Rishikesh: Memoirs of a Yogi

"This ashram is yours: eat its fruit, drink its nectar. Let your soul and spirit reach the height of the Himalayas in whose lap you sit. Let your joys, your sorrows, your attachments flow like the Ganga in whose waters you bathe. Be with nature, and change your nature. Let yourself become like the sunrise which peeks over the mountain tops, bringing light and warmth and a new day to all..."

Dem's the blessings from my main man, His Holiness Para Pujya Sawmi Chidanand Saraswati, President, Posterboy, and Guiding Light-in-Residence of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh's finest ashram, nestled in the sumptuous bosom of Mother Ganga, which itself is nestled in the sumptuous bosom of the Great Himalaya. Oh, and it was site of this year's government-sponsored International Yoga Festival, where yours truly meditated and mantra-ed his way deep into his soul, uncovering vast stores of untold wisdom, like the ability to finally reach my toes.

The festival was truly int'l, beckoning participants from Argentina, Singapore, Sweden and beyond, all of whom were more flexible than me. And the ashram was wonderful: a veritable ranch devoted to peaceful yoga study, with comfortable rooms, tasty veg food, gardens, temples, and even a school for the 'Rishikumars', a hundred or so little neophytes with shaved heads.

A COMPLETE novice, I found the seven-day schedule of yoga, meditation, chanting, lectures, and ceremonies more than a tad overwhelming. But I dug in and dabbled quite heartily.

A day in the life:

6.00 - 7.00: Nada Yoga -- A course in Vedic Chanting. Spent the first day getting 'Om' just right. Later got into some lovely Sanskrit mantras.

8.00 - 10.30: Iyengar Yoga -- A highly technical school of yoga stressing precision in poses and breathing in order to create optimum clearing of the mind.

or

Kundalini Yoga -- Taught by America's premier instructor (from Hollywood!), this was more of a sadistic pre school class than a yoga session. We'd flap our wings like an eagle for a grueling eleven minutes (pictured), then spend eight curled in a ball reliving the moment of birth, then ten more on our backs singing 'la la la la la'. Pretty out there, but what a surprising psychological payoff!

11.30 - 12.30: Lecture -- From one of the who's who of Holy Men visiting Parmarth, including Ayurveda master Dr. David Frawley, "Art of Life" author Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (not the sitarist), and, on one of the off days, this battleaxe Stanford grad with a statistic or two to share about the virtues of vegetarianism. (Apparently the production of one hamburger costs us 55 sq. feet of rainforest. Could one of my science major friends PLEASE check on this?)

14.00 - 15.30: Reiki -- A method of healing self and others through the channeling of the divine energy flowing through our seven chakras. I gave it a shot.

15.30 - 16.30: Vinyasa Yoga -- The most familiar type of yoga to Western participants. Focused on gracefully moving through series of challenging poses, i.e. the Sun Salutations. Had me sweating buckets!

or

Yoga Nidra -- The Yoga of sleep!

18.00 - 19.00: Aarti -- In front of the ashram, on the banks of the Ganges, Pujya Swamiji (smiling guy from earlier) leads all participants and visitors in a musical sunset ceremony, dubbed Parmarth's "Happy Hour."

20.00 - 21.00: Satsang -- Question and answer session with Pujya Swamiji. The dude spent his youth from age eight alone in the mountains, so you better believe we came primed for some wisdom. "Who is God? What does he look like? And where does he live?" was a good one.

Final impressions? Well, it's clear I've got my work cut out for me in becoming one with the infinite, owing much to my physical limitations (or should I say inhibitions? I can still feel the 9th grader in me reaching for his inhaler!) But no, consider my appetite for yoga thoroughly whetted. And the spiritual/philosophical element has been fascinating! People of all different faiths found meaning in the festival, and we loved sharing our perspectives!

Yoga has a lot to offer the open mind, truly a gateway to a harmonious way of life. But like we learned on Reading Rainbow, “Don’t take my word for it!”

(Duh-na-na!)

L.