It was very sad to say goodbye to the beautiful souls I had connected with during my time at Ashiyana. It had been a very intense month and some deep friendship bonds were formed for sure. It was with a slightly heavy heart that I stepped on the plane, waving goodbye to the sandy shores of Goa and the wooden yoga shalas of Ashiyana. I hoped and prayed that it would not be too long before I could reconnect with those who had become so dear to me during my time at Ashiyana. As sad as the goodbyes were, I had to look onwards to what lay ahead for me...a quick pit-stop in Bangalore for a night of fun behind the decks, spinning some tunes for the very swish Blue Bar at the Taj President Hotel. It was great to reconnect with the lovely Praveen & Sam - and be treated to a night in a very, very posh hotel. Next, I would head to Rishekesh, the self-proclaimed yoga capital of the world, with Tania, Jenny & Violetta - a few of my buddies from Ashiyana. And who else would I happen to find there? None other than Sophie! The universe was obviously conspiring to unite us once again.

It did feel special to be on the banks of the great holy Ganges, but I could not help but feel a little overwhelmed at the complete commercialisation of Rishekesh. It was a very beautiful place for sure, and when wandering in tranquility along the banks of the great holy river, you did feel a connection to spirituality...but the over saturation of yoga, meditation and music schools seemed to dilute the magic considerably for me. In such a place of great holy repute you are also bound to find massive numbers of seekers, and I did feel everywhere around me I was surrounded by people who were ultimately lost, trying to find answers at the feet of gurus, or in a whirlwind of chanting...it all felt a little disempowering - a few too many lost souls for my own comfort zone. Water rafting companies are also two-a-penny here...it just doesn't seem right to have such activities in such a holy river...am I being too precious here?

We gave a yoga class a go, but were ultimately disappointed - we had been spoiled by Linda's expertise on the course - she is a very, very hard act to follow! Instead, I found my own self-practice more fulfilling, which, whilst a little disappointing from one perspective, is also very empowering and encouraging from another. Having the knowledge to be able to diagnose what my body needs - and to be able to practice according to those requirements is quite a gift. For sure, there are many reputable ashrams in Rishekesh, offering an array of wonderful yoga courses...but having just come from a strict routine at Ashiyana, I didn't feel inclined to check myself in to the confines of another ashram. I was almost tempted by the Kriya yoga ashram on the recommendation of a good friend who had just been there, but I felt now was not the right time for me...the higher ground of Himalayan Dharamkot was calling me, and my feet were itching to get there. I had just about enough time to make an impromptu trip to an absolutely breathtaking waterfall - which looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie - it was so utterly beautiful. Jenny & I took a cheeky naked shower under the misty tumbling waters, which revived and energised us in the most beautifully uplifting way.

I then made a quick detour to Mumbai to play a gig at an absolutely wonderful club called Aurus. I made yet another amazing friend in Mankaran, the lovely venue manager who booked me for the gig - and we spent the night chatting about human evolution, multi-dimensional existence, and companies that have the ability to energetically reprogram the vibrational frequency of materials so they emanate a positive frequency. Fascinating stuff! From Mumbai I flew to Delhi - transiting from the life of a DJ, having everything paid for, to sitting in a dark and dingy, run-down cafe in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Delhi, awaiting my bus to take me to Dharamkot (which was 100 times more hospitable than the 'bus stop' 200 meters away, down a deserted road, in the middle of a derelict industrial building site). Fabulous. I love these extreme changes, they are so stimulating for the soul! Princess Liz almost came out - nearly despairing over whether or not this was actually a legitimate bus stop and whether I would ever make it onto this bus, but I caught myself, reigned myself in, had faith, and accepted the situation at hand. Sure enough, there were plenty of very lovely and helpful people at hand who saw me onto the bus that eventually arrived. Patience, tolerance...patience, tolerance.

The 12 hour bus ride from was actually not as bad as I'd been anticipating - even with the battery on my iPod running out halfway through the night. We eventually arrived in Dharamsala at around 5:30am and of course I was immediately greeted by an eager taxi driver who of course offered me an overly-inflated fare to take me to Dharamkot. Not really caring much to argue,  simply asked him which way I needed to go and proceeded to walk up the mountain. The fresh mountain air filled my nose, and the snowy Himalayan peaks rose in front of me in the distance. "I'm in the Himalayas!" I thought to myself...and my feet seemed to want to walk. I started to walk in what I was told was the way to Dharamkot (at 5am, and on barely no sleep for 2 nights) and I was eventually greeted by a little dude from the army who also happened to be heading int he same direction as me. He immediately offered to carry my rucksack, and found it highly amusing that I'd decided to walk my way to Dharamkot at 5am.

After climbing up some pretty steep hills and doing a spot of off-roading through some short-cuts, we eventually reached McLeod Ganj - the town just before Dharamkot - and Tibetan monks in their red robes passed us by, quietly chanting mantras as they went on their way. I felt at peace here - safe, tranquil...but my little tired legs could carry me no further and when a taxi driver offered to take us to Dharamkot for 100 Rupees I immediately accepted. The army dude jumped out (not literally) halfway there to get to his barracks - and in his pigeon English he wished me well. The taxi continued on and I glimpsed the Vipassana centre where I will be doing my 10 day silent meditation from Sunday...and I felt my heart jump in my chest. As the day approaches I am definitely beginning to feel a little nervous about it.

I reached the guest house where Jenny & Tania were staying, and I was greeted with chai and smiles. I briefly saw the girls, then had to head to bed for a power snooze. After waking I headed into town to explore my surroundings - so beautiful and serene - I feel totally safe here. White butterflies flutter around everywhere in their hundreds - it literally looks like there are snowflakes in the air when you look up - and people are chilled out and friendly - tourists and locals alike. I've also managed to find a little music school and have decided to learn to play the Indian flute - it's a lot different to the western flute, so I have an interesting challenge ahead of me. We've found a magnificent yoga teacher from Varanasi who has been putting us through our paces...and I've taken it upon myself to learn some powerful kundalini pranayama exercises to prepare myself for the Vipassana...let's wait and see what the next little while has in store for me. I'll be sure to report back to you from the other side of the Vipassana meditation course...wish me luck!

Yoga antics on the beach with my soul sister from New Jersey, Sandra (left), our utterly amazing yoga teacher Linda, (me!), my beautiful sister from another mother, Yam...and adorable Ashley - a Bollywood choreographer from Mumbai no less!

More beach yoga fun!

A beautiful Goan sunrise on our way to catch some dolphin action

Enjoying the freedom of boat life

Catching a quick snooze at Ashiyana in between yoga classes

Across this bridge you'll find beautiful Ashiyana...such idyllic surroundings

The reception area at Ashiyana

The main yoga shala where we had most of our yoga classes

We did it! We graduated!!!

Lakshman Jula - one of the main bridges of Rishekesh

The holy Ganges surrounded by the foothills of the Himalayas

The leading ladies of Rishekesh!

Sunset on the banks of the Ganges

Taking a little dip in the holy (and extremely cold!) waters

Yoga in action...this monkey has it down!

The beautiful waterfall in Rishekesh

Puja time on the Ganges

Beautiful Dharamkot

Two monks help one another up the steep pathway

Yup, it's a bit fresh up in these mountains!

Happy coffee!

The snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya can be seen on a clear day

Yup! Even the holy monks listen to iPods.

As my Goa-bound flight climbed into the sky above Mumbai I felt an unexpected wave of sadness. It took me a while to adjust to the rhythm of this crazy metropolis...but my heart had grown to love it in Mumbai, and my last few days with lovely Randolph really were such a treat. Stepping off the plane at 8pm in Goa, the hot tropical air embraced me...it felt good to be back here...the familiarity almost felt like coming home. A short taxi ride took me to Ashiyana, where I would be spending the forthcoming month doing my yoga teacher training course. Despite arriving at Ashiyana in the dark, I could see how breathtakingly beautiful it was. Set on the banks of the serene Mandrem river, nestled amongst the coconut palms, with the ocean a stone's throw away, it really felt like a perfect tropical paradise. My heart was racing with excitement and anticipation at what the month ahead had in store for me.


In daylight the true beauty of Ashiyana came into full bloom - 3 gorgeous wooden yoga shalas, beautiful luxurious accommodation (yes, I was sleeping in a massive four poster bed with white sequinned curtains no less - what a treat!!) ...and a collection of the most incredible people. There was a total of around 40 people on the course all together, including teachers and students - and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart that I loved every single one of them. Such an inspiring and colourful collection of human beings, each on their own little journey, and each with so much wisdom to offer. Our teachers were other-worldly in their magnificence - Linda and Yamuna our yoga teachers, were absolutely divine - so inspirational! 


The first week of the course saw me in a state of perpetual bliss. Not only did it feel amazing to be back amongst the coconut palms and sandy beaches of Goa, but being able to fully immerse myself in yoga & spirituality with so many like-minded people felt so nourishing. I was in beautiful surroundings, with so many beautiful people around me - and already I felt like I'd made some lifelong friendship bonds with some very, very special souls. My body was definitely taking a battering with all the physical exercise - and Linda's amazing flow classes certainly pushed me physically in the most wonderful ways possible...the sweat was literally pouring off me at times! My mind was getting bent just as much as my body with deep philosophical discussions and profound meditative experiences...and different interactions with people on the course brought to light more of my little rough edges that needed smoothing off. Our days were long - and tremendously busy - we started at 7:30am and finished at 9:30pm practically 6 days a week. We were officially meant to be in silence from 8pm until 10:30am the following day, but I found it such a challenge to maintain! Not because I'm a chatterbox (yes, I can hear you all laughing from here), but because there were so many amazing people here, all going on incredible journeys - and the days were so full the only time we really had to debate and process the events of the day was during the evenings, when we were meant to be in silence. What a conundrum! 


The Hindu festival of Holi occurred during our time at Ashiyana. It is a religious spring festival also known as Festival of Colours - and we celebrated it with morning yoga on the beach, followed by a full-on colour fight during which we smeared brightly coloured powders all over each other! What fun! A couple of us later went in search for more colourful fun in Mandrem village and were greeted by a small group of children who insisted on smearing us with more bright colours. Needless to say one of my buddies & I wondered around Ashiyana for the remainder of the day proudly covered in bright red and purple powder! 


During the night of the full moon wonderful Yamuna lead a bonfire ritual on the beach - we held a cleansing fire ritual, danced around the fire and howled at the full moon - it felt fabulous, so freeing. We danced, drummed and sang under the silvery light of the moon, with the gentle waves lapping up against the beach as our backdrop. 


Despite the days being super long and very full-on, I did have a lot of time for introspection. I remembered the days when I first started to tread the road of healing, naively thinking that I could call on a healer to deliver me a one-stop fix to all my problems and afflictions. Instead, the road to self healing is perpetual, and constantly changes as you yourself evolve - and if you lead your life with awareness it is amazing to watch what unfolds before you. If you allow your emotions to breath through you, if you are conscious to not allow your 'monkey mind' to become involved - to just sit and be present with what you are feeling in the here and now, without judgement, you become aware that your emotions are there to help you grow - you just have to learn to read the underlying messages contained within those emotions. For me that has been - and continues to be - an interesting - and sometimes exhausting challenge.


The lessons I learned in Amma's ashram - those of acceptance, tolerance, compassion & non-judgement, continue to journey with me & as I keep reminding myself of their qualities, so I find my appreciation and gratitude deepen. It is easy to cast judgement upon a person, situation or thing - it is not so easy to accept, tolerate or show compassion towards it. These things require constant awareness - and a desire to practice them. But I have realised, when you can find it within yourself to observe this practice, you can see the beauty in all. When you go deeper and examine where your ego-based reactions come from, you can begin healing yourself in the most beautifully profound ways. You develop a true understanding of yourself - and an acceptance begins to emerge of its own accord - and acceptance of who you are. Once this little beam of light begins to shine, you automatically begin to practice acceptance of your outside world - as without so within. I'm not saying everything in life all of a sudden becomes rosy...it doesn't...but you do develop an ability to learn the lessons life is trying to teach you when you face people & situations that are challenging. 


The course was such a beautiful experience in so many different ways. There is so much more to being a yoga teacher than I had imagined - the spirituality behind the practice is insanely beautiful. The science behind the asanas (yoga poses) makes complete sense. Our mental tension manifests as physical tension in our bodies. With regular practice, yoga eventually irons out these physical tensions, thus allowing blood to flow to previously starved muscle tissue, reviving your body through the removal of congestion and allowing your energy to flow freely through your body once more. Marrying science with spirituality has been a totally beautiful experience. Already I feel this path is going to lead to many more exciting things...yoga therapy being one of them. Little did I know, but this course was just the very beginning!