After finishing my time spent at the Temple of Singing Bowls, I headed south of Mysore to an Ashram in the jungle to fulfil a 300hrs Teacher Training in Hatha Yoga Therapy.
This course was completing my 200hrs in Classical Hatha Yoga I had done previously 2 years before in Goa.
I was attracted to this ashram because the lineage was firmly rooted in Sivananda, the Divine Life Society & Bihar School of Yoga.
The price tag attracted me as it was 20000 Indian rupees ( approx. $ 200) for food & accommodation for 28 days & at the end of the course, you could give a donation depending on your means but it was not compulsory.
I felt it was authentic to Indian prices & had a strong feeling that there was no greed associated with the course.
When I got there I was greeted by many & in time there was 28 of us for 28 days together.
Half the group was Indian & the other half from pretty much from all over the world.
I shared a dorm with 8 girls which got difficult at times as many where going through deep transformation.
Getting lost in the Trees, finding refuge in my dharma from the drama, karma
Our daily schedule started at 6 am with Kunjal kriya, a purification method, a ShatKarma (6 actions/ 6 yogic purification methods) in Sanskrit but we liked to call it a "shitkarma" .. lols. where we drank 6 glasses of warm salted water & then made ourselves vomit. The benefits of kunjal is removing acidity & phlegm from stomach & esophagus.
We would finish our day with Kirtan @ 9pm (singing devotional songs & making a whole load of sound).
Singing songs with Kadambari playing Harmonium
Oh what a Day !!
Sun is setting in Coconut Grove
Both teachers are dedicated to being Yoga.
Dr Ashutosh who is mainstream allopathic doctor but has a background in Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda & Practicing & teaching Yoga in all forms with the Divine Life Society for over 40 years, has renunciated in many ways fame & money to live a humble & simple life where he has a doctors consultancy right in the middle of the poorest slum in Delhi.
He truly knows his abundance & therefore puts it in service for others.
Hanuman - Servant of God - Service to Others
He facilitated Yoga Philosophy, Anatomy & Pranayam (amazing mind & spirit expanding sessions).
Kadambari had grown up in Mysore where the spirit of Yoga can be quiet competitive. She had been doing Yoga Asana since the age of 8 while starting to teach by 14. She eventually became World Champion of Artistic Yoga but after a series of injuries in the spine from overdoing it, putting her body into awkward positions, her ego was broken & she found Dr Ashutosh who led her way into the true spirit of Yoga.
Kadambari Asana Grace
She teaches the Asana class & is deeply knowledgable in yogic postures. Her classes were intense, 3hrs every morning from 7 to 10 am.
I was counting the days to the end like a child. It was definitely the most intense experience I had ever lived, a True Spiritual Boot Camp yet looking back now I am happy I did it.
When I got to the ashram, I was already quiet spiritually disciplined but in retrospect it brought me expansion in endurance.
It made me stronger!
I fully recommend this challenge to anyone that truly wants to deepen their yogic knowledge, not for the faint heart.
Check out their website here :
https://www.inteyoga.org/
Please check out my previous articles on Yoga & India :
