Well, safe to say Verity has had ENOUGH of straw beds and cold showers (and so have I), so on our last night in the ashram we started looking into nice hotel options. Agoda had an epic 75% off deal on a really nice looking hotel that seemed too good to be true, but we thought we’d just book one night and see how we felt about extending at Moustache Rishikesh Luxuria… or sticking to the plan to change hotels to stay on the other side of the holy Ganges river, and easily explore more of this vibrant city.
Well, these guys brought the fucking goods. Scorching hot showers with ‘monsoonal-downpour’ level pressure (a combo we haven’t had once in North India’s winter), epic rooftop and private cabanas for morning yoga, meditation and breathwork; tasty buffet breakfast, all the trimmings including free chocolate and hand written notes on the bed upon check-in… Verity has forgiven me for the rough week in the ashram dorms now she’s in a queen sized bed with room service. Happy lady.
Adding to her joy, we saw a poster for yoga classes and the reviews for the teacher were pretty impressive – almost too impressive, we wondered if they were all from his friends and favourite students – but took a chance anyway as all the ones she favoured over the river were closed down for the winter, so what the heck, we booked with Rebirth Yog Rishikesh for the following mornings’ drop in class. I was a little apprehensive about doing an advanced level 90 min yoga class, when I’m intermediate at best with the world’s tightest hips…. But figured what the hell, I’ll take the low option.
Well, Rakesh has no low option. And as much as I struggled at the start, I’m so very grateful that this passionate and kind human pushed my body, and in turn my mind, as he did. Although I got more “no, that’s not right”‘s and had to hear “Yes, perfect” at the other two advanced students repeatedly, I swallowed my ego and went to my limit.. then Rakesh would come past and apply the pressure to push my stiff and tight body wayyy past that. My breathing was hard and irregular (for which I was constantly told, “no hard breathing please, nose only” and I wanted to retort that I was just trying to stay alive over here haha), and despite the freezing cold temperatures I was soon peeling layers off like I was doing a heavy weights session. This kind of yoga was no joke!
But at the end of the 90 minutes, like every good workout, I was so pumped up and pleased with myself for not quitting. Rakesh praised us for giving it our all, and his demeanour changed instantly from a loud, encouraging tyrant (the kind of trainer I love) to a softly-spoken, patient and proud friend. We were hooked – we kept coming back every morning, and extended our stay both on this side of the river and Rishikesh entirely just to be able to keep attending his classes. I’ve truly never stretched my body and had such a strong yoga practice in my whole life, nor an instructor who pushed me like he did… I was hooked!
After yoga one day, we filled our day with an Ayurvedic cooking lesson from an Ayurvedic doctor to be able to bring home to Australia all of the tasty dishes we were eating and falling in love with. We hit all the favourites and added some new ones: Dahl, hulva (semolina sweet dessert) khichadi (vegetarian porridge), a smoked eggplant curry, Chana masala (chickpea curry) as well as bonus inclusions on the day of Ayurvedic massage oil and my personal favourite, masala chai (Indian spiced tea).
All were whipped up in less than 15 minutes each, using fresh vegetables straight from the doctor’s garden and strictly Ayurvedic herbs and spices. We received copies of the recipes and I cannot wait to continue the healthy eating back in Australia now I know how to make all this delicious food that’s made my belly happy this past month.
We’d heard that every evening at one of the main ashrams, a ceremony called Ganga Aarti is performed in 3 main cities along the Ganges river (here, Haridwar and Varanasi), but one of the best without all the hoopla and theatrics was here in Rishikesh, so we decided it was time to do some touristy things again. We climbed to the top of a 13- floor temple, received blessings from holy men for our families and offered our thanks to the Hindi gods at each stop. I love the detail in everything they do when it comes to celebrating their religion – gorgeous flower garlands, beautiful baskets of ceremonial offerings prepared for about 20 cents.. and it’s the one thingy they won’t rip the tourists off for. Lord Shiva is watching after all, can’t be getting bad karma in their place of worship!
Ganga Aarti was beautiful, watching the devotion in their faces as they chant and studiously participate without so much as a glance at their phone is quite special. We follow along as best as we can, then drop our offering into the Ganges river, taking the lead from some other Indian tourists who fill their empty water bottles with holy Ganges water to take home with them. I look forward to using it in my meditations and rituals I intend to incorporate into my life when I return home (writing this here to keep myself accountable! Can’t be wasting the holy Ganges water).
We filled the rest of our Rishikesh ‘Shanti shanti’ week with presence, eating alllll of the tasty food, exploring bookshops and waterfalls, massages, check-ups with an Ayurvedic doctor, meeting locals and even got our India tattoos. I’ve wanted the hamsa hand on the left side of my ribs for almost a decade, and knew that eventually I’d make it back to India and would hold out as long as it takes, to get this symbol in the country I love so much. The artists at Kalka Tattoo were absolute pros, creating a custom design of exactly what I wanted, including the kundalini symbol, third eye for protection, lotus and all the Hindu accents I’d imagined in my head. I forgot how much the ribs hurt… of course I get my biggest, most detailed tattoo in this painful spot. I absolutely love it though.
We’ve extended Rishikesh as long as possible, as all of the peace and presence we were seeking in India has arrived on our doorstep here, and we know Varanasi will be fucking HECTIC. How could it not be… thousands of people flock here every day to burn their deceased loved ones bodies to be offered to the Ganges River to break the cycle of reincarnation for the purpose of karmic balancing… and all those emotions, energy (living and dead) and pushy holy men need to go somewhere. We’re prepared, somewhat.. and have decided to book our first organised tour of the whole trip to ensure we see all the best bits of Varanasi as quickly as possible, led by a local who can rescue us when it all gets too hectic.
We’ve already bought too much stuff, including books in all things Ayurvedic, tantric, doshas and pranayamas so we posted some stuff back and headed into the eye of the storm, Varanasi. Rishikesh, we will 100% be back one day and I absolutely recommend this peaceful town for anyone planning a India trip one day.
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