Day 4 and our spiritual adventure continues.
The group started their day with yoga asana practice at sunrise on the steps right along the Ganges River, followed by meditation and chanting. We have been working on developing unwavering focus in our meditation practice by visualizing and feeling ourselves having completed our life purpose.
“I will be what I will to be. I will do what I will to do.” This has been one of our group’s mantras and it was what my Guru taught me.
Participants were given homework… they were to walk to the burning ghats (crematory grounds) along the river, observe the area and reflect upon the transient nature of life and the physical body. Millions of people flock to the holy city of Varanasi with the intention to die there. As such, death is seen simply as a part of the cycle of life. I asked participants to confront the finite nature of life and to consider death as the greatest impetus for committing to unwavering focus to reach one’s purpose in this life.
We ended our day with an exercise whereby participants identified their greatest fears holding them back from attaining their life purpose. I then asked participants to fully feel the fear present within them and to transfer this fear into a diya- a floating candle held within a leaf. We then took a boat into the middle of the Ganges, lit the flames and released the diyas into the river with the intention of letting go of whatever is holding us back. We followed this beautiful ritual with an offering of gratitude to Ganga Mata (Mother Ganges) by then ceremoniously releasing flowers into the river.
Robin leads the morning yoga asana practice. She is such a wonderful teacher.
Our meditation practice on the banks of the Ganges river.
Guiding everyone through a systematic step by step meditational process.
Many of our participants worked on an exercise I taught them to release their fears into the Ganges river.
The banks of the Ganges are a perfect place for meditation.
I take a moment to thank the Ganges for her love and support over the last few days. The energy here is simply divine and is built from the years of countless pilgrims investing their energy into the river and land.
We must go into meditation fully alert and fearlessly. It’s a goal orientated practice, and requires courage and steadfastness.
Enjoying a conversation with Robin after our morning classes.
Later that evening we head out into the middle of the Ganges to release our fears.
Letting go of what holds us back so that we can move forward.
