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!
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!
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