A yoga students experience in Varanasi
Vale Yvonne Kennedy now gone and remembered fondly
Yoga student Yvonne Kennedy from Yoga Mandir shares her reflections of Adventure Retreat to Varanasi in 2019
For months prior to travel, Katrina, Big Sista Adventures, answered queries on the Whats app feed she created and Alan provided excellent notes on yoga practice. I was as prepared as I could be and had no expectations about how the week would be run, I just knew I was in good hands.
Nothing could have prepared me for Varanasi traffic, which I found out later was considerably worse than normal due to the Ganges flooding two weeks before we arrived. I regularly write about road safety in my work, so for most of the 20-minute ride from the airport I held my breath and closed my eyes. The cacophony of beeping horns and the intricate, but to my mind dangerous way people, animals, rickshaws, tuk tuks, cars trucks and buses moved through alleyways and on the highways astounded me.
At the end of the week, I saw India’s traffic as a metaphor for negotiating life. In other words, no matter who is traveling life’s path, we all have a right to be there. We just need to get around each other in the best way we know how without diminishing or impacting ourselves or others.
Yoga was the centerpiece of the week, and the Ganges flowed through every session. Alan asked us to look at it, in it and across it, and in doing so to watch our thoughts. What did we see – a river/ the far bank/ the foreground of trees and birds? Did our thoughts arise and pass in an unbroken stream or did they stop and focus on what we saw?
The term ‘looking out – looking in’ resonated strongly. Who am I? Am I my thoughts? Do I see the world as it is? Or do I see it through the prism of what I want to see? Alan spoke of the practice of observing, non-reaction; an ability to adjust, to sit with what is – to feel and honestly observe our sensations rather than react to external stimuli.
‘I-ness’ was another thought-provoking part of the narrative. Defining myself by what I love or hate, what I can or can’t do, what hurts here or there, places limitations not only on yoga but also on life. We delved far deeper into the technique of pranayama than I had ever been, and to be honest I have a long way to go.
The range of yoga experience in the class – from beginners to full practitioners – was extremely well managed. Each pose was called, and/or demonstrated, often by someone in the class, and the variations taken up by whoever needed them.
Over the course of the week I noticed a change in my yoga practice. The limited number of available yoga props required more of me. I had become more resourceful in working out how to modify a position. I was able to let go of achievement, and mentally connect with my body, allowing yoga to develop in me.
A highpoint came in the middle of the week. After a silent early morning trip down the river we arrived at a temple to be led in Surya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun). Overlooking the mighty Ganga, we greeted the new day. It was incredibly moving, almost ethereal.
The cultural opportunities Katrina organised complemented the yoga. Yes, we shopped and ate fabulous Indian food, but we also visited the Burning Ghats, as well as flower markets and temples, and tried to come to terms with the complex relationships of the Hindu gods. Our guides were excellent, always wanting to go that bit further so we could grasp more of India and her past, present and future. An evening performance of music and dance, in a venue Katrina found at the drop of a hat was a highlight, not only because of the outstanding quality of the performers but also because some of our group joined in.
In Varanasi I felt that confluence of inward and outward journey in my yoga practice and in my life. No doubt work will be required for it to remain and grow, which I am prepared to put in. India’s colour and culture is still with me as I write this a month after returning. This will definitely remain.
On the back of October 2019 success, Katrina and Alan are planning another week in Varanasi in December 2023. See you there.
Yvonne Kennedy. Varanasi 2019