Life in the Ashram

It’s been two weeks since I’ve arrived in India. After 40 hours, four flights, one very long, stressful car ride, and 12.5 hours of time travel, I finally arrived in Goa. My home for the next month is Kashish Yoga, a lovely little ashram located 3km from Palolem Beach on the Arabian Sea.

The days here are hot, long, and beautiful. The ashram is scattered with palm trees and is surrounded by lush mountains covered in thick, green foliage. Every morning, our classes are blessed with the sounds of birds and bugs and rustling leaves. There are these gorgeous birds called Brahminy Kites, who look like a smaller bald eagle and whose screams pierce through the morning as they circle above the shalas. Treefrogs chirp rhythmically from their hiding places. Free-roaming cows moo from the roads and fields. Crickets sing us to sleep every night. A misty haze hangs in the sky that emphasizes some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets I've ever seen.

Our days follow a similar schedule Monday through Saturday: each morning, we begin at 6:30a with shatkriya, or cleansing rituals to prepare our bodies for the day ahead. At 7a, we have our morning pranayama and asana class for 90 minutes, followed by a breakfast of fruit, oats, rice, and toast. After breakfast, we have philosophy, where we cover everything from the yoga sutras to Hindu tradition. Asana clinic comes next, where we examine poses from different disciplines and discuss proper alignment, modifications, variations, and hands-on adjustments. Our lunch at 1:30p generally consists of traditional Indian foods like chapati bread, rice, daal, and curry. We have a long break after lunch to rest and digest, after which we have an hour of anatomy, a second 90 minute asana class, and an hour of meditation. Our days wrap up with a delicious, Indian dinner (sometimes even with dessert if we’re lucky). Occasionally, we’ll have an additional night session after dinner. After all the excitement, I’m usually in bed by 9:30p with a fierce ache through my entire body and a smile on my face.

About halfway through now, my 300 hour training has been extremely physically, mentally, and spiritually demanding. I’ve never done an immersion training before, let alone in a distant land, so it’s definitely been an adjustment. I can already feel the changes within my body and mind; the things that I normally find myself preoccupied with back home are of no concern here. Even amidst the packed schedule and intense study, there’s a sense of peace and ease that I’ve only ever experienced when surrounded by fellow yogis in this kind of space. My previous retreat experiences have been only been for the weekend, so this kind of extended experience is sure to have a lasting effect on me.