In stark contrast to my last blog post, focusing on one single day and one particular city, this blog covers a period of over 4 months, starting in Switzerland, arriving in India via a whirlwind month in London. But what links all three of these very different times and locations is the prioritizing of my yoga practice. In the last 4 months I have taken more asana and meditation classes, from more incredible teachers, in more stunning locations, than in my whole twenty seven years previously. I don't know if it's the beauty of the places in which I've been, the fact that I've not been trying to earn money or the yoga practice itself but life certainly seems more beautiful when I do yoga.
My yoga teaching journey started only this March when I completed my teacher training here in Agonda but since then I'd struggled to find much teaching work in London. Whilst travelling through Eastern Europe I'd attempted to practice in various parks, bus stops and the odd shady balcony of a hostel despite curious stares and the occasional reprimand. So when I reached Switzerland, and more specifically my friend Clelia's yoga-teaching-life in Lausanne, it felt like a safe haven to finally practice to my heart's content.
On my first day in Lausanne, I tagged along with Clelia on her Yoga et
Rando event. We drove to a village in the mountains where we met the other participants - gathered together via Facebook for a day of yoga and hiking. We started with a meditation class sat on the shore of lac de joux. I struggled to follow the suggested visualisations in French but I still very much appreciated the serene ambience after my previous day in Venice. We then hiked up through forests and meadows to the soundtrack of cow bells, past little chalets, a mountain-top fondue restaurant and self-service holey cheese stalls - things couldn't really get much more wholesomely Swiss. It got even more zen though as we stopped in a grassy clearing to practice as Clelia lead us in a vinyasa flow class. We swayed in tree pose, chuckled at the little dog one participant had brought along as he tried to join in and laid down between the cowpats for a well-deserved savasana. A picnic lunch at the top of the hill - surveying the lakes and valleys below, a long hike down a picturesque winding track chatting to these new friends - that had been perfect strangers a few hours before (and who had perfect English no matter which corner of Switzerland or indeed the world they came from) - and a fond farewell over yogic goodie bags of essential oils and yoga magazines (the apt print on the bags having been appropriated for the title of this blog) rounded off a perfect Swiss yoga experience. Going home to Clelia's beautiful flat to bake chocolate and avocado cake amidst arty chat with another friend was the cherry on top of the perfect Sunday.
The next few days were spent exploring lake-side Lausanne between more yoga classes in beautiful locations - a morning practice on a wooden jetty on the lake, an evening in a beautiful old community centre-come-soup kitchen. I had time and space to cook with all the vegetables I'd been craving and wander to Olympic museums and the galleries de l'art brut. Feeding the soul continued with little adventures getting lost in the vineyards of Ouchy, a bouldering sessions and a swing dance event under a railway arch. Even on my last day as I strolled by the lake and the heavens opened I couldn't let it dampen my spirits - I just went and bought chocolate treats instead. I returned from
my Euro trip a very happy bunny!
Yoga went from the activity I do in the gaps in my schedule to forming the majority of my time as I practice, assist and teach classes for at least 6 hours each day. Waking up before sunrise to adjust students as they practiced for 2 hours, then practice asana or meditation myself - all before a delicious and long-awaited breakfast - took some getting used to, as did the monsoon conditions that left Agonda a plastic-covered ghost town in comparison to its pre-monsoon state I had known and loved in March. It was a difficult transition to make coming from a care-free late summer London to oppressively humid Indian jungle but as the clouds blew away and the beach cleared up and the damp dissipated the rewards for having made such a move were evident. Between supporting fellow yoga students on their journeys, strong and eye-opening flows from inspirational teachers, the odd office duty and the opportunity to build our own teaching experience there is plenty of time for a walk on the beach or an afternoon swim. Sunset meditation whilst watching the waves replaces a daily commute and most days the hardest decision to make is whether or not to buy a 30 rupee ice cream. Having three incredible buffet meals a day provided, accommodation paid for and a laundry service to rely on the daily chores are a thing of the past. This easy living combined with the slow pace of life, paradisaical surroundings and huge sense of community within the school gives all the yoga practice (both on and off the mat) an even more beautifying hue.
I do indeed agree with the title of this blog, that life is more beautiful when we do yoga but my time in Agonda has spoilt me with a life that is all set up with time and space to admire the beauty as it shines through the large window of yoga here. I hope that I will be able to cultivate my own beautiful life back in wintry London as I of course do as much yoga as I can to try and keep that window open. The blue skies might turn to grey, the free buffets and accommodation to a hustle for work to pay the rent and bills, and strolls on the beach to tube journeys but I will endeavour to appreciate the somewhat more scattered community around me and the somewhat more brief moments of calm. The beauty is always there we just have to learn how to open the curtains.
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