lifeofbean: Rishikesh

hello all!

Its been a while since my last time writing here. There are many different reasons that I havent written much recently, I got a little burnt out writing so much for the Nepal posts, I havent been traveling much so I am lacking pretty pictures to ooooh and aaaah you guys, and I have been super busy studying yoga, wanting to devote my attention to school and not sitting behind a computer.

I am in Rishikesh, India right now studying at yoga in the land where it all began. Some of you may have heard of Rishikesh, it is a holy place for Hindu pilgrims on the banks of the Ganges River, the lifeblood of much of India. It is an amazing location, where the mighty Himilayas meet the plains that stretch out for thousands of miles to the south. There are hundreds of holy sites in the upper Indus valley devoted to the different Hindu gods and goddesses and the place is filled with people coming to visit the sites or holy people have given up everything to live in this holy place. Rishikesh is the yoga mecca of India, or at least one of the most notable places and it was made famous to the western world when the Beatles came here to study mediatation and yoga under the direction of Mahirishi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatles came to Rishikesh, India because the heard it was an enchanting place and ended up falling in love. They stayed in Maharishis Ashram tucked into the Himilayan foothills and practiced what is now known as Transcendental Meditation, a meditation technique Maharishi developed and is now that is gaining popularity worldwide. While here they wrote the majority of the White Album and chilled in Himilayan paradise.

Yoga here is a lot different than we know it in the west. This yoga isnt the sweaty stretching yoga practice that we think of, but a much more basic and ancient practice. Historians think that yoga is likely 6,000 - 10,000 years old and the oldest known text about yoga is called Patanjali's Yog Sutras. A guys named Patanjali wrote the Sutras which are a sort of set of guidelines that outline how to live the life of a yogi. The sutras only mention asana (or stretching) one time.

Yoga here in India is a way of life, it is a means to reach enlightenment through a devoted practice that involves a basic diet and lifestyle as well as breathing exercies (pranayama), stretching (asana) and meditation. This is what I came to India to learn about.

I am here at a yoga school, called Rishikesh Yog Peeth, studying with 13 other wonderful folks from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Italy. We are in an amazing setting, backed up to the jungle forest, at the base Himilayan foothills, just a few minute walk from the Ganges River, the holiest river in all of India. We are studying under very devoted Indian yogis, learning yoga as it is to them with daily teachings about asana (stretching), meditation, chanting (a really fun part of the practice that I am totally in love with) and pranayama (breathing exercises). We have lectures about yoga philosophy, history, yoga therapy, and eastern anatomy teachings. We are learning about ayurveda, ancient eastern medicine where you visit the doctor and pay for advice when you are healthy and visits to the clinic when you are ill are free. We have been learning about a whole different way of life. The life is much more holistic than our western thought, we talk about how our breath or prana - the life force along with the nutrients that we provide our body feed us with what is necessary to function and be as healthy as possible. How our practices of breathing, meditating and asana keep us calm, limber, and functioning at a high level. We are learning about philosophies of universal consciousness, letting go of our ego, how to calm the mind and body.

During our 6 weeks, we are eating satvic diets, vegetarian foods with very little spice in moderate quantities. No caffeine, no processed sugars, no dairy. We eat oatmeal or porridge and drink 6 ounce servings of herbal tea (raw ginger or mint leaves with honey) for breakfast, cucumber and tomato salad, lentil soup and rice and steamed veggies for lunch - again with herbal tea and for dinner we generally get some kind of cooked veggies, and another salad for dinner with, you guessed it, herbal tea. The diet iteslf is so plain and and basic that you think you'd be bored to death but I've never felt healthier in my life. Some chili sauce on your veggies goes a long way here. I havent even thought about eating meat in a month and a half, which it turns out is incredibly easy here because no one in the area eats meat. A large portion of India is vegetarian here, for many reasons - one of the basic reasons is that cows are holy and its really hard to make Big Macs for a billion people. The people are veg and they love it. They also don't drink, I didn't know it when I signed up for the course but the valley is dry here. The Hindus don't drink much, if at all, and this is a very holy place for them - thus, no booze. I hear rumors that there is a "bottle shop" up the hill about a half an hour but I havent even thought of going, its easy not to drink when no one else does and it feels great to be free of it for a while.

We are learning about the ancient ayurvedic practice of Kriyas, a means of cleansing which is most commonly known in the west with the use of a neti pot. There are many other types of kriyas that we have been introduced to including different types of neti aside from the traditional neti including threading a rubber catheter up the nose and out the mouth to cleanse mucus. We've learned the practice of vomin, where you drink 5-6 small glasses of warm salt water, then rub your three middle fingers on your tongue to induce regurgitation of the recently ingested warm salt water which brings with it mucus. Basti is one that we commonly joke about bringing out, also known as anema. We havent done group basti yet but it is a very common practice here in India to cleanse and purify the body. These practices are done regularly for devoted practicioners and it is believed that it keeps the body balanced, healthy and eliminates unwanted toxins.

We are in class for 6 days a week, starting at 6:30 am with herbal tea and neti cleansing, asana and pranayama class from 7-9, breakfast after that. Then were back in the classroom for a few hours before lunch, lunch, a little break, more class, evening asana practice, dinner and bed. The schedule is fairly rigorous but it is great. Fully immersed in the study and lifestyle. It feels great.

Despite the busy schedule, we do manage to get out and explore a fair bit. We have some fun excursions on Sundays, which have included a hike into the mountains to visit a really famous temple, a few other visits into the hills to visit various sites including the site where Rishikesh Yog Peeth is building their new school, it is a 30 minute walk up into the mountains, perched on a quiet and tranquil bench in the foothills above the Ganga with an astounding view of the Himalayan foothills around. I have also managed to get in some kayaking on the river, which is fun big water class III. After Nepal its not quite as hard or big as you want, but it feels wonderful to be in my boat floating on the holy Ganga River.

Life in Rishikesh is simple, and thus there isnt a lot to write about unless youd like to discuss yogic philosophy pranayama, meditation, and asana practice, which I would love to discuss personally. The daily life is very much India, a place that I was hesitant to visit at first but now love. Ill devote the rest of this post to showing you some fun stuff about living in a small village in one of the holiest cities in India and what we see on a daily basis.

This is my morning walk to class, traffic jam

This is one of the bridges over the Ganga, the thing hanging from the bridge is flood debris from a giant tidal wave that came down the valley earlier this summer to kick off the monsoon season. The debris is about 80 or 90 feet above the river at current flows, the bridge is just over 400 feet wide. Thats a lot of water!

yaay rafting, cool temples

colorful clothes and carrying stuff on your head

this is a cool little hidden path that I love taking

If youve been to India, you know what this is, its the pee hole on the train. You cant tell from the picture but this dumps directly onto the train tracks. Its kinda fun in a gross way

The dust bin, because there is way too much trash everywhere to put it in the bin.

view of the foothills with some city and the ganga below

the Rishikesh veggie market is a dream, its like walking into Whole Foods but costs about 1%. The valley is incredibly fertile, the Ganga brings with it an amazing amount of nutrients from the mountains above, making this a great valley for agriculture.

Cool view from another temple of the river

This is how they make stoves here, mud, sticks and a pot. Its rad.

Holy cow drinking from the drinking fountain in town.

gettin the straight blade shave, its the way to go since it only costs about $.50 and they include a head and neck massage.

If you ever wanted to buy mala beads, this is the place. Mala beads are a kind of rosary for Hindus and Buddhists and they are everywhere. Beautiful colors, every kind of stone and bead imaginable.

view of the river valley from the Red Chile office. Red Chile is the rafting company that I hooked up with. They are a great company and have a variety of runs that they do. They are unique in that their guides actually know how to guide rafts, unlike many of the over 200 companies in Rishikesh!

Sunset holy Arti ceremony on the banks of the Ganga. A fun affair with lots of singing, chanting and devotion to the holy river.

a wonderful swimming spot on the river

fellow yogi Sara from Holland at the gate of the now closed Beatles Ashram

gettin ready to play on the river

oh hello mister

part of the reason the cows are holy, other than the milk they provide, is that their poo is harvested and made into these little patties. The patties are piled up, covered and saved until winter when they are used for fuel for cooking and to keep the house warm during the winter.

holy patties

My teachers daugheter, showing us her forward fold

carrying the raft to the river, just like everything else, on your head

carrying mud at the new ashram building site

new Rishikesh Yog Peeth ashram site. Pretty rad.

At a waterfall, feeling refreshed in the jungle

happy and friendly locals, wanting to make out

our local Chai walla, showing us how to make the most delicious batch

boat ride across the river

looks like trouble brewing outside the police station. actually these guys are harmless

cleanin up some dingleberries with a little help from my friend

a Sadhu, these holy men denounce any personal belongings except for their walking stick, shoes, pot and hash pipe. No home, no money, no belongings. The universe will provide. Detachment.