’s right). The food was YUMMY (basic but very tasty)!

· Cleaning your room and personal time

· Community Service ‘Seva’ for 1-2 hours/day (cleaning, helping in kitchen, lifting stuff, serving food etc).

· Participate in Chanting and Bhajan sessions

· Listening to talks on spirituality. In Rikhia, we had more opportunities for actual Q&A which was fantastic!

· Class on meditation techniques (‘Antar Mauna’ – LOVED IT)

· Chance to interact with others in the Ashram (Man, in the first Ashram (GD), I swear there were more Bulgarians there then in Bulgaria!)

· Hanging out with the Chennai group – lots of fun! We had eight Indians and five Europeans in our group.

· Off to bed between 8-9pm!

3. So, what I get out of the trip?

Where do I begin? Let me cut to the chase and state a few key takeaways. If you want to know more, am happy to engage with you.

· An immersion into a part of India and interaction with people that was amazing. Just that is enough for me to score this trip a 10 on 10!

But I got LOTS more:

· An in-depth opportunity to reflect and see my strengths and weaknesses

· The motivation and more importantly some tools/roadmap for self improvement

· Making close connections with like minded folks who are already playing an important role in supporting my journey towards self improvement AFTER the trip!

4. Would I go back?

You bet!!! I am signing up for a course in July. See ya there.

If you want to know more about the logistics, activities, etc or simply if these ashram visits are right for you, please feel free to send me an email. I am based in Chennai and am happy to meet or discuss over the phone. I promise to give you a balanced perspective.