Soo, this is gonna be a bunch to unpack.
Last time, we had just arrived to Pokhara and were about to embark on the retreat. I was not entirely sure what to expect there and my mindset going into the retreat was quite open, even though I was scared that we would be 3 all together, Bianka, me and a person doing Yoga for 25 years.
SOURCE LINK
https://medium.com/@alan.abada/the-pokhara-retreat-5bab807f2fdb
We got picked up by a cab, and started going by the lake and up the streets up to a point where the streets were just holes and gravel. Then the cab driver just left us and we had to ascend the last few metres into the place. Once arrived we went to our quite simple rooms and started meeting the people around. And boy, was I surprised. No hippies, no master yogis, just normal people like you and us, who were looking to stretch their limbs a bit. Spanning from 20s till 60s, from the US, Europe, Australia, Philippines or anywhere in between, we were a group of almost 15 people in the most calm and good vibes place imaginable.
Our day started off every morning at 6 with meditation for about an hour, then Yoga at 7:30, breakfast at 9, meditation at noon, lunch after, yoga at 5, dinner after and evening meditation at 8. It was very nice to have a routine to follow for those days, even though getting up at 5:40 was a bit challenging the first few days. But it was very easy to see that this place and the activities really energised and grounded us.
Also my understanding of Yoga has been blown wide open. Whereas I thought its mostly about stretching, there are so many disciplines of Yoga, I was completely oblivious about and the majority deal with the mind, the emotions and breath. It was really interesting to see our teachers showing us those concepts in daily practice and how to apply them long-term. And some of those practices were extremely moving emotionally. It was interesting to see that breathing patterns and movements can induce emotions to that extent. Needless to say, there was quite a lot to process for me personally, also for Bianka (and I think for every participant). But the beauty of being in a space with a lot of people you just met the first time and who are open enough to join such a retreat, is that it is a very safe space. We were sitting over tea just discussing deep emotional processes and things that came to our mind. It was really a bliss having this opportunity.
We didn’t just relax body and mind, we also made new friends!
I am by far not done processing what happened there, but it already had its effect in daily routine, that we start our day with meditation and Yoga and I really hope we can keep up this habit. Also, I can’t remember the last time I was as peaceful and relaxed as during this week. Being able to put the phones away, reading, forgetting about time. It was really an amazing experience, I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone, who is interested in spirituality and open enough to embark on this journey. Not gonna lie, some things probably looked quite weird from the outside, but being there and just going with the flow felt quite natural to me.
Bianka even found a Kimono that fit her Mala and ring perfectly!
We both were quite sad to leave, since we had quite a nice group dynamic going, but after the week we headed back to Pokhara and our current accommodation is on one of the view points of the city. And it is really amazing getting up and seeing this huge mountains all around us. Definitely a good start in the morning :D
Our view of Pokhara valley with the sun just playing with the clouds. And on the right you can see some of the highest mountains on earth, which we could see from the rooftop during breakfast. Very impressive
As for our plans, we will stay a while in Pokhara, I plan on getting a sound bowl treatment (the retreat played with it and I had quite an experience and look to dive a bit deeper into that) and in a few days we are heading back to Kathmandu for a few days, before next Thursday we will fly to India, where after only a short time our next retreat is waiting (you see, we got hooked!). But more on that in due time.
Alan
