For years now, I have been teaching people how to live balanced, happy lives and manage stress effectively.
Recently, I launched the Living Yoga & Hiking Retreats. I wanted to create an inner and outer adventure that would result in a life-transforming experience of self-discovery, awareness and personal growth.
I combined my passion of teaching Iyengar yoga, meditation and courses on the mind's potential, with the skills of my friend Vikram Maira, an avid trekker who leads high altitudes expeditions in Ladakh and the Himalayas.
And while on these retreats, I have learnt some integral life lessons:
Life is about simplicity. Being in breathtakingly beautiful terrain reminds us about the power of the universe and how much we unnecessarily complicate living, when life in fact is about simplicity.
Out in the magnificent expanse of nature, we are reminded that life is always as it must be, and we are best served by neither pushing nor pulling, but simply learning to become one with the flow, giving each moment our very best.
Silence is powerful. Retreats are a good opportunity to be reflective, release stress and to check in with oneself. We live in a highly connected and demanding world where the idea of spending time with ourselves has become almost archaic. Yet, our soul craves silence and stillness.
Nature provides us the ideal environment for standing back from life and seeing it as a whole, with renewed perspective.
We need to consciously rid ourselves of accumulated and unprocessed information and concerns, and become one with our inner selves, living closer to our core. If not, we spend our lives involved in the daily business of survival, totally disconnected from ourselves. This leads to a deterioration of the mind, the body and the spirit.
Our breath is transformational. Our breath is the anchor that enables us to face anything in life and to be present. In the Himalayas, the air is pure and uncontaminated, and our ability to focus on ourselves and on our breath comes easy.
Our breath not only enables us to deal with the physical rigours of a tough yoga asana practise or a physically demanding trek, but it helps us focus the mind, be present and through this, we learn to become responsive versus reactive beings. This is a learned art, and the mountains lend us the perfect training ground to practice this skill.
Challenges propel our evolution into a greater sense of self. We are all faced with good and challenging times. Good times are about celebration and fullness, while challenging times are about stillness, inner reflection, moving past our perceived limitations and expanding into a greater sense of self.
Moving forward. Up in the Himalayas, we are reminded that life is really about leaving the past behind, moving beyond what we already know, ready to walk the road less travelled.
As I look around, I am always reminded that I am a mere mortal amidst these majestic mountains, where the energies are pure and beautiful, and the Gods are alive and vibrant, ready to welcome the elevated soul.
Radhika Vachani is a Mumbai-based yoga expert
