Parmath Niketan Intensive Yoga Course
September 2014 - First Impressions 

We've all heard the word ashram and in the west, have images in our head more often than not from Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love. The yoga courses I've done in India have usually been held at what you might consider a 1 or 2 star hotel - single rooms and toilets, with minimal furniture but functional. Coffee is allowed, and talking is the norm during meals.  In all my years of yoga, my stay at Parmath Niketan was really the first time I've truly had an ashram experience.

Parmath Niketan is an ashram in all senses of the word. The place seems to exude worship, serenity and devotion.  Silence is required at meals for course participants, and encouraged throughout the day to foster a mindset of contemplation and reflection.  A strict dress code of modest white attire for course participants is followed.   The ashram runs a wide spectrum of social services for India's needy and is involved in environmental activism as well. In fact, while we were there, Swamiji was attending the UN Climate Change conference in New York.  Of course, the evening aarti ceremony on the Ganga is known widely for the beautiful chanting of  mantras and lighting of lamps, a time every evening to offer light, love and devotion to God.  The ceremony draws hundreds of spectators and participants every single evening!

The yoga course 

Our group of 17 hailed from many corners of the globe, including India, Singapore, UK, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, Brazil, Spain, Russia, Bulgaria, and the US.  Surprisingly, we weren't all that young either - ages ranged from 19 to 50+ with most participants in their late 30s and early 40s.  Our two teachers, Sadhvi Abha Saraswatiji (referred to simply as 'Mataji') and Indu, were brilliant, kind, considerate and caring souls. Both are deeply knowledgeable about so many different aspects of yoga, and both of them have gorgeous voices that guided us through movement , prayers, chanting and discussions. 

We started with chanting every morning at 5:30 a.m. Mataji led the chants - I've seen her over the years at the Ganga aarti and love her voice. What a treat to walk into a yoga hall and see her on stage, looking resplendent in orange.  Her voice as she chanted Sanskrit prayers was melodic, and I listened to it with my eyes half closed, aware of the birds chirping and the sky gradually becoming blue.

After prayers, Mataji led us in pranayama breathing practices.  We started with kapalbhati, exhaling forcefully for 60 breaths and then 100. We shifted to covering one nostril, then the other. This was a new pranayama practice for me and it quickly builds heat in the body. 'The benefits of this pranayama are countless,' she said. 'It not only cleanses the respiratory system, but goes deeper and further in ways we cannot even comprehend.'  She reminded us of the importance of consistent practice.  'You don't just read one day and then say there, I've read all day, I'm done.  You read the next day too.  Same with pranayama - be consistent.'

Mataji then led us through warm up practices and several rounds of sun salutations and standing asanas. I was amazed by how spry and limber she is -  a clear testament to the power of yoga and a regular practice.  I worked up a sweat through the sun salutes, and her gentle verbal cues got me further and deeper in Virabhadrasana than I've been in quite awhile.

We chanted om numerous times throughout the practice.  At one point, Mataji said 'never forget the countless blessings that you have been given.'  This was a two hour practice to mark the first day of a 12 day intensive yoga course.  

Indeed, what a blessing to be at Parmath Niketan!   

One of the gems I heard today in my harmonium lessons became the title to this blog post, which was originally going to be called ''Nada Yoga." Upon arrival to Rishikesh last week I sought out a harmonium teacher. I took lessons last year with the wonderfully talented and super friendly Neeti Kumar at her ashram in Tapovan, but it's a bit far from my current location.  I found a teacher very close to Parmath Niketan ashram.  On our first day of lessons, the class went something like this:

Teacher:  Please sing sa re ga ma as you know it.
Me:         Sa re ga ma pa da ni sa (straining a bit toward the end) 
Teacher: Hmmm...you don't sound like you have classical music training, isn't it? 

My music teacher is a delightful personality in his 40s who peppers each lesson with his stories and words of wisdom. We're taking classes much, much more slowly than I'd be accustomed to normally. Each day starts with 30 minutes of voice and breath training - listening to the voice both within and to the outside environment.  His philosophy of nada yoga - the yoga of sound -  is that your own voice eventually becomes your harmonium...after years and years of practice!  He also strongly associates music and sound with healing, inner harmony and happiness. 

We've had seven lessons together and thus far I've learned some basic breathing and voice techniques that Tilak (Guruji) says will help to improve my voice quality and breath over time, if practiced regularly.  We've also worked on a version of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra that I hadn't heard before. I'm anxious to try it out with the harmonium and friends back home! 

When talking about kirtan in India, he had the following comments - 'In India, every family sings kirtan. Before dinner, after dinner, sometimes people take dinner and then do kirtan. The whole family. Singing, dancing, being happy.  You don't sing for other people, you sing to and for God.  The whole family performs, and God is the audience."

Beautiful thoughts.  

What's it like to witness somebody use a computer for the first time?  In today's world, many toddlers are already more proficient with IPads than their parents.  But there are still places in the world where for some, a good old fashioned desktop computer is still a novelty.  Indeed, for the Children of the Ganges in Rishikesh, India, some of our children touched a keyboard for the first time this week.  I was lucky to be there to witness the excitement.

With the generosity of Anand, who donated computers to the school, we were able to rent a third room in our current ashram complex and establish a computer laboratory.  With Yogi ji's great help, it officially opened this week!

On Tuesday evening, I gathered the senior students (ages 10 - 16) for their first class. "How many of you have a computer?" I asked, to which no hands went up.  Next question - "How many of you have never used a computer?" Only three hands went up.  Most of the children have been exposed to computers, a contrast to the junior group, for whom many touched a keyboard for the first time the next day.

As luck would have it, an elementary school teacher from Canada, Andrea Limon, is currently in Rishikesh and expressed an interest in volunteering with the school.  She started computer courses on Wednesday with both the younger and older children, drawing up a 'computer agreement use' with the older group.  Both groups quickly picked up the paint program, a useful tool for the younger children to start practicing and mastering use of the mouse.   

We have ambitious plans to teach the children word and excel this fall, and eventually to integrate the computer lab resources into their English and math lessons.  Once internet is set up next week, this will be another educational tool to enrich their studies. We can't wait to connect via skype with students in schools around the world! 

It's all about staying alert - watching in front of you and perking your ears to listen to the clues around. Bicycles and motorbikes are merciless as they zoom toward their destinations, a stark contrast to the generally very friendly atmosphere here and the cows languishing on the roads.  The motorbikes' honking says it all - get out of the way! It's these little things that I forget when I am not here.  And upon arrival, these daily quirks brought me fully back into the moment - and the town that I love so much. I've already had to sidestep my way numerous times and swerve through the crowds to get where I need to go. 

It's been a hectic 24 hours in Rishikesh. My romantic notions of coming here and sitting with a philosophy book for hours on end, sipping masala tea, studying Hindi, learning the harmonium and taking several yoga and meditation classes a day...will have to wait for another visit.  This visit, I've already discovered, is more about fulfilling some of the responsibilities I've taken on over the past year here.

Upon arrival last night, I found the Green Guest House near Parmath Niketan Ashram. Though I much prefer staying in the Tapovan area, what with its beautiful expansive views of the Himalayan hills, I wanted to select a location more convenient to the Children of the Ganges school.  I checked into the guesthouse and quickly walked to the Ganges to take part in the Parmath Niketan's evening sunset aarti ceremony - devotional songs, prayers, and a fire ceremony.  I made an offering of flowers and incense, keeping a sick friend in mind as I lit the candle and set it to float down the Ganges. 

Dancing with the Devotees

The ceremony concluded and the sun was setting.  I can go back to the hotel, order dinner and have a relaxing evening, I thought, or, I can walk the 20ish minutes across the bridge and go to the Krishna temple.   I decided to set foot across Ramjullah bridge and take part in temple festivities. After all, Tuesday, September 2nd was Radhastami, the celebration of the appearance anniversary of  Srimati Radharani, Krishna's greatest devotee. I knew this because we'd just celebrated the holiday in Kazakhstan as well.  Approaching the temple, I heard the sound of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra accompanied by drums and harmonium.  Taking off my shoes, I entered the temple to the overwhelming scent of jasmine and roses - there were fresh flowers in all colors of the rainbow everywhere for the occasion.  Among the huge crowd of devotees, I saw several from the Russian-speaking world; otherwise, all looked local and the excitement was palpable in the air.  I listened to a lecture in Hindi and then took the chance to admire and pay respect to the deities. As the chanting started again, I swayed to the music and couldn't help jumping up and down with the crowd. Later on, walking back to my hotel, I couldn't help but hum the Hare Krishna mantra as my flashlight helped me to avoid cow dung, mud and sleepy cows and dogs on the path ahead.

This morning, I woke up and tried to figure out how to charge my various gadgets in a room without electricity. I solved the problem by taking my computer and phone to a cafe at the next hotel over, where I charged them in as I enjoyed a breakfast of pancake with fresh fruit.  I spent the morning with the Children of the Ganges' head teach Swati, talking about some of the issues we'd work on over the next few weeks. She took me to her home, where her mother-in-law insisted I eat two bananas and smiled widely as I took her up on the offer.  After Swati's, I looked at my watch. It was 11:35 a.m.  Should I go to a yoga class that I know starts at 12:00? Yes, I thought, and ran back to my hotel room to change into shorts and a gym shirt.

Ashtanga Vinyassa Yoga in India:  Sweat, Sweat, and Sweat Some More

I entered the yoga shala right on the river to find one guy already on a mat.  I took a seat across from him, until he beckoned me to come over to his side. "These mats have towels on top of them and believe me, you'll probably need one,' he chuckled.  Was he ever right - the sweat starting dripping off my brow before the first pose!  Deepak, our young instructor clad in white, entered the room and started giving detailed instructions for poses. Thank goodness I've been doing yoga regularly over the past week, or else this would have been one tough class to follow. Five sun salute a's and five sun salute b's into the practice, a pool of sweat had formed around my body.  My only consolation was that I was keeping up with the poses, and thoroughly enjoying the view of cows wandering right outside near the Ganges river.  Deepak gave us a good 10 minutes in relaxation pose, which was magnificent.  "Eat well, sleep well, and drink lots of water," he said to conclude the class.  After yoga and a quick lunch at my favorite Buddha cafe in Laxmanjula, I decided to go for a 50 rupee haircut before going back to the hotel to get ready for the evening with the school.

Children of the Ganges: Year 4 Begins

The main purpose of my trip to Rishikesh this time around is to help out with the school my dear friend Truike founded 4 years ago.  We've done two fundraisers over the past year together and I wanted to make certain that we make cards of thanks for donors…friends and strangers who've shown their generosity the world over to help the school function.  I also wanted to spend some time getting to know the new group of children.  Imagine my surprise when I've learned that we've grown!  We now have 2 groups - younger children from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. and the older group from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m each day.  We've also moved recently to occupy several rooms of an ashram that requires a short walk through the woods to find.  Two months into the new location, we are still adjusting to the environment.  The major goal over the next week is to set up the computer laboratory for the 10 computers that were recently (very generously) donated, and start teaching the children some basic computer skills. There are lots of other issues to tackle as well.  The senior children were in good spirits this evening as they worked on their English grammar lesson with Swati and her team teacher. Yogi ji, another board member for the school, was also there this evening to negotiate the computer room issues.  We'll have to fit the room for electric sockets, establish an Internet connection, and then assemble the computers before introducing the children to them.  We hope to do it in the next several days!

Nightcap: An Ayurvedic Thali to Complete the Evening

The walk from the school to my guesthouse was about 20 minutes, and by that point in the evening I was pretty hungry after all the walking and yoga today.  I couldn't help but notice that the Vedanga cafe next door was advertising an 'ayurvedic thali,' displaying a picture of several scrumptious vegetable dishes accompanied by rice and chapatis.  "I'll have that," I said to the cafe waiter, pointing to the poster.  The serving was enormous and I couldn't possibly eat the whole thing, but it was a beautiful culinary experience to finish the first 24 hours in Rishikesh.

To tell the truth, I feel like I've already been here a week.  It's my fifth visit to the town over the past five years and despite the humidity, the somewhat haphazard and slightly chaotic way life operates here, I absolutely love it.  From the temples and stunning views of the Ganges to the devotional sights and sounds everywhere, Rishikesh definitely earns its nickname as one of the yoga capitals of the world.  And there are a number of friends here I need to see over the next few days.  So...the adventures begin! 

September 2, 2014

6:15 a.m. and the Almaty airport is surprisingly empty - two flights to Moscow have just taken off, Istanbul next, and then Delhi. People are always surprised to hear that the flight from Almaty to Delhi is only 3.5 hours. India and Kazakhstan are so close! It's basically the distance of San Francisco to Chicago. 

This is a trip to India different from others - in the past, I've either gone with friends or to a specific yoga course. This time, there are several goals. I will spend time with the 'Children of the Ganges' school as we hope to set up our computer lab and internet connection this month! I also immerse myself in a yoga course at Parmath Niketan for two weeks, and to finally (9th trip to India, about time!) start learning a bit of Hindi and Sanskrit.  There is a whole month ahead before returning to Kazakhstan and I will try to update this blog regularly to help make the seemingly far away land of Rishikesh closer for everyone reading. Hope you enjoy it!