Goodbye Rishikesh, onward to Amritsar

Good morning all! Haven't posted anything on the blog for a while, internet is harder to come by and costs money in Rishikesh, plus I've been tied up with other things. This morning I am waiting for about 1 hour before I head off to the Haridwar Train Station to catch my train to Amritsar. So far my time spent here in Rishikesh was fantastic and very dynamic. As you'll see from earlier posts, I arrived around 5 days ago VERY early in the morning, confused and a bit lost. Eventually, as the days went by, I found the groove to this place and I got more comfortable...

The first day or so, I explored around on my own and spent most of the day over by the Laxman Jhula Bridge. There are 2 main bridges that most of the visitors to Rishikesh reside by - Ram Jhula (where I am) and Laxman Jhula. I've been finding that the Ram Jhula has more of the spiritual seekers, the Yogis, the Swamis and Sadus, etc. while Laxman Jhula has more general tourists (i.e. backpackers, hikers, or people just looking to get high!). Rani and I spent the first few days together and I learned a bit about Hinduism, philosophy and life in India. The latter half of the trip, however, changed when I went to my first Ashtanga class here...

Rishikesh doesn't have much Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga (hardly any, or not very authentic at that). There is a lot of yoga in general, lots of ashrams, lots of other kinds of yoga, but Ashtanga is harder to find. Kamal, however, is a really nice guy who runs Tattva Yoga Shala, a tiny little yoga studio with a fantastic location that fronts the Ganga River. I went for my first morning Mysore class and was very challenged! His classes are really intense and his adjustments are some of the deepest I have ever experienced in my life. However, I found that when I didn't resist his adjustments so much and trusted him, went with what he was doing, it started to feel pretty good. That first day I did TWO Ashtanga classes - the morning Mysore and an evening led Primary Series. I didn't think I would survive, as normally I do only 1 Ashtanga practice a day (usually that is more than enough), but somehow I was convinced to do 2. Here's a picture of Kamal and I:



This leads me to talk about the awesome yogis I met who also study with Kamal. That has been one of my highlights of this trip - meeting people from all over the world who all share the same interest. They're all such fantastic people, genuine and warm, and easy to talk to. Bob (an American from Chicago) and I spent a lot of time together - we ate, we shopped, we walked, we talked, we shared about life in general and our experiences with yoga, with relationships, etc. It was really cool. Through him I also met Go (a young Japanese guy who is friendly and whom I find hilarious), Anouk (a lovely French woman who is the sweetest person you will ever meet) and Marie (a lovely Russian woman who looks as if she has been practicing for many years, she is so bendy! :-) ). For the past 3 - 4 nights, all of us have been going out to dinner together, laughing and chatting the night away. Reminds me of my Goa experiences with my lovely ladies there. Such a great time, I loved it!

Let's see what else? That's pretty much what I did in Rishikesh - yoga, eat, converse, connect, sleep contently, repeat the next day. The vibe here is really laid back - maybe not as much as Goa though, as Goa is more party oriented, whereas Rishikesh is more "New Age", people looking for yoga immersion, spiritual enlightenment, or to find their "Guru" perhaps. I hope I can return one day soon and stay longer - it is easy to stay here, I can see. Some people have been here for months at a time - maybe even 5 - 6 months!!

Just for kicks here are some other views of Rishikesh - just snapshots that I took while walking around:







So now, in about 30 minutes or so, I will head off to Amritsar for the final piece of my India journey. I will stay there for about 2 days, checking out the Golden Temple and seeing the India / Pakistan Border Changing Ceremony that I hear is very interesting and entertaining. Not sure what Internet will be like there, so we'll have to see...

Already thinking about my next trip and where I want to go. I am seriously considering doing a 5 - 6 month journey to various places in Asia. Options include more time in India (perhaps a teacher training in Mysore), Thailand in January to study again with Petri, and travel to Japan / Korea. Will see what pans out over the next few months...

Namaste and love from Rishikesh, India :-)