Lisa Barnard – The EcoFitChick

I left Dharamsala on the evening of the 28th for an overnight train to Rishikesh. It was nice to have sleeping cars but I also had to fight off cockroaches all night. Despite that I managed to get a fairly good night’s sleep. I also dehydrated myself sufficiently so I didn’t have to use the hole in the train that’s called a toilet.  

Arrived in the holy city of Rishikesh on the banks of Mother Ganga and in the lap of the Himalaya at the ashram for the International Yoga Festival. Today, March 1, is the first official day of the festival.  I attended a 6:30 a.m. Power Yoga class, 8:15 to 10:30 Vinyasa, a 11:15 lecture on finding your inner divinity through yoga and my first chanting/meditation class in the afternoon.

Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation where the yoga master gives you certain things to focus on to guide your thoughts ie. make your body very heavy, now make it very light, etc. I maintained a fairly alert state but my mind did wander a few times, however I was able to pull myself back without judging my lack of concentration. At a few points I experienced some out body phenomena like seeing myself floating above my body and the face of someone in my traveling group. It freaked me out a bit and I snapped back to consciousness.

I’m looking forward to the break at the ashram. Life on the streets here is a bit chaotic — noisy, smelly and constantly tearing down any facades I have at home. I have been near tears at many points during this trip because its putting me face to face with a side of humanity I rarely see at home. Despite the disparity that exists here, I find myself falling in love with the country. I see a devotion here to family, God, tradition and rituals that I rarely see at home. Mostly, at home, I am trying to BE more and DO more.

I don’t think the full impact of what I’m experiencing is going to settle in until I return home. I’m trying to soak it all in, stay present and be open to whatever shows up. Things are becoming clearer and the clearer they get the more afraid I become. Heavy stuff to deal with thousands of miles from home.

On a lighter note, I’ve managed to stay healthy and lose weight. I’m not sure how that’s possible. Maybe its because most of the food is fresh, all vegetarian all the time, very little fat, very little sugar and definitely no Starbucks.  As one American put it here we’ll have to re-tox to go back to the states.

Peace and love from India.