Yoga

Yoga is a massive part of my life. It allows me to live a healthy balanced and nourished life. Here, you will find lots of news about my yoga adventures. I hope you enjoy

The List

In 2010 I made a list and that list was entitled ’23 things to do while I am 23.And on that list were two of my life time goals that I wanted to achieve.

1) Get my ass to India pronto – since I was a kid I wanted to go there. My pops used to do a lot of traveling with work and he returned on a particularly special trip to visit Mother Teresa with the President Mary Robinson in 1997. I always remember his tales from his trips but India just seemed to stick out. ‘Always have a shot of whiskey after every meal, best way to avoid the Delhi Belly’. There are many more but for the risk of harming your ears, I’ll keep them to myself

2) Complete a Yoga Teacher Training Course – Ever since the age 0f 15 when I stumbled across yoga I have wanted to complete a teacher training course. Either due to lack of money or time or both I was never able to commit to it. So at the beginning of 2010 I decided there and then, I’m going to do this course. I made the commitment to myself and I was going to stick to it whether I liked it or not!!

India

So to put it all together, at the end of June this year I toddled off to India to a hill station 2,000 meters high up in the Himalayas known as Mcleod Ganj. It’s quite a touristy spot, seeing as HH The Dalai Lama (whom happened to be a passenger on my tractor of an airplane from Delhi to Dharmsala….crazy, I know!!!) and the Tibetan Government in Exile are stationed there.

Before I arrived, I had said to one of my close friends, James that all I wanted to do when I reached India was to sit on my balcony, sip green tea and watch the rain pour down, it truly is the simple things! So, on the afternoon of my arrival, I landed at the yoga school and was welcomed with big smiles by my teacher, Yogi Sivadas and a couple of other students who had just arrived. We were promptly served a cup of steaming hot Kapha tea, to balance our fluctuations! As soon as I sat down with my tea, gazing out on the glorious view of the surrounding Himalayas, glad to have finally landed in India, it started to absolutely pour down with torrential rain. Absolute bliss! I was in heaven. As I had arrived in the middle of monsoon season, I was blessed with the rain on a regular basis.

Teacher Training

We started the course two days later and ever since then it has been a whirl wind of discoveries, both of my self and others around me. Studying yoga has opened up so many doors for me in ways that I could never have imagined. We studied 4 hours of Asana practise a day, which involved 2 hours of Astange Yoga in the morning and then two hours of Hatha Yoga in the evening.

Taken by Yogi Sivadas

We also performed Bhakti Yoga first thing in the morning, which involved one hour of devotional chanting and singing. I found this really uplifting and it helped me to come out of my shell a little. Not caring what the person next to you thought of your singing and just belting your heart out, squawky or not, it had everyone smiling. It was also a really good way of getting the group to come into balance with one another and as well helped us prepare ourselves for the day ahead.

Then straight after lunch had a 2 hour philosophy class which entailed learning all about Yogic Philosophy such as healthy eating, The Cosmos, Ayurvedic philosophy, discovery the charkras, anatomy and many many more.

Put together the whole course was so amazing. I find it hard to believe that it went by so quickly. Every day I learned something new and feel that it is helping me to move through life at a calmer and more enjoyable level

Throughout the course, we were all pretty nervous about passing. I was convinced my assignments wouldn’t be good enough or that my teaching wasn’t up to scratch. But, I slowly began to realise that I was going to be a great yoga teacher and I had such a natural connection with it that it was just meant to be!

As part of our assessments we all had to teach a class. I was third and I was extremely nervous before hand and during the class. I thought it was a flop but after wards all of the students sat around and gave me such beautiful compliments, I had a natural yoga teacher vibe and I was very caring and aware. It really helps hearing your peers tell you things like this. Everyone in the group was so supportive of one another and always encouraged each other to go further.

So the fourth week loomed over us and we all knew what was coming but not what to expect. On the Monday of the final week, our teacher decided to relieve us of the mounting tension and told us all that we had passed. YIPPEEEEE!!!!! The excitement was through the roof, a wave of relief descended on all of us and no one could stop smiling.

Nandita

So, as promised on Thursday July 29th we all arrived at the yoga hall in our uniforms for the last time. Sivadas had prepared a type of throne for himself and surrounding it were a range of statues of the great yogis, Dancing Shiva and the snake which represents Kundalini, the energy located in our sacrum waiting to be awakened. He had incense lighting which filled the room with beautiful scents. Sivadas soon arrived in his yogi dress and we began the proceedings.

Taken by Sandra Youngs @ Shive Yoga Hall.

He explained to us what was going to happen and so he began to call us out one at a time. We had to bow down in front of him and the statues and let go of our past and come back up as a new person. He blessed us and presented us with our certificates.

Then he gave each of us a certificate with our Spiritual name. It is tradition that your Guru will present you with a yogi name. It is something that represents a part of you. By the time he came to my name, I was already teary eyed after watching the previous students go through the blessing. It was so touching. Knowing how much we had all done for it and how amazing it was to be given this opportunity was a little over whelming for my emotions to bear. So when Sivadas gave me my yogi name, Nandita, I was in the fits of giggles and it turns out that Nandita means Cheerfulness, Sivadas was laughing and soon the whole class was giggling away to themselves. It was a pretty cheerful moment.

Taken byBrian McNulty @ Shiva Yoga Hall, Mcleod Ganj

I am hoping to complete the 300 hour YTTC next year in order to become an advanced Yoga Teacher.

Back in Doha in September I am also hoping to begin teaching, so watch this space for more info!

If anyone is interested in private lessons, drop me a line!

Taken by Shelly Gopal @The Shiva Temple Masroor