Read my post of Getting to Rishikesh to find out why and how I went to Rishikesh, India in the first place. Recommended to read first.
All this time I've heard not a word from anyone. I think something's up, but I'm not sure what. I tried to take a few pictures of myself and then a girl sees me and offers to do it for me. The first words I've heard spoken all day! We talk for a little, and I tell her that I'm new here, but she doesn't tell me about this silent time I have yet to completely understand.
As you can see by the picture it was also a bit cool in the night and morning, but got nice during the day. "Om" in hindi was written on the wall on the roof. Anyway, I hang out for a little longer, get weird looks and no words from people if I try to talk to them, and finally it's 8am for breakfast. We go into this room with little stools that are actually tables for the meal. We sit on the floor and wait while our meal is served by the volunteers who are training to become yoga instructors. Still in silence. By this time I know better than to speak, it's obviously some kind of silent time. Breakfast goes by in complete silence...only the clatters of spoons and dishes as people ate.
Breakfast consisted of dates (which were pretty hard and not fresh, so it took a few days until I actually knew what they were considering I wasn't supposed to talk during breakfast and by the end I would usually forget to ask), some main course like a somosa or some kind of rice or oatmeal dish. Maybe an orange sometimes (like in the picture, yes it's actually an orange). Whatever it was it was vegan and healthy. I had to make sure to finish my first course by the time the servers came around with seconds so I could maximize the amount of food I got at every meal...there was rarely enough to really fill me up.
I made it back for dinner and some socializing with some other folks at the ashram, but people go to bed soon after dinner since you have to wake up at 4-5am for morning yoga!
The days of the real yoga ashram were busier than I thought! Since it was raining the first morning, we went to the downstairs studio since the upstairs studio would be really loud with the clattering rain.
The downstairs studio is, however, much smaller, and it could barely hold everyone. Because of this I thought, it was a much more relaxed session with lots of...actually I barely remember because I was half passed out the entire time. That'll happen at 6am yoga when you're laying down on a comfy mat. There was a lot more chanting that I was used to, where we said "Ommmmmmmmmmmmm. Shaan-ti, shaan-ti, shaan-tiiiiii. Ommmmmmm." There was also a lot of breathing exercises, where we had to practically hyperventilate ourselves breathing in and out only through our noses.
All the other morning yoga sessions were up in the upstairs studio, with the sun streaming in mid-session as the sun rose. They also had a bit more physical activity yoga, but still always a bit of chanting and breathing to do as well.
The chanting session after breakfast was also interesting. A few people would sit around a fire as a leader changed songs and we threw spices and oil into the fire. I'm still not quite sure what it was all about.
The afternoon yoga sessions are usually less crowded or near empty, since many people just don't show up for it or do their own practice (so they just go to the rooftop and practice on their own for a while), so the afternoon sessions are in the downstairs studio. I didn't want to miss this, since I was only here for a few days I wanted to get all the yoga I could out of it!
In the breaks between yoga sessions, I usually just hung out with others from the ashram. We went up to a monk temple to see a view of the distant Himalayas. You can see them waaay in the distance.
We went over to the beach of the river Ganges. The girl and guy in the right of this picture were tasked with dunking themselves into the river Ganges every day as part of their yoga teachings...so they jumped in clothes and all. It was pretty cold too.
I also played a little ukulele and met some Indian guy who was doing some sort of ritual washing.
We also explored the town a bit. The easiest way to explore the town was to cross this "walking" bridge over the Ganges over to some area with some main shops. You'd think it would be a nice relaxing walk over the river, but thanks to all the motobikes that were apparently allowed to cross it as well, it was the most stressful part of the walk. The motobikes would go down this path, honking at all the pedestrians to get out of their way and zooming past them. Very few were actually considerate in not beeping as much and going a little slower. Whew, oh India.
And once you got across this bridge, it was this small street that could only fit one car through, lined with nice shops. But again, there were no rules against cars and motobikes driving through, so there was just constant honking from all the vehicles trying to get through, and you could often not even hear yourself think as people held down their horns, even in the shops. So much for getting away from the city!
I also ended up unfortunately spending much of my extra time trying to book a train ticket away from Rishikesh. Like getting my ticket to Rishikesh, it was difficult because it was booked and I had to wait until 24 hours before it left and then go to a travel agency to have them do it for me. Once I knew what to do it was ok, but no one had any good info so I tried in vain for a few days before I finally got it (the day before I left).
Another thing to note is that Rishikesh is a meat and alcohol free town! Although that did make it easy to go to sleep after dinner since I knew there was no nightlife at all, and I had to wake up at 4 or 5am to do it all again. Here I am with the head yogi of the ashram.
Anyway, so I arrive at Rishikesh at 5am, kind of tired from not sleeping a lot and from the crazy epic day I had before. (As I said, go read Getting to Rishikesh).
I show up at the Yoga Ashram I have booked at 5am, and everything is very quiet. But it's not because no one's around. People are around, but no one is talking and it's completely silent. I have some booking problems because it was double booked or something like that so I end up in another hotel around the corner...whatever at least it had a nice view of the mountains.
I find a little schedule paper at the front of the ashram. Since it's Sunday, it's the only day that there isn't a set schedule. The whole day has no official yoga sessions, but you can do free yoga and meditation from 5am to 8am in the upstairs studio. Since it's just about that time, I go up there and do my own thing, as well as watching and listening to what other people are doing. Only a few people struck me as odd. One guy was just laying down breathing weird (really just breathing exercises I have discovered), and a few other people were laying down probably in shavasana. After a while of that I explore the ashram a little, they have a nice rooftop with a great few of the mountains, so I watch the sun rise.
I find a little schedule paper at the front of the ashram. Since it's Sunday, it's the only day that there isn't a set schedule. The whole day has no official yoga sessions, but you can do free yoga and meditation from 5am to 8am in the upstairs studio. Since it's just about that time, I go up there and do my own thing, as well as watching and listening to what other people are doing. Only a few people struck me as odd. One guy was just laying down breathing weird (really just breathing exercises I have discovered), and a few other people were laying down probably in shavasana. After a while of that I explore the ashram a little, they have a nice rooftop with a great few of the mountains, so I watch the sun rise.
All this time I've heard not a word from anyone. I think something's up, but I'm not sure what. I tried to take a few pictures of myself and then a girl sees me and offers to do it for me. The first words I've heard spoken all day! We talk for a little, and I tell her that I'm new here, but she doesn't tell me about this silent time I have yet to completely understand.
Finally breakfast is over and it's time for the real day to start. People start talking, people are friendly, it's nice and relaxing. Ahh I'm at the yoga ashram.
Every day but Sunday there is a set schedule at the Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram:
5:30 am - optional meditation time
6:00 am - morning yoga session (usually lasts until 7:45ish)
8:00 am - breakfast
8:30 am - some kind of chanting and singing session around a fire
9:00 am - silent time ends
12:00 pm - lunch
4:00 pm - afternoon yoga session (usually lasts until 5:45ish)
6:00 pm - dinner
7:30 pm - tea time
9:00 pm - silent time starts
9:30 pm - ashram doors close and lock (curfew! I don't even know when they open again, maybe 5am?)
Since there isn't really a set schedule for anything on Sunday, I decided to go rafting on the river Ganges that Sunday. It was actually a lot of fun, except for the fact that my camera broke...and I still don't even think it was water damage that did it in. Everything was in the dry bag, and the rafting guides started to open it up to take pictures of us at times. The first time they did it they I got my camera out for them, but then they did it another time without asking, and he comes up to me and asks, "Is the battery dead?" I had put a new one in the day before or so, so it definitely shouldn't have been dead, but the camera was off with the lens stuck open. It never did anything ever again. Fortunately insurance paid to get a new one, but I didn't find the same one until I got to Hong Kong a week or two later. Here's the last picture he took before it broke (some of the other pictures are from my phone cam).
The actual rafting was some of the best rafting I'd done in a while. Nice big rapids with clean, crisp, cold water, since in Rishikesh the water comes straight from the Himalayas. The guides were even drinking it. They even had a little break with (small) cliff jumping and guys selling cookies and making you ramen masala they call Maggi. Mmm it was tasty.
Every day but Sunday there is a set schedule at the Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram:
5:30 am - optional meditation time
6:00 am - morning yoga session (usually lasts until 7:45ish)
8:00 am - breakfast
8:30 am - some kind of chanting and singing session around a fire
9:00 am - silent time ends
12:00 pm - lunch
4:00 pm - afternoon yoga session (usually lasts until 5:45ish)
6:00 pm - dinner
7:30 pm - tea time
9:00 pm - silent time starts
9:30 pm - ashram doors close and lock (curfew! I don't even know when they open again, maybe 5am?)
Since there isn't really a set schedule for anything on Sunday, I decided to go rafting on the river Ganges that Sunday. It was actually a lot of fun, except for the fact that my camera broke...and I still don't even think it was water damage that did it in. Everything was in the dry bag, and the rafting guides started to open it up to take pictures of us at times. The first time they did it they I got my camera out for them, but then they did it another time without asking, and he comes up to me and asks, "Is the battery dead?" I had put a new one in the day before or so, so it definitely shouldn't have been dead, but the camera was off with the lens stuck open. It never did anything ever again. Fortunately insurance paid to get a new one, but I didn't find the same one until I got to Hong Kong a week or two later. Here's the last picture he took before it broke (some of the other pictures are from my phone cam).
The actual rafting was some of the best rafting I'd done in a while. Nice big rapids with clean, crisp, cold water, since in Rishikesh the water comes straight from the Himalayas. The guides were even drinking it. They even had a little break with (small) cliff jumping and guys selling cookies and making you ramen masala they call Maggi. Mmm it was tasty.
I made it back for dinner and some socializing with some other folks at the ashram, but people go to bed soon after dinner since you have to wake up at 4-5am for morning yoga!
The days of the real yoga ashram were busier than I thought! Since it was raining the first morning, we went to the downstairs studio since the upstairs studio would be really loud with the clattering rain.
The downstairs studio is, however, much smaller, and it could barely hold everyone. Because of this I thought, it was a much more relaxed session with lots of...actually I barely remember because I was half passed out the entire time. That'll happen at 6am yoga when you're laying down on a comfy mat. There was a lot more chanting that I was used to, where we said "Ommmmmmmmmmmmm. Shaan-ti, shaan-ti, shaan-tiiiiii. Ommmmmmm." There was also a lot of breathing exercises, where we had to practically hyperventilate ourselves breathing in and out only through our noses.
All the other morning yoga sessions were up in the upstairs studio, with the sun streaming in mid-session as the sun rose. They also had a bit more physical activity yoga, but still always a bit of chanting and breathing to do as well.
The chanting session after breakfast was also interesting. A few people would sit around a fire as a leader changed songs and we threw spices and oil into the fire. I'm still not quite sure what it was all about.
The afternoon yoga sessions are usually less crowded or near empty, since many people just don't show up for it or do their own practice (so they just go to the rooftop and practice on their own for a while), so the afternoon sessions are in the downstairs studio. I didn't want to miss this, since I was only here for a few days I wanted to get all the yoga I could out of it!
In the breaks between yoga sessions, I usually just hung out with others from the ashram. We went up to a monk temple to see a view of the distant Himalayas. You can see them waaay in the distance.
We went over to the beach of the river Ganges. The girl and guy in the right of this picture were tasked with dunking themselves into the river Ganges every day as part of their yoga teachings...so they jumped in clothes and all. It was pretty cold too.
I also played a little ukulele and met some Indian guy who was doing some sort of ritual washing.
We also explored the town a bit. The easiest way to explore the town was to cross this "walking" bridge over the Ganges over to some area with some main shops. You'd think it would be a nice relaxing walk over the river, but thanks to all the motobikes that were apparently allowed to cross it as well, it was the most stressful part of the walk. The motobikes would go down this path, honking at all the pedestrians to get out of their way and zooming past them. Very few were actually considerate in not beeping as much and going a little slower. Whew, oh India.
And once you got across this bridge, it was this small street that could only fit one car through, lined with nice shops. But again, there were no rules against cars and motobikes driving through, so there was just constant honking from all the vehicles trying to get through, and you could often not even hear yourself think as people held down their horns, even in the shops. So much for getting away from the city!
I also ended up unfortunately spending much of my extra time trying to book a train ticket away from Rishikesh. Like getting my ticket to Rishikesh, it was difficult because it was booked and I had to wait until 24 hours before it left and then go to a travel agency to have them do it for me. Once I knew what to do it was ok, but no one had any good info so I tried in vain for a few days before I finally got it (the day before I left).
Another thing to note is that Rishikesh is a meat and alcohol free town! Although that did make it easy to go to sleep after dinner since I knew there was no nightlife at all, and I had to wake up at 4 or 5am to do it all again. Here I am with the head yogi of the ashram.
On my last night of the yoga ashram, there was a special event where a Hari Krishna group was going to come and play some music. They set up their equipment in the upstairs studio and after dinner people started to flock in.
They sang their songs (or should I say song) and told stories about Hari Krishna and Ramakrishna. The song was pretty much the same thing but with sometimes a different tune. You can probably find it on Google somewhere. I had no idea what this was about (seemingly a common occurrence of Rishikesh in hindsight while writing this...I don't know why I didn't ask more questions. I think the answers didn't make much sense), but apparently it's some sort of religion? But not really? I still don't completely understand. Anyway, we sang and danced and had a good time, and at some point one of the guys mentioned he was headed out on a train the next morning. I had to go to the train station at around that time too, and a taxi was kind of expensive because of the distance, so I approached him about sharing a cab. I already had a cab set up, so I agreed to pick him up the next morning after I caught it at 4am. There's a whole nother story about my experience with this Hari Krishna guy, written in my next blog post here.
They sang their songs (or should I say song) and told stories about Hari Krishna and Ramakrishna. The song was pretty much the same thing but with sometimes a different tune. You can probably find it on Google somewhere. I had no idea what this was about (seemingly a common occurrence of Rishikesh in hindsight while writing this...I don't know why I didn't ask more questions. I think the answers didn't make much sense), but apparently it's some sort of religion? But not really? I still don't completely understand. Anyway, we sang and danced and had a good time, and at some point one of the guys mentioned he was headed out on a train the next morning. I had to go to the train station at around that time too, and a taxi was kind of expensive because of the distance, so I approached him about sharing a cab. I already had a cab set up, so I agreed to pick him up the next morning after I caught it at 4am. There's a whole nother story about my experience with this Hari Krishna guy, written in my next blog post here.
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