Practicing Yoga in India

In December, I had a few days in India. It was a whirlwind 4-day trip that has centred around a pilgrimage to a mountain top temple as part of my continued dedication to my late Dad (you can read about the pilgrimage in the Blog).

Whilst there, I really wanted to practice yoga in its homeland. I asked my cousin who asked someone who asked someone and so it goes on, until eventually I hit the jackpot as they found a way for me to join classes at the Ayurvedic University.

Yes!! A whole university dedicated to Ayurveda. This institution in Jamnagar, India, was founded in 1965 and is the world’s first higher education institution dedicated to naturopathic treatment.

I joined their 6am classes for 3 days. Each day was different but each day also finished with an incredible satsang (spiritual audience) from the teacher Asha (pictured with me below), teaching us about the higher purpose of what we do with yoga. I particularly liked the teaching about how we can influence children through our actions even though they may not feel an immediate desire to follow us. By simply displaying good habits and our sadhana (spiritual practice) in their visibility, we will leave an imprint in their minds with a lasting future reference for them to take up when the time is right.

Last class in this 3-day practice was on Christmas Day which finished with extended pranayama. Beautifully placed to sharpen up my lungs as the next day was the day of my mountain pilgrimage!