We recently heard none other than the The Beatles themselves chose Rishikesh to do a little quality mediation time. They stayed in an International Academy of Meditation ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

While currently closed and somewhat neglected, it’s unofficially open to anyone with a spare 50 Rupee bribe at hand!

Continue reading Where The Beatles Learned Meditation

Part of staying at the ashram is karma yoga; usually in the form of daily service for the ashram. Julia Roberts in “Eat, Pray, Love” had to scrub the floors of the meditation hall. We had to help build a new ashram.

On one of the beautiful Sunday mornings we all got into a few taxis that took us up the hill along the Ganga River to the new construction site. When we got off we found that the only way to get to the place was a pretty difficult 30 minute hike. The narrow and windy path up the hill was rather challenging, but the view from the ashram payed off for every drop of sweat.

Continue reading Karma Yoga – Help Building A New Ashram

Here is what I have been doing every morning for the last couple of weeks. This is a quick view of my morning asana class, every day from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM stretching, flexing and building up strength.

On one of the days off from Yoga school, we took a rafting trip on Ganges river. Highlights below.

I just completed my third week of the yoga training course and I have to admit that these 21 days were not at all easy.

Each day starts at 6.30 in the morning when it is still dark outside and temperatures drop to 45F. Wrapped in multiple layers of clothing and a blanket I join my fellow students for a cup of Ayuverdic tea. Right after, we move on to the cleansing part of the day.

Monday through Saturday we pour warm salt water through our nostrils (jala neti). On Sundays, we stick a string through the nostril (sutra neti) and pull it out through the mouth.

Continue reading Halfway Through Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India

It was 11:00 PM. We got out of the airplane after a short but cramped flight, and made our way towards our reserved taxi driver. After settling into the beat up taxi, we drove for hours through the foggy night on roads of old asphalt and gravel. The car shook viciously on every bump, throwing our asses up off the seats as if to make sure we don’t dose off for even a second.

Continue reading We’re In India

We spent 22 days in Thailand, not nearly enough to get a really good taste of the country (is that even possible…) but enough time to totally fall in love with the place. We traveled from North to South to learn about the customs, the food and the people. We had an amazing time and will remember Thailand by many things, with these few at the forefront.

1. Food
We have been huge fans of Thai cousine long before we came here, so testing our favorite meals from the locals only confirmed our selections. Each meal here was so flavorful, so colorful, no matter if you ordered it from a street vendor or a fancy restaurant. Pad Thai, curries, Tom Yum (mmm)….the list goes on and on.

Continue reading Things We Are Going To Miss About Thailand

The plan for our remaining week in Thailand, before heading of to India, was now: 1 night in Krabi town, 1 night in Phi Phi, 3 nights in Phuket, and plenty of hours to move from one place to the next.

Soon after getting to Krabi though, we altered our schedule and opted to stay here for the remainder of the time. Some of the things that contributed to this:

Continue reading 5 Reasons We Stayed In Krabi Longer Than Planned