Posts Tagged ‘Rishikesh’

Shiva statue in Rishikesh, yoga capital of the world

Breathe in India TOUR

Do you long to experience spiritual India, and do yoga on the banks of the sacred Ganges River?

Breathe in India is for people who long to experience the  magic of spiritual India. Participants will watch the Taj Mahal float in  a iridescent sunrise, explore the ghats of Varanasi, the world’s oldest  city, bask in the sublime beauty of Khajuraho’s temples and do yoga on  the banks of the sacred Ganges River in Rishikesh. The tour dates are February 5 to 18, 2011 (with a six-day extension in Rishikesh, Haridwar and Aurovalley Ashram).

For more information on the tours visit New! Tours to India or scroll down for dates, cost and detailed itinerary. Read the rest of this entry »

Mariellen at the Taj Mahal, India

The best way to see India

I am very excited to share my passion for India by taking people to see the places I love. Together with award-winning tour operator Indus Travels, I am presenting two tours this winter in India.

Dream in India (starts Jan. 8, 2011) is for people who want to experience inspirational India and learn travel writing and blogging. Click here to learn more about Dream in India.

Breathe in India (starts Feb 5, 2011) is for people who want to experience the magic of spiritual India and do yoga. Click here to learn more about Breathe in India. And read Golden mornings on the Ganges, my Toronto Star article about what life is like in an ashram in India. We will be visiting both of these ashrams on the Breathe in India tour! Read the rest of this entry »

Outdoor yoga class at temple, Varanasi

India hits most foreign visitors with sensorial overload, especially during the first few weeks after arrival.  It takes time to become acclimatized to the crowds, noise, pollution, language, culture, religious practises and the way people relate to each other, and to foreigners.

When you visit or move to any new country, there are so many things to get used to. This is especially true if the new culture is extremely different from what you’re used to. And India is about as far from orderly, efficient, sparsely populated, wealthy and cold Canada as you can get.

However, one of India’s most popular cultural exports, yoga, was readily available in my hometown (Toronto) and I practiced and studied it for well over 10 years before I set foot in India for the first time.

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Front gate of "the Beatles ashram," Rishikesh

All you need is love

This blog is dedicated to my older brother Matthew. If it wasn’t for his Beatles obsession in the late 60s and early 70s, I might never have come to India. I used to follow him around when we were children, which meant listening to a lot of Beatles music. I remember looking intently at the pictures of the Beatles — especially George Harrison, my fave  — wearing long hair, flowing shirts and marigold garlands. I had always loved anything “Oriental, exotic and mystical,” and when the Beatles went to India, I was entranced. I secretly wished I was old enough to be a “hippie” and join them. Read the rest of this entry »

Har-ki-Pauri, Haridwar during Maha Kumbh Mela

A sea of humanity, an ocean of bliss

April 14, 2010 was the highly auspicious final Royal Bathing Day at the Maha Kumbh Mela – the biggest and perhaps most important spiritual festival in the Hindu world, and the largest gathering of humanity on earth. As I was staying at my spiritual home, Aurovalley Ashram, just about 10 kilometres upstream from Haridwar, I found myself caught up in the excitement. And on the morning of the big day itself, I found myself alone, smack in the centre of the Kumbh Mela, at the extremely sacred Har-ki-Pauri ghat in Haridwar, surrounded by millions, probably tens of millions, of pilgrims, devotees, tourists, naga sadhus, babas, sunnyasis, pandits, swamis, VIPs and god knows who else. All the roads into and out of Haridwar in every direction were closed for miles around, the sun was climbing and the temperature was starting to soar to above 40 C. It was one of the peak experiences of my life: In that moment, I had to face my fears. Read the rest of this entry »

Swamiji entering one of the gates of Aurovalley Ashram

Harmony is the hallmark of consciousness

One evening at Aurovalley Ashram, I walked out of the circular white meditation hall and into the verdant Rishidwar valley soaked in a mauve sunset. The air was filled with devotion. Devotional chants came from both the nearby sadhu’s ashram on the Ganga and from the Kumbh Mela 12 kms down the valley, in Haridwar. Even from the ashram grounds, I could see the lights of Kumbh Mela temples blazing on the hill tops around the sacred city. Many varieties of birds added their songs of love to the devotional mix, as did the warm breeze that blew down from the Himalayan foothills. Read the rest of this entry »

[NOTE: Originally published on Journeywoman, July 2009.]

Moi, in salwar kameez, at Kanyakumari - the very southern tip of India

1. Wear “salwar kameez”

Aside from good walking shoes and sandals, a one-piece bathing suit and cotton bras and underwear – or, if you prefer, the synthetic kind that wicks away sweat – don’t bring any clothes to India. If you land in Delhi, head straight to one of the Fabindia outlets and stock up on inexpensive cotton “suits.” The three-piece suit (in Hindi, salwar kameez) consists of a long or short tunic over fitted or wide-legged pants, topped with a long scarf, called a dupatta. These outfits suit the climate, the need for modesty and will help you fit in, mitigating your status as a moving target for gawkers, touts and beggars.

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Originally published in Dreamscapes magazine.

View of the majestic Himalayas from Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram

As I sit writing this on the balcony of my room at the Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh, India, the melodious sound of people singing kirtan (devotional songs and chants) floats up from the yoga hall below. From here, I have a breath-taking view of the imposing foothills of the Himalayas and I can feel the invigorating mountain air as it sweeps into this serene valley, through which the jewel-green Ganga (Ganges) River flows. It is easy to see why legend refers to the Himalaya range as Dev Bhoomi, land of the gods.

Rishikesh is a small and relatively (by Indian standards) peaceful town that meanders along the narrow valley on both sides of the Ganga, connected by two impressive suspension bridges, Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula, which are open for pedestrian traffic, bicycles and motorcycles only. Seers – rishis – and sages have been gathering here, at this picturesque spot on the Ganges, since before recorded history to prayer, chant and meditate. Indian pilgrims and foreign yoga students alike flock here to stay in one of the town’s many ashrams and soak up the devotional vibes. It is often referred to as the yoga capital of the world.

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The Mother of India River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal.

Through Rishikesh, Ganga sings as she passes through the enchanted valley ringing with bells. Her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims who wish her well and the excitement of the onward journey. Ganga is gorgeous in Rishikesh, jewel-green, opaque and sparkling. A beauty for the ages, decorated with flower-and-light filled offerings.

At Rishidwar, she slows a little to enjoy the mist-covered mountains, tulsi-filled meadows, low flying birds and grazing cattle. The languid movement of the surface of the water belies the depth and strength of her current and hints at a sonorous voice. Here, her deep, quiet power is felt more than heard and she imbues the surrounding countryside with sacred serenity.

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