After 10 days spent at the Isha Yoga Center, I took the train to return to the south of Kerala, to Marari Beach, a small seaside resort that had captivated me with its gentleness and astonishing calm. On its long, almost deserted beach, which had been swept by a tsunami a few years ago, one can run for miles on the fine sand in nature and contemplate the simple life of the villagers, fishermen, and children building treehouses or playing with stray dogs. An atmosphere where time seems suspended. The loop in South India was complete, and I would have happily returned to France if it weren’t still winter, and then, in my program, I still had to visit the Sivananda Yoga Ashram at Neyyar Dam, an isolated place in the mountains, surrounded by forests and by a large artificial lake.

I have been practicing yoga (the asanas part) daily for about 10 years, self-taught, using books and YouTube videos, following injuries from running, particularly sciatica. Since I had never taken classes, my practice was mainly based on feeling, and I felt the need to structure my sessions. It was with this simple ambition that my steps led me to this ashram, to follow a free 2-week program: the “Yoga Vacation,” without ever having heard of the Hindu spiritual master Sivananda (1887-1963). Yet it is this revered figure who, in Rishikesh in northern India, founded the Divine Life Society, whose purpose is to work for peace and the training of citizens practicing “integral yoga.” A yoga that can be summarized in these words: Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, and Realize (the Self). It is thanks to one of his most well-known disciples, Vishnudevananda, that this integral yoga became known worldwide and that today there are 11 ashrams offering programs and training to become a Yoga teacher. With its international success, Rishikesh has established itself as the cradle of yoga.

Founded in 1978, the Neyyar Dam ashram is one of the oldest and most renowned. The building, ideally shaded to face the heat of India, is impeccably maintained with beautiful paths, murals, well-kept gardens, statues, and large practice halls. Every day, about 250 visitors from all over the world are guided by competent teachers to discover or perfect their practice of integral yoga while immersing themselves in the rhythmic life of an ashram with its share of rules.

As always when arriving at such a place, where it is not really allowed to go out or eat in one’s room, I bring my own supply of fruits that I store under my bed, being extra vigilant so that the ants do not betray my secret. Then, my priority is to ensure that I can replenish my supply during my stay. If that is not possible, I fast or I leave. This firm alignment with my values has never deprived me of anything; on the contrary, it offers me amazing opportunities. Just like at Vipassana, where one of the servers was a fruitarian and arranged for me to eat plant-based and raw during the retreat! At Sivananda, I could count on two small fruit shops that had everything I needed, including coconuts and jackfruit!

Once reassured on these points, I was able to fully appreciate the richness and quality of the theoretical and practical teachings provided. The daily rhythm was 4 hours of yoga, 3 hours of satsang, 1.5 hours of theory, and 1 hour of karma yoga, not counting optional activities. This left me a few free hours to read and write, so I quickly felt like a fish in water with this lifestyle close to my daily routine. Before going to India, I envisioned myself singing mantras with emotion, and the opportunity had not yet arisen. At Sivananda, I made up for it because here we sing for 1 hour morning and evening, as well as at the beginning and end of each activity. I greatly appreciated the chants that moved me and made me shed tears of joy.

Coming with the sole ambition of gaining flexibility and mobility, this ashram turned out to be, after Vipassana, the most beautiful surprise of this trip to India, far beyond my expectations. I had come to this sacred land to find inspiration to create the practical school of living, and it is here that I found it…