I checked into an ashram. Every time I think, say, or write, that first statement it makes me feel like I have checked into some sort of ‘facility’ where I need to be helped, or brought back to life in some way, shape, or form. This is not the case when you check in to an ashram. Lonely Planet defines ashram as “spiritual community, or retreat”. I don’t know what I was retreating from seeing as though I am already on vacation, but I have definitely enjoyed the “community” aspect of Parmarth Niketan. I also enjoy how they say Parmarth Niketan, Par-matt Nee-key-tan. It somehow rolls off the tongue of each and every Hindi speaker here.
I’ve been staying at the ashram for a week and a half now. I checked in after three days at a guest house on the other, quieter, side of the river. I came to Parmarth Niketan for very logical reasons. Those being i) I wanted cheap, safe accommodation ii) I wanted a regular and consistent schedule for my day iii) I wanted free yoga, and iv) I was just curious.
Once I was shown my room I was hooked. It was cute, clean, and bright. The guesthouse was very dark, dreary, and I just didn’t want to be there. When I arrived at the ashram I was immediately given a fresh towel, a roll of TP, and shown how the hot water for the shower worked. BONUS! There were two single beds in my room, which meant I got twice as many sheets, pillows, and blankets! A necessity in a cold and windy town, such as Rishikesh!
My first lunch was followed by my first Kathak Dance Class! Yoga followed shortly after, then a fire ceremony at the water front with all of the sadhus (i.e. monks) from the ashram. Dinner is at 7pm. When I first arrived there was a meditation class following supper. This week the schedule changed and the second meditation class is in the afternoon, following yoga. After my first day of lunch, dance, and yoga I thought “I could get used to this”.
Mornings, for me, start at 6am with an hour and a half yoga class. This is followed by a one hour meditation class, which I just started going to and you only meditate for thirty minutes out of the hour. Then morning chai. I stopped eating breakfast at the ashram after the first day. The breakfast is delicious but it is also spicy. Three spicy meals a day is not good for a girl whose constituion already has too much heat in it. After the first day I began going for morning porridge at either a local haunt called “The Office”, or at the restaurant back at my old guesthouse (they have coconut porridge, Tabitha you would LOVE it)!
Morning for the sadhus in the ashram begin at 4:30am with morning prayers, a satsang at 5am, then yoga and meditation if they choose. I have set my alarm twice for the morning prayers and satsang and have failed on both accounts to actually get out of bed and attend. Tomorrow is my last morning at the ashram, we will see if I choose to sacrifice sleep and warmth and actually go.
I will completely confess that I didn’t start going to the meditation classes until my second week. My reason being was that I knew my mind was already in overdrive and I did not want to suffer through an hour or so of me not being able to control my thoughts. Thus feeling frustrated and defeated. But I did go to the last of the evening meditations . It was longer than I thought; and hour and a half, which is brutal on the body. I did very well for the first hour, then my body became extraordinarily uncomfortable. I did like the meditation though. There were a few things that stuck out to me. For starters the focus point the instructor gave was your upper lip, just below the nose, where air passes with each and every breath. The teacher said that the brain exists here, it lives here and only here. If you do not pay attention to your breath, you are letting life slip by. Breath is life. It is the passing of life.
He also reminded us that the mind will never stop and that is not the point of meditation. The point of meditation is to “keep the mind sharp” he would say with much strength and certainty. What has stuck with me the strongest was the word “practise”. I kept thinking about yogis. They always refer to their “practice”, “their practice”. The practice is the foundation of yoga and being a yogi. I took this thought of practice and correlated it to the practice of life, or life as a practise. More so what do I practise in my life. What is my life practice? I wasn’t too thrilled with the responses of what my life practise is. Yes I have done some great things, been to amazing places, and know incredible people but my life practice, my daily practice I didn’t like so much. Being at the ashram has given me a chance to practice life differently. To start everyday with yoga and meditation, to have scheduled meals, afternoon dance class, and to be in my room getting ready for bed at a reasonable hour every night; they lock the front gates to the ashram at 9pm. It has afforded me time to read and write, do headstands, write out my intentions for the day, and reflect upon my day, my thoughts and feelings. I find the days go by quite quickly and I wonder how I would be able to fit all of the things I do at the ashram into a daily life, and practice, back in Canada. Pretty tricky with work, courses, friends, family, daily/weekly chores and responsibilities. I don’t know if I will be able to incorporate all of the things I practiced at the ashram into my life back in Canada, whenever I get back to Canada. However there is hope and, more importantly, inspiration for a life practice that suits and nourishes me.
All in all I really enjoyed my time at the ashram. I met some fantastic people there, learned Kathak dance, nourished my body, mind, and soul. A worthy experience indeed and something I would try again.
I’ve been staying at the ashram for a week and a half now. I checked in after three days at a guest house on the other, quieter, side of the river. I came to Parmarth Niketan for very logical reasons. Those being i) I wanted cheap, safe accommodation ii) I wanted a regular and consistent schedule for my day iii) I wanted free yoga, and iv) I was just curious.
Once I was shown my room I was hooked. It was cute, clean, and bright. The guesthouse was very dark, dreary, and I just didn’t want to be there. When I arrived at the ashram I was immediately given a fresh towel, a roll of TP, and shown how the hot water for the shower worked. BONUS! There were two single beds in my room, which meant I got twice as many sheets, pillows, and blankets! A necessity in a cold and windy town, such as Rishikesh!
My first lunch was followed by my first Kathak Dance Class! Yoga followed shortly after, then a fire ceremony at the water front with all of the sadhus (i.e. monks) from the ashram. Dinner is at 7pm. When I first arrived there was a meditation class following supper. This week the schedule changed and the second meditation class is in the afternoon, following yoga. After my first day of lunch, dance, and yoga I thought “I could get used to this”.
Mornings, for me, start at 6am with an hour and a half yoga class. This is followed by a one hour meditation class, which I just started going to and you only meditate for thirty minutes out of the hour. Then morning chai. I stopped eating breakfast at the ashram after the first day. The breakfast is delicious but it is also spicy. Three spicy meals a day is not good for a girl whose constituion already has too much heat in it. After the first day I began going for morning porridge at either a local haunt called “The Office”, or at the restaurant back at my old guesthouse (they have coconut porridge, Tabitha you would LOVE it)!
Morning for the sadhus in the ashram begin at 4:30am with morning prayers, a satsang at 5am, then yoga and meditation if they choose. I have set my alarm twice for the morning prayers and satsang and have failed on both accounts to actually get out of bed and attend. Tomorrow is my last morning at the ashram, we will see if I choose to sacrifice sleep and warmth and actually go.
I will completely confess that I didn’t start going to the meditation classes until my second week. My reason being was that I knew my mind was already in overdrive and I did not want to suffer through an hour or so of me not being able to control my thoughts. Thus feeling frustrated and defeated. But I did go to the last of the evening meditations . It was longer than I thought; and hour and a half, which is brutal on the body. I did very well for the first hour, then my body became extraordinarily uncomfortable. I did like the meditation though. There were a few things that stuck out to me. For starters the focus point the instructor gave was your upper lip, just below the nose, where air passes with each and every breath. The teacher said that the brain exists here, it lives here and only here. If you do not pay attention to your breath, you are letting life slip by. Breath is life. It is the passing of life.
He also reminded us that the mind will never stop and that is not the point of meditation. The point of meditation is to “keep the mind sharp” he would say with much strength and certainty. What has stuck with me the strongest was the word “practise”. I kept thinking about yogis. They always refer to their “practice”, “their practice”. The practice is the foundation of yoga and being a yogi. I took this thought of practice and correlated it to the practice of life, or life as a practise. More so what do I practise in my life. What is my life practice? I wasn’t too thrilled with the responses of what my life practise is. Yes I have done some great things, been to amazing places, and know incredible people but my life practice, my daily practice I didn’t like so much. Being at the ashram has given me a chance to practice life differently. To start everyday with yoga and meditation, to have scheduled meals, afternoon dance class, and to be in my room getting ready for bed at a reasonable hour every night; they lock the front gates to the ashram at 9pm. It has afforded me time to read and write, do headstands, write out my intentions for the day, and reflect upon my day, my thoughts and feelings. I find the days go by quite quickly and I wonder how I would be able to fit all of the things I do at the ashram into a daily life, and practice, back in Canada. Pretty tricky with work, courses, friends, family, daily/weekly chores and responsibilities. I don’t know if I will be able to incorporate all of the things I practiced at the ashram into my life back in Canada, whenever I get back to Canada. However there is hope and, more importantly, inspiration for a life practice that suits and nourishes me.
All in all I really enjoyed my time at the ashram. I met some fantastic people there, learned Kathak dance, nourished my body, mind, and soul. A worthy experience indeed and something I would try again.
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