Yoga Teacher training - Gupt Kashi

The trip to Gupta Kashi ( meaning hidden Varanasi, or ancient Varanasi) was typical for this part of the world but exciting and invigorating for us westerners, no matter how long I live in India....Taking a hair pin bend on the outside where the road has fallen away into the deep ravine that meets with Ganga does not constitute an easy drive up the mountains.  

On leaving Riushikesh at 5.30am, I took my seat behind the driver so I could telepathically connect with him at every crucial turn and ensure he kept us safe.  He didn't really need me but it was best to be sure.  The six hour drive became eight thanks to landslides, flat tyres, rebuilding of temples ruined by the terrible floods of last year and travelling the 180km with many other pilgrims and locals wanting to arrive in a timely manner!  

We arrived to our new paradise overlooking parts of the himlayas in time for a late lunch.

En route, a refreshing lemonade.

A confluence of the Yamuna and Ganga.  So pretty.  Reminded me of parts of Italy!

The road signs en route did not disappoint.  A sample for your reading pleasure...

No need for over speed
Better late than never
Leave sooner, drive slower, arrive alive
Safety on the road, tea at home
Think of god
No race, no rally, enjoy the beauty of the valley
As long as there is forest there is night
No hurry, no worry
Life is a journey, complete it
Someone is waiting for you
Be soft on my curves
Hug your kids at home, but belt them in the car.


After settling into our very smart tent accommodation we went on a late afternoon walk, led by a local boy, at breakneck speed down a stone path for about three kilometres.  Do that everyday and you would have buns of steel.

Carly capturing the journey.

Of course the walk had purpose in that it took us to the ancient Shiva Temple in the town of Gupta Kashi. Locals were gathering to collect their drinking and cooking water from a simple large well in the forecourt of the temple.  Lots of plastic bottles of all shapes and sizes being filled from a brass tigers mouth spewing water from the Yamuna river which had been gently mixed from another source just next to it with Ganga water.  So reverent were these poeple.  Life and temple blend into one.

Gathering the water for evening time. The temple courtyard.

Constant chanting by these colourful women.

On the roof, last years decorations still in place?  No.  Just the usual, bells and tinsel.

His home and his temple.

We were blessed to find the temple empty and the local priest willing to guide us into each part of the holy place, bless us with chants and sandalwood and explain the seriously historical significance of the structure.  It goes that the temple is 3000 years old.







Kedar Camp Resort where we are staying is not for everyone,.  Literally. The owner only has groups staying that come for retreat, yoga, or with friends of friends.  It is a pristine place, well cared for and maintained and he wants to keep it that way.  The food is the best we have had on this Yoga teacher training (YTT). And some of the best I have had in India.  Really tasteful and carefully prepared.  Vegetarian with local products such as honey and black flour in the morning roti.

Note: black flour is made from the ripe seed of a gummy trees such as Firs or Poplars and blended with cornstarch and wheat flour.

We went for a walk on our first morning, in silence, as that is why we are in Gupt Kashi.  To go deeper, through silence.  Our guide, the owner, pointed out birds and botany and it was thoroughly enjoyable watching children race to school on steep rocky mountain paths like they were on a manicured lawn or non indian footpath.  Men ploughing their paddy fields with recorded chants of Om Namah Shivaya on repeat ringing out over the land.  I saw more bird life and varieties in a one hour walk than I had seen in three years living in India, and that includes trips to the Rajasthani desert.  I got immense joy from seeing the red rhododendrons and some real lemon trees, not the scrawny little 'limes' that are found throughout India. The locals do not eat them,  and they sell for $4AUD a piece down in Mumbai! A business venture me thinks.

Note: The rhododendrons of the Himalaya. Our host told us that at this altitude, approximately 1700metres, the flowers on the big trees are red, they are violet up higher and then as you go higher still the flowers turn white and ultimately the trees that flourish at the highest levels have a pink flower. By the way, the petals, not the stigma or stamen, are eaten.  The part closest to the flower is sweetish and apparently good in juices and salads.  I tried and yes it is edible, maybe a little bitter though.

Of course the walk was to take in the view and to get a greater panorama of Kedernath and Chaukhamba ( 7138metres) . Wow.  My camera is not great at the long distance shots but to see a 150degree panorama of the Himalayan Mountains in the early morning light makes one feel alive and truly appreciative of this opportunity to learn with my teacher, be in mother nature and in silence.  We came back to our own morning Sadhana ( personal practices) of asana and pranayama,  and each of us took a pole position, in silence, to take in the view at each chance we could.  Truly magnificent!  Sun salutations take on new meaning when at each stanza you can look up and not only see a rising sun but the play of her light over the majestic mountains.