India Retreat #3

Saturday 7th February 2026

The cathartic emotional release the night before definitely cleared my head and heart, but I woke up with my body feeling really tired. The combination of twice-daily yoga, hill walking, daily massages (oh the hardship) and a very hard bed were impacting me physically. But also the accumulation of forty years of anger, sadness, heartbreak, fear and frustration that I was realising I hold tight within this physical form.

Today was my birthday.

It was an earlier start with a 6:30am departure to Vashistha Cave. On arrival we descended the 200 steps to the beach for our morning yoga session. We seemed to walk around the back of some houses, and there were a number of dogs about. This wasn't unusual, but as we found our spot on the beach a pesky puppy was convinced we were there to play. I would move into Downward Dog and look down into it's excited eyes - it wasn't entirely unlike yoga at home when Missy cat decides to join in! Anjali was desperately trying to shoo the puppy away, but obviously when you throw something for it to run after, it just brings it back. It was all quite amusing until it nipped at her - her usual yogic calm left her and her patience ran out. The puppy finally got the message and we could end the session with the sound of the waves and the barking in the distance.

Vashistha Cave is an ancient cave where Sage Vashishta, the human son of Lord Brahma and one of the seven great sages who passed the wisdom of the Vedas. According to Hindu mythology, all of Sage Vashishta's children died and he decided to drown himself in the river Ganges. The river rejected his suicide and, overcome with sorrow, he sought solace in deep meditation in this cave. It's a small space, lit only by candles and oil lamps. We sat on cushions, and took the opportunity to meditate in the cool stillness. We had timed our visit well as we were the only ones in the cave to start with. As more people came in, Anjali gently nudged me to leave. I had wished I had taken a seat further from the entrance - my eyes had accustomed to the darkness and I would have liked the chance to look at the altar. I could definitely have stayed and meditated a lot longer.

A Yin yoga session back at the Institute followed and it was the first time I started to feel my body release. Angali was so kind in providing the support I needed. My massage followed, then lunch with more deep, emotional conversations.

I didn’t get a chance to dip in the Ganga during our beach visit, but I was determined to feel the water on my birthday. So after my massage I walked back down the hill, through the market to the river. I took a towel and a change of clothes and didn’t take my phone (I was going alone and didn’t want to risk losing it). I also took my remaining US$ to change into Rupees which I did at the same shop where I had previously looked at the Lakshmi figurine.

I considered crossing the bridge to a more beach-like area where I had previously seen a lot of people submerging themselves. I don't know why I didn't take that option, it was so obviously an easy access point to the water. Instead I walked further round where I had been previously, hoping that the quarry would eventually turn into the promised "beach". It didn't. I left my bag and shoes in a dry spot, and gingerly walked on the rocks towards the water. An Indian girl asked me "are you going in?" in a slightly bewildered tone! I replied, "I wanted to, but I don't think I will."

In the end the rocks and the speeding current were good enough excuses for me to just paddle, then sit with my feet in the river. Despite the water being way below my usual comfort temperature, I stayed for - at a guess - about an hour. There was a freedom to not having my phone, not wanting to take photos.  I cleansed my mala beads and poured water over my head and body - I didn't submerge myself in the water, but I did feel the need to drench myself in the Holy water. I wondered if I could stay until sunset, but I had a meditation session to return for and I realised the sun was still too high in the sky. It was genuinely a cleansing and revitalising experience. 

I felt very safe and at home. I found my way back without any worries or the need for Apple Maps. I felt fresh and alive, and the walk back up the hill was almost easy. I bought some celebratory chocolate cake from the French bakery near the Institute to have after dinner.

I don't actually remember the meditation at 6:30pm. Sometimes I think that's a sign of a good meditation, when you are in such a calm mental state that you don't recall how you got there. Everyone was extra lovely at dinner, and afterwards I returned to my room, ate my cake, opened the only birthday card that arrived before I had left and caught up on all my birthday messages.

It was the most wonderful, quiet, peaceful birthday.

Sunday 8th February 2026

I had some friends join me for today’s trip, yay!

It was the teacher trainees day off, so more likely I joined them on THEIR trip, a 6:30am start and early morning hike to Neerwaterfall. Josh, John, Emma, Sara and I piled into the car, along with Suraj-ji who was to guide us today.  The drive to our start point was about 20-30 minutes. The path started gentle enough, steadily uphill with a number of very steep parts. Suraj-ji was good at judging when the group needed to pause, and I was realising how rarely I do this level of physical exertion before eating!

The waterfall was gorgeous, two channel cut into the limestone. John wasn't pausing for a second at the opportunity to dive in, I sensed the American was very adept at cold water swimming. Josh followed, a little more tentatively. Sara stripped to a swimsuit, but didn't quite make it in. She and I were content to dip our feet in - this time I knew I was never going to brave enough to dive in! It was very cold, but it was only 7:30am. Suraj-ji had brought us here early for a reason - the place would be packed with tourists later.

We continued uphill, and this was where the path got really difficult. Narrow, pebbly, and with a sheer drop to the side, it wasn't for the faint-hearted. 15-20 minutes later we arrived at the end of the trail, Neer Himalayan Camp and Cafe. We were told about the campsite and how some people stay for days, some for months. It's incredibly remote. We ordered tea and enjoyed the sound of the stream running past and the birds in the trees. I always enjoy seeing birds that are different to those in my home country. I also marvelled at seeing genuine Himalayan terrace farming! One of the earliest blogs I wrote (still available here!) was when I was WWOOFing for 8 months back in 2007. Our first stop was on the Lancashire / Yorkshire border where the landowner was attempted to model Himalayan step terraces in the Pennine hills. I don't think it really occurred to me until this moment that I was actually in the Himalayas!

The sun peaked out over the hills as we left. The walk down was less exhausting, but felt more treacherous. As warned, the path was busier and passing places were at a premium on the narrow path. There were quite a few people around the waterfall as we passed, and we were glad that we had already enjoyed it, all to ourselves. When I checked Strava at the end of our walk, I noticed the path was a very manic squiggle. I think it struggle with GPS signal!

Breakfast was very very much appreciated after the morning exercise! My massage was straight after breakfast, so I had a head massage rather than a full body one. Another yin yoga session followed - these were definitely getting a little easier and I was finding myself able to release into the poses quicker than at the beginning of my stay. 

As it was the teacher's day off, it was also the kitchen staff's day off so there was no lunch or dinner. This flexibility meant I think a lot of the trainees took the time to visit the town and the Institute itself was quite quiet. I felt a need to do some mantra chanting, so I took to the rooftop terrace hoping no-one would be there, grabbing a bolster from the cupboard on the way (it took me two days to realise there were some yoga mats on the terrace!). I mainly chant short bija mantras, but I'm not quite at the point where I have committed many to memory. It isn't just the words, but the meter and the "tune" (normally just a base note with one note above and one below). I felt confident enough to try 108 Gayatri mantras. I brought the words up on my phone, set the phone so the screen wouldn't go off, settled myself with my mala beads and set off. While I don't have all these mantras in my long term memory, it's not surprising that repetition for 108 times makes it easy to commit to short term memory, meaning I could close my eyes after 30-40 rounds. The sun was hot and I could feel my skin burning but I was determined to complete the meditation on the sound. I occasionally wondered if there was someone on the terrace with me, not from sound but from presence, but when I opened my eyes I was alone.

On our drive back from Neerwaterfall, Josh pointed out a recommended bookshop. I had wanted to investigate "uphill" from the Institute, so I went for a wander. I took a few wrong turns, realised I was really hungry and I didn't want to eat too late before my evening yoga session, so I stopped at a tiny roadside cafe for butter paneer curry and two parathas. It seemed to take ages for them to realise I was there! My initial plan was to buy the books first so I had something to read in while I ate but it hadn't worked out that way.

After I had finished, I DID find the bookshop and spent ages browsing. I bought books on the Upanishads and Tantra, and a third on the speeches of Krishnamurti. I also bought a deck of God and Goddess cards, the exact same cards that I had bought for our Yoga Teachers Together Gathering two years previous. After the bookshop, I also bought some earrings and a yantra, a square shaped, geometrical piece of art. I love buying art as a souvenir when I'm travelling, but I have to be careful not to buy massive pieces that look amazing in a shop but have no place on my walls! I enjoyed looking in a number of art shops, pondering over beautiful images of Shiva and considering more tribal works, but the yantra was the piece I chose.

My evening yoga session was in Yoga Room 3, Aerial Yoga. I've done aerial yoga once before, but it was a far more relaxing session than this, far more active session. I really struggled to get my foot up to the bottom of the "sling" of the silks, but otherwise I started to enjoy the complicated postures. Some of them were quite painful where the silk was wrapped around a leg, and I was swinging around far too much, in a way that was almost making me seasick! Anjali steadied me when I arrived in the position to be held. The final postures were a version of Dancer, and a Frog style posture which took some courage to flip upside down into, but that I felt rather happy in once I got there. 

I was still full from my lunch after my class, so I was planning to chill in my room for the evening when I heard my name called up the stairway. Four of the student teachers were waiting for me - we tentatively made plans yesterday to go out together as a birthday celebration and they had waited until my class was finished so I could join them. I put on my pretty skirt that I bought a few days ago (I didn't have much in the way of non-yoga clothes with me) and we headed out. I was hoping we wouldn't go far, but Conny, Emma, Sara, Lary and I ended up at a fab restaurant called Tat in town with a beautiful view over the Ganga, lights twinkling in the water. There was an incredible lit up bridge in the distance which seemed to be perpetually in light show mode. I was too full for a proper meal, but dessert always goes to another place. I went for King of Desserts (I saw it advertised elsewhere as Queen of Desserts so it must be a thing. Biscuits, fresh and dried fruit lashings of chocolate sauce and ice cream - not enough ice cream to balance the richness of the sauce! I couldn't finish it which at least meant that everyone else could have some dessert too. They did delicious fruit juices too.

We walked back through a covered shopping street that I hadn't noticed before - I made a mental note to return here tomorrow for the last of my purchases, and clocked the directions so I could reverse them. As someone who has become all too reliant on directions on my phone, I had found my way very comfortably around Tapovan and never felt like I was lost. It had been such a good day in the company of the teacher trainees. While I was feeling ready for my return home, I do wish that I could have spent more time getting to know them.