One week ago today I left Rishikesh.
When I was sitting in Canada, exploring options for Yoga Teacher Training, I honestly never thought I would end up in Rishikesh, India. The more I browsed schools in Canada, the more I questioned “what is the source of Yoga? What is the origin? How can I learn to teach yoga as it was intended?”. These questions lead me to Rishikesh in search for answers to my questions. Although I went to India with the yoga certification being my primary goal, my focus was quickly redirected when I reached this holy place, and a new question took over my vision “ Who am I ? How can I improve myself and others through yoga philosophy?”.
I met 12 other strangers on Day 1 at Ekam Yogashala. All of us a little confused, a little jet legged and a little anxious for what was to come. Although we each came from a different corner of the world, with different intentions and reasons for being here, now, doing THIS; we all shared one thing in common, the desire to improve self and one day share our knowledge to help others. We became a family of brothers and sisters, each willing to help one another survive the next 26 days.
During the next 26 days, we each became vulnerable. We were all very cold and very hungry the first week as we climatized to Winter in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains of India and adapting to a vegetarian diet low in protein and fats. We were all very confused the second week as our sponge brains filled up with new ideas and our bodies were twisted in ways we didn't know possible. Week three we were all very tired and home sick. Week four we all slayed it, cherished it, and put the final puzzel piece in together - as ONE. After all… we all are one. We shivered, cried, laughed, shared, stretched, ached and ate together for 26 days. I wish I could say we left together, but I am affraid we each went our seperate ways with memories of this magical placed locked in our hearts forever.
Samsara. Where there is life there is death. Where one thing completes itself, the next is given birth. Where there was questions, there are now answers. And new questions emerge. Again and again we repeat the circle of life, and what’s important is not the beginning, nor the end; but the journey each pilgram travels on, in search of finding out not only answers to their questions about life, but the answer to a bigger question WHO AM I in this life.
