A raw reflection of my experience at Shiva Yoga Peeth ( 300 Hour YTTC Rishikesh)

04/24/2018 02:36

My 4 week Yoga Teacher Training Journey with Shiva Yoga Peeth (SYP) in Rishikesh has come to a close. I would love to share my reflective account of my experiences with y’all (inspired soul word). Please keep in mind that my experience is molded by my past situations, memories and ideas about the world. Take what you will from this but know that if you ask another person on my course it may differ completely.

I arrived with limited expectations of my training and India in general. I had never had a strong desire to visit until I started becoming captured by the philosophy of yoga. I have been teaching yoga for around 2 years and I had focused so much on physical experience and wondered why I still didn’t have my shit together. Turns out the asanas (postures) are a small part of practicing yoga. I realised I knew less than I thought I did and it was a huge ego bashing. I felt out of my depth in many ways as I realised what I thought was yoga was only a small dot to a grander picture! After I got over myself I found my heart expanding as I delved deeper into the history and philosophy of Yoga. I realised how I had been ignorant to the teachings and had put my body into positions which made me believe I was moving forward in my yoga practice. The truth is I was causing more harm than good, creating pressure in my lumbar area without finding length and strength from my core. What I didn’t see was the beauty inside myself, my mind was too busy making plans or passing criticism to listen to my soul.

It was a smooth transition from booking my course online to my collection from the airport, SYP were easily contactable and I felt welcomed from the moment I arrived. The accommodation was owned by SYP, the rooms were basic but had everything I needed and the guys that worked there were happy to help with any requests. I could step out onto my balcony and be welcomed by a western facing view of Mother Ganga and the occasional mad monkey. It was pure bliss.

My original expectation ( First realisation….. have NO expectations ) was that we would be taught by Swami Sudhir ( AKA Swami Jii). We had a handful of lectures with him but nothing that offered great insights to support my spiritual growth. Fortunately, we had incredible yoga teachers. I was part of the 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training course, with only a dozen of us in class we were able to absorb a lot of knowledge from the teachers. Following the pranayama (Breathing exercises) and Shatkarma (purification methods) we attending a class ran by a passionate Iyengar teacher. He was fabulous and was taught directly by B.K.S Iyengar before his death in August 2014. His attention to minuet adjustments made me see how the smallest change can affect the bigger picture. We were constantly being pushed out of comfort zone, which support the rise of personal strength and trust. At times, I was sure I would break but to be guided by the breath allowed this thought to pass. In the afternoon, we had Ashtanga, I was not sure about this as I have been resistant to any form of structure created by another person. I realised this was me rebelling to try to break my 12-year experience in the military bound by rules and restrictions. I finally accepted that I LOVED it! In fact, I’ve been practicing the primary series every morning before mediation. I started to see it as a preparation to find a comfortable seated meditation position. The asana helped to align my spine effortlessly, Lotus pose aids to anteriorly tilt my pelvis and find my naturally curvature in my spine. The teacher was incredible knowledgeable and his love for yoga shone through. I will be eternally grateful for the energy they brought to the class each day.

Philosophy classes started slow but ended with it being my favourite subject. My yoga sister had a vast knowledge and passion surrounding yoga philosophy which opened my eyes to a new world. She would extend on the lessons taught until I could relate them to my own life. I found my teachings in my new family, during our spare time (Which was minimal on a 0500 start and 2000 finish) we would share our own knowledge and skills. These were the times of great growth for me and I am so grateful to have such special people manifest into my life.

The whole course was filled with people expanding their hearts. Each was on their own journey but all moving through this experience together. We shared stories, tears, laughter, hugs and love without fear. I have never been surround by such pure souls. I realised that I can connect comfortable with others and their emotions but to share my memories and accompany them with emotions is hard. I will share with you my entire life but the stories I express are just that…. Stories. Nothing I hold any strong emotion to. One evening during a guided meditation, guided being an understatement. It was so busy with words I found it hard to drop into a meditate state. I decided to turn inwards and question my beliefs about life. I had noticed how disconnect I felt the first week and I want to let you know this is completely normal. You’re in a new environment, with new people and a regimented schedual. Anyway, during this one meditation I faced stored ideas and emotions which surprised me. I saw that my home was around people waking up, I saw that I had built a wall to protect myself from the fear that I would never experience love like my first love, I realised I hadn’t accepted many experiences. I was searching for a protector and had created a warrior within me but still craved a connection with something which I couldn’t see was within me the whole time. I laid down, under the candlelight, surrounded by my yoga family and cried for 90 minutes. After 60 minutes, the class ended and the females around me placed their hands on my heart and forehead. The healing love came from the hands of humans I barely knew. The purity and light flowed through my body and I felt safe and truly understood. I love to be affectionate but sometimes your surroundings can change you, people think you want something more than that moment. I realised if my intentions are pure I have every right to interact and give love to whoever I want to give it to. If people pass judgement it is their own insecurities so don’t let them put out your flame, instead inspire them to open their heart. I do not communicate very well with words but though touch, words, a smile and play I can connect. We are all energy and from the same source, so why do we create suffering? Nothing is right or wrong. We can see the beauty in everything if we take the time to see it. We put up a front to not ‘disturb’ the delusion we have created. Can we just spend more time loving and appreciating all that we have?

I attended a handful of meditation classes on the evenings, the rest of my time I spent absorbed within the energy of Mother Ganga. Finally, I was reconnecting to the source. My yoga sisters and brothers gathered to say goodnight to the sun and we shared the evenings, chanting, sharing, plunging 108 times into the Ganga (A must for clearing stagnant energy). The healing energy seeped into ever cell of our being until we were totally immersed into the moment. The journey to meditation is extremely personal and what works for you now will change over time. This is great as it reflects your spiritual journey. Our mind determines our experience, we could be anywhere and our mind can make or break the moment. It wants to label everything and once you have created an idea of yourself it’s hard to expand away from it. What if we didn’t have a label? What if we accepted ourselves exactly as we are at this moment? I was told that reality was the moment before we have chance to judge it. I love that!

Rishikesh its self is full of beauty and wonder. The local coffee shops become your new home and everyone welcomes you with open arms. I met so many interesting people hanging out there. It’s not like at home where we barely look at our neighbouring coffee drinker, here you jumped into each others lives without much of an invitation. I had the idea that I would be sitting reading yoga books whilst sipping on a chai, the reality was different. I was reading the books of people’s lives from the source.

So, to summarise, I was ready to leave SYP after 4 weeks but definitely not ready to go back to the UK. I would recommend SYP to people looking to connect to wonderful people and experience yoga. If you’re looking to gain experience and skills teaching I would continue your search, this is not to say I didn’t learn anything. I learnt a lot about myself and the teacher I want to become but for a 300 hour it didn’t have the depth I was expecting. There was little practical teaching (90 minutes in fact ), as I’d had the experience teaching people for many years away from yoga I wasn’t to phased but for people who would be leaving to teach for the first time, it didn’t support enough growth. My expectations (that word again!) were to find an inspirational teacher, to experience love, to understand myself and experience the culture, these things I can confidently tick off as accomplished. So, I am grateful for all the people who accompanied during this time. I love you all so much. You have taught me more than any book could have. You are my inspiration and motivation to continue my journey.

Namaste

Dani xxx