TheLoneRider
a seeker in search of Easter Eggs
Yoga

Bouncing Back into Yoga in Rishikesh May 21, 2018

Bouncing Back into Yoga in Rishikesh

Location: Raahi The Travelers Nest (hostel), Tapovan (village), Tehri Garhwal (district), Rishikesh (city), Uttarakhand (state), India

Raahi The Travelers NestYoga at Haari The Travelers Nest Hostel
After my dust-induced ailment in Kathmandu, I have not been able to resume my yoga. But with a spacious yoga space in Haari hostel and my resurgent strength, yoga was once again in the works. First session was with Cecilia (from Germany) and Ai (from Japan), both fellow guests at the hostel.

Theoretical Cornerstone for the Practice
Since both of them were relative beginners, it felt more important to establish the foundational cornerstone for their practice - asana all the way to their safety edge, synchronizing breath with movement, mindfulness of body sensations, intention of what we want to accomplish in the asanas, and lastly, stilling the reactive mind. The session wasn't about doing body contortions but more about applying those principals in the simplest of poses.

Bouncing Back into Yoga in Rishikesh
Tree pose with Cecilia and Ai

Donation Basis
Initially, my classes were entirely free and it lasted sometimes for 2.5 hours, depending on how the students can cope. At some point, I accepted donations - it was still a free class though, but those who wished to donate, can. The donation part addressed the awkwardness of those who attended daily and felt they had to give back something. For me, it was a blessing in the face of dwindling cash flow. It all worked-out for everyone.

Daily Classes
This class began a series of daily classes where hotel guests (and non-guests) can join from 6:15am to 7:45am - 90 minutes of asana, pranayama (with nauli) and finishing off with meditation. Sometimes, it could be a class of 8 (it was a small hostel), and when they all left for other destinations, I would do a self practice. The important part was to be on the mat.

Ending Thoughts
I am hoping that after Rishikesh, everyone who attended my classes can still default to the 5 basic tenets of the practice as they deepen their yoga - safety edge, breath, awareness, intention and the equanimous mind. All those elements can still be factored-in regardless what kind of yoga they do or who is teaching it.

--- TheLoneRider
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Reader Comments:

Ai KawamuraAi Kawamura
(July 26, 2018) I remembered my childhood feelings and the pure feelings of those days. I awoke myself from sleep. I remembered the love and the impressions. I almost cried. It was a feeling that I found the light of love. And inspiration. I understood my true self. I will balance the body and life by doing YOGA. Good feeling. I learned the wisdom of life from you. Thanks, Thanks ...love my life ... love your life

Next stop: Ganga Aarti (devotional fire ritual) at Parmarth Niketan Ashram


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Rishikesh (city), India

hotels in Rishikesh hotel
  • RAAHI The Travellers Nest - backpacker-friendly, dorm rooms, central location, tours & rafting, motorbike rental, great place to meet people
    Paidal Marg, Laxman Jhula, 249192 Rishikesh

Travel Tips for Rishikesh

  1. climate-wise, best time to visit Rishikesh is from October to February when temperature is cool. This is also the high season for foreign travelers.
  2. May to June (my time of visit, before the monsoon rains) is HOT and DRY. Temperatures can reach beyond 40° and your skin/lips dry up. Great to go rafting or a dip in the Ganga River for respite. There are mostly Indian devotees and Indian tourists flocking to Rishikesh. Westerns tourists are few, but Rishikesh gets crowded specially while crossing the 2 bridges, Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula. Lodging prices can be negotiated down to INR 300/night for a bunk bed in a dorm room as this is low season.
  3. During the cooler season when any of the hugely popular gurus or babas visit to give a satsang, eg. Prem Baba, Mooji Baba, all rooms are fully booked from Rishikesh to Hardiwar!
  4. short power outages frequently happen during the day

How to get to Rishikesh from New Delhi by bus

  1. bus terminal Bus - take the Metro Yellow Line and get off at Kashmiri Gate. Exit the station from Gate 7 and enter the ISBT building - this is the bus terminal. Go down one flight and go to Platform 14. This is where you buy the bus ticket and board the bus. A/C bus, INR 454, 6 hours. You can take the 10:30pm bus and arrive 5am in Rishikesh.

    scam alert! - over the ticket counter, the guy may verbally charge you INR 765 - this is usually the online price of the bus ticket. But I looked closely at the printed ticket, and found the price at INR 454. I demanded more change! The guy knew he's been discovered and gave me back the rest of the change.

    You will arrive in Rishikesh at Adarsh Gram. To get to your hotel, travelers usually share a tuk-tuk (called Vikrams) for INR 10-20/passenger if shared. Since I arrived 5am, there was no one to share so I ended up paying a negotiated INR 150.
Travel Tips for India
  • e-VISA - visa on arrival is no longer done. Tourists should apply online for an e-VISA. Tourist e-VISA for 60 days = US$51.25 (including surcharges, non-refundable). NOTE: e-VISA is only honored in 25 designated airports and 5 designated seaports (Cochin, Goa, Mangalore,Mumbai,Chennai). You CANNOT do a land crossing using an e-VISA.
  • US$1 = Indian Rupee (INR) 67.18
  • nearly every food served is spicy...there is no escaping it
  • other travel destinations in India
  • always good to have an Indian SIM. It's handy to get wifi in some cafes


General Travel Tips
  1. arrive early - in case there is a snag (visa snag, documentation snag, transport ticket snag, etc.), you will have ample time to troubleshoot the problem if you arrive early (to the airport, to the bus terminal, etc.)
  2. put detailed itinerary on the Calendar apps of your smart-phone according to timelines - this is where you do all your thinking and planning. Once written down, you don't have to think anymore while you are on the journey...you just follow the steps. This frees your mind for something else that might happen while you are already en route
  3. avoiding scams - as a general rule, I ignore the touts or anyone I don't know who call out to me. The calling comes in many forms - "Hi! Where are you from?", "Excuse me! Excuse me!", "Where are you going?". I don't look them in the eye and I remain non-verbal with them. If you reply to them, you just gave them an 'in' to hound you. In order not to look rude, I smile and wave the 'not interested' hand to them, without looking at them.
  4. power bank - hand-carry your power bank. Do not check it in. You can be called in when you are already inside the plane to go all the way to the loading dock so you can personally remove the power bank...and chances are, you'll have to surrender it to them. And you might delay the plane departure!
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    DHARAMSHALA

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  2. Peoplescape of Dharamshala, India June 14 - July 8, 2018
  3. Visiting the Tibet Museum June 27, 2018
  4. In Search of a Tibetan Yantra Yoga Teacher June 25, 2018
  5. Conducting Yoga Classes at Pema Thang Guest House, Dharamshala, India June 24 - July 8, 2018
  6. Life in Upper Bhagsu, Dharamshala June 16-23, 2018
  7. Trekking to Naddi from Upper Bhagsu, Dharamshala June 19, 2018
  8. Matters of the Heart Jun 17, 2018
  9. A First Timer in Dharamshala Jun 14, 2018
  10. NEW DELHI

  11. 29 Hours in New Delhi Airport July 9-10, 2018
  12. Meditation with Shirly Pnina at Lodi Garden, New Delhi May 15, 2018
  13. A First-Timer in New Delhi, India May 12-17, 2018
  14. RISHIKESH

  15. A 26-Day Mini-Life in Rishikesh May 18 - June 13, 2018
  16. Peoplescape of Rishikesh May 18 - June 13, 2018
  17. Rafting the Ganga River with Greg Goldstein June 1, 2018
  18. White Water Rafting on Ganga River, Rishikesh May 25, 2018
  19. Satsang (spiritual discourse) by Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati May 21, 2018
  20. Ganga Aarti (devotional fire ritual) at Parmarth Niketan Ashram May 21, 2018
  21. Bouncing Back into Yoga in Rishikesh May 21, 2018
  22. Exploring Rishikesh, India May 18, 2018
  23. SONAULI

  24. India e-VISA snag May 9, 2018


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