Few weeks in Rishikesh (EN)

After initial weeks in India and a nice tour around the state of Rajastan and attending my friend’s wedding I needed to slow down. It is not my style to move too much from place to place. I am not a traveler, rather a nomad (yes, I probably keep repeating that) and to stay in one place also helps a lot to focus on some useful things, writing, doing some exercise, having healthier lifestyle. Even more importantly, it also helps me to keep the control over my budget.

Rishikesh
The view of the Laxman Jhula bridge and few temples.

In Delhi it started to get hot and I was searching where should I go to spend some time. Rishikesh, the capital of yoga, came to my mind from few obvious reasons. I could deepen my knowledge of yoga there, the climate was more acceptable then in Delhi or Rajastan and I saw some Workaway opportunities there, so I could volunteer and get some work done in exchange for accommodation and food.

On the streets of Rishikesh"Babas" covered in orange colors, cows and monkeys. That's the life in Rishikesh.

It all depends on who you meet

As my volunteering request was last minute call, I couldn’t wait for the answers and simply headed to Rishikesh in hope that I will figure things out there. Arriving to the central bus stop was as hectic as this can be in a typical Indian tourist destination. After stepping out of the bus there were immediately twenty auto-rickshaw guys offering me to take me to the old center. Well, my intention was to look around the bus stop for a shared and much cheaper version of these, but they almost didn’t let me! When I finally found the stand they wouldn’t let me to take it, trying, still, to just earn money. But there is where I met with Renuka, an Indian girl who helped me get away from these unfriendly people. 

People
That's all what matters, at home or on our travels...

After the taxi left us near Ram Jhula, one of two famour bridges in Rishikesh, we walked together and I learned from her, that she was working for a yoga school. As I always prefer to have a personal reference while being in a new place, I asked her whether I could visit the school or how are things there. And she was my link to all which happened after because not just that I started to take lesson with one of the school’s teachers, but after visiting the Rishikul Yogshala yoga school I started to volunteer with them writing web content and helping with Internet search in different languages. One of my articles and a philosophical thoughts about some aspects of yoga, or rather yoga maths you can read on the school blog.

India and its inhabitantsOn the streets of Rishikesh you find also many animals not only people.For example holy cows are everywhere.

Life in Rishikesh

After few days on my own I moved into the Sarika house where all the other staff from Rishikul stayed and my days soon started to show a little bit of routine. Which was very nice. I got my morning yoga, walk around the city, then I got back and started to work interrupted only with lunch. In the evening I was spending time exploring the city, going for coffees and cakes, doing some more yoga, reading, well, you can always find something to do, especially once you start getting to know more people.

And again animals. These goats were watching over me on my way home.

I loved my morning yoga lessons. I learned so much. I learned a lot also from all the people I was meeting and thanks to my volunteering for Rishikul I could talk to the teachers and be with them daily in contact, ask questions or attend their classes. Even my morning Ashtanga class were conducted by a yoga teacher from the school, Prashant.

Real zoo

New friends, new directions in life

As the school organizes the Yoga Teacher’s Training Course every month there was a new one starting just few days after my arrival. I got really close with the participants and enjoyed spending my free time with them (even though they didn’t have much of a free time as the course is very intensive). So, again, I was growing closer with the people...

Aarti
Aarti is the fire ceremony conducted every evening on few places by the Ganga river in Rishikesh. Attended by locals as well as Indian and international tourists is one of the "must experience" in this holy place.

The first days it was kind of hard for me, I was troubled with many things, had many questions in my head. But slowly slowly things got settled. Maybe the everyday routine helped me to gain more confidence again, to find my place for a while, to find a purpose and not just to travel around many places and spend a lot of money without a reason just because it is an easy way how to pass the time.

Aarti
I attended Aarti twice, both times in a different place and both times in a company of some of my new friends.

The whole stay in Rishikesh gave me definitely new direction in my yoga practice, however cliche it might sound. And I needed it, I was too long trying to find the way alone. It is a life-long learning process so I guess there is always a big probability that I come back as we all in our learning every now and then struggle with some insecurities and need help and guidance. And good teachers that’s what I found and will always remember.

Parmarth Niketan ashram

Personal thanks

Sure, it is between me and them, all the people who made my stay as pleasant and interesting as it was. But they are all such a great people that they deserve a public thanks.

Friends
I have to thank to all the great people I met in Rishikesh to make my days very special.

All the staff in Rishikul Yogshala. Renu to bring me to the place and being such a sun, Justine for becoming my friend not just a coworker, Manmohan, as well as the others who work there, to accepting me to the team. The teachers for sharing their knowledge, and besides that their time. Like Deepa who shared with me great birthday celebration of hers. Sophie sharing lot more than coffees and yoga experience, Gurutze porque nos entendimos tanto y por su apoyo psichológico y los cafés. There were others, not directly connected to the work, but definitely directly connected to my experience. Amazing one day entrance to the fashion world thanks to Khushbu and her sister, my friends from Delhi, etc. etc.. It would be a long list and I hope nobody is going to get mad if I don’t write the whole article about them :)

THANK YOU!!!