Visit the birthplace of yoga
India is amazing! When describing it, Mark Twain had this to say:
“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great-grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.”
And here’s Mr. Twain again, waxing eloquent about India’s glories:
“So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked.”
For many, India is a bucket list destination, a life-changing experience. Here’s Keith Bellows, Editor-in-Chief for National Geographic Traveler for over seventeen years:
“There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won’t go. For me, India is such a place. When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds… I had been seeing the world in black & white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor.”
Now, if you’re reading this, you’re probably considering making a journey to India. As such, we’d like to tell you a bit about our Spring Tour. (Please also scroll down to check out photos of each place that we’ll be visiting.)
We will meet up at New Delhi International Airport (DEL) March 2nd late night or on the 3rd very early morning (as international flights often arrive in Delhi after midnight), and travel to the sacred town of Vrindavan.
Vrindavan is known as “The Land of Five Thousand Temples.” Here we will visit ancient temples, shop in full-blown bazaars in search of buried treasures, engage in ecstatic kirtans, and try our best to enter into the timeless devotional temple culture and ritual that is so integral to Indian spiritual expression.
After our time in Vrindavan, we will drive back to Delhi and fly to Bhubaneswar, then continue on to Jagannath Puri on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. One of India’s four holiest pilgrimage sites, Puri is where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent much of his life. Here we will visit the sacred places dear to the Gaudiya tradition, and spend time in nature, in the forest and along the seashore.
From Puri, we will travel up the coast to Kolkata and drive to our tour’s final destination, Sridham Mayapur, the birthplace of the Bhakti renaissance that inundated India five centuries ago. It’s a tropical paradise, and here we will be able to bathe in the Ganga river, just prior to it merging into the Indian Ocean (after it has traversed and blessed the entire subcontinent). In Mayapur, the heart of the bhakti movement, we will also immerse and bathe ourselves in this sacred tradition in all its glory. The trip will end on March 15th, with us all returning to Kolkata to fly home late that night (or early morning on the 16th).
Our tours are designed to give you a full experience of the spiritual landscape of India. The tour’s purpose is to facilitate deep introspection and self-discovery. As such, everyone will be expected to follow a vegan/vegetarian diet and remain sober for the duration of the trip. (Please note that these observances will facilitate you having the most authentic experience possible.)
We will offer at least one yoga class per day, and sometimes a second (depending on the day’s schedule).
We want you to be as comfortable as possible (because traveling is itself austere). For this reason, we book the absolute nicest accommodation available wherever we go. The places we stay are very nice, but please understand that it’s India, and there’s always some inconvenience. Understanding this, please adopt a pilgrim’s attitude, as being tolerant is part of the journey. This will allow you to have the best time possible.
Vrindavan is the “Land of 5000 Temples.” Visited by tens of millions of pilgrims annually, this city is the heart of devotional Hinduism in North India. We’ll visit temples here that are steeped in ancient tradition. We’ll have a chance to sit at the tombs of saints that lived and worshipped in this place so many centuries ago, and hear about their lives and teachings.
Jagannath Puri, also known as Nilachala (the blue mountain), is considered one of India’s four most sacred pilgrimage sites (char-dhams). Situated on the shore of the Bay of Bengal in Odisha, Puri has a multi-thousand year history—and its significance as a place of pilgrimage is even attested to in the famed Mahabharata.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his followers settled in Puri and from there oversaw a massive bhakti renaissance starting from the early 16th century. Before that time, Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya had also resided there, as did the famed poet Jayadev Goswami.
In Puri, we will visit many sacred places beloved by the Gaudiya community, as well as spend time in nature—in the forest and along the seashore.
Mayapur is the fountainhead of a Bhakti renaissance that swept through India 500 years ago. This movement sought to give anyone and everyone the opportunity to experience personal transformation and intense love of the Divine through kirtan. In Mayapur, we will dive deep into that ocean of Bhakti and kirtan, while acquainting ourselves with the life and times of Shri Chaitanya, the golden avatar.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tukaram began seeking the truth at an early age. By the time he was eighteen, his journey had led him to India, where he lived for years as a monastic. Back home in Southern California, Tukaram serves as the Director of two Krishna temples (in Laguna Beach and Long Beach), and also runs a plant-based restaurant, an animal sanctuary, and an urban ashram.
Radhika is part Indian, grew up going to India regularly, and has traveled there over a dozen times, often staying for months at a clip. She’s traveled the length and breadth of the country and has a deep love and feeling for the place and the people. When not busy parenting her six children, Radhika designs fashion-forward, ethnically-inspired apparel, and she loves doing photo shoots in exotic ports of call. If you are so inclined, she will be happy to work with you on your wardrobe and do a shoot with you while we travel.
Madhuri is a founding director of Yoga108 and an advanced registered yoga teacher (E-RYT 500), dancer, meditator, and writer. Inspired by yoga’s profound effects, Madhuri has spent the past 12 years sharing the practice wherever needed- studios, gyms, corporations, high schools, shelters, and also one-on-one. Over the years, she’s mentored many new yoga teachers through teacher trainings and apprenticeships. Molly received a degree in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine, where she studied the body and movement extensively, mentored by visionary choreographers Donald McKayle and Loretta Livingston. Subsequently, she completed 500 hours of training at NYC’s Laughing Lotus Yoga Center under the mentorship of studio owner Dana Flynn.
At the age of eighteen Rakta has already travelled to India more than half a dozen times. He’s a skilled drummer, an excellent harmonium player, and a gifted singer. More than that though, he’s an expert teacher, and he will be leading us in kirtan throughout the tour.
Lila is 500-hour E-RYT based in Los Angeles. Since completing her first yoga teacher training in 2012, she has immersed herself in a diverse scope of study, ranging from doula training to Reiki I + II certification. She has led multiple yoga teacher trainings, opened several yoga studios with the largest yoga corporation in the world, and simultaneously managed 6 of them. Lila currently manages a vegan restaurant in Long Beach, and she has also ventured to India half a dozen times over the years, traveling to extremely remote parts of the subcontinent. She’s also managed tours to India and taught yoga every step of the way. Lila is excited to be a part of the India 2020 tour, helping to ground and anchor all of us everyday with strong yoga classes and personal instruction in asana and pranayama.
Anandini has over 10 years of leadership experience and currently oversees several multi-million dollar establishments for a fortune 50 company. In 2014, she became a Registered Yoga Instructor. Alongside her busy career, she currently teaches yoga and meditation classes throughout Southern California, and also manages an urban ashram in Long Beach. Having been to India more than a half of a dozen times, and being extensively trained in leadership, management, and yoga, she brings her extensive knowledge and experience to bear while serving as our tour’s organizer. It’s Anandini’s goal to make our adventurous tour seamless, taking care of everyone and everything. Anandini ensures that we can all having the most amazing time ever on our upcoming trip.
Our tour guides, Anandini, Lila, and Sri have over 25 years of collective leadership experience, have developed multiple successful businesses from the ground up, have managed several multi-million dollar establishments, and deep most inspired when traveling in India. Even with their busy professional lives, these ladies have each been to India more than a handful of times, organized tours on numerous occasions, and have immersed themselves in the Vedic culture while traveling, and when home in California. They are extensively trained in leadership, management, yoga, meditation, and counseling.
Anandini manages an urban ashram in Long Beach, is a yoga instructor, and is a lead manager at a fortune 50 company. Lila is a 500-hour E-RYT yoga instructor, has training as a doula, has Reiki I + II certifications, and manages a vegan restaurant in Long Beach. Sri is a program director at a world-renowned treatment center, is a therapist at her own private practice in Newport Beach where she specializes in treating severe eating disorders, substance abuse, and trauma, and is an accountant for multiple non-profits. Each of these ladies has a unique skillset that helps to ensure that we have a seamless and unforgettable experience. Anandini, Lila, and Sri all have a deep love for India, spiritual growth, and look forward to sharing this by helping to guide us all on pilgrimage.
Akincana has been studying and doing Kirtan (devotional chanting with musical accompaniment), for twenty years, and he has been blessed to have spent time being trained by some of the best kirtaniyas (performers of Kirtan), in the world. Akincana has also spent over a decade living in India studying classical Indian music. Currently, he travels half of the year, to exotic ports-of-call, doing Kirtan at large festivals and gatherings, and when he’s not busy with that, he lives and serves, with his wonderful wife Rati, in the holy town of Vrindavan, India. We are greatly fortunate to have him with us on our upcoming trip as our music guru, where he will be teaching and leading Kirtan daily. His goal for this trip is to have all interested parties leading Kirtan by the trip’s end, regardless of their current experience level.
Here’s a short clip of Akincana leading Kirtan (he’s the one singing and playing harmonium), at a massive Hare Krishna gathering in India earlier this year
Braja went to india for the first time at the tender age of 21, only intending to stay for some weeks. She ended up falling in love with the land, people, and culture though, and stayed for the better part of a year. Her love of india has continued to grow over the years since, and she’s now visited there more than half a dozen times, traveling the entire country by plane, train, and automobile.
Over the last few years she’s also received a degree in psychology, taken several of RYT200s, studied Hindi, and been foundationally involved in starting and managing: a vegan restaurant, a temple, and an ashram. All these skill sets come in quite handy, as she’s our tour’s trusted organizer.
Kumi Yogini (a former freelance graphic designer), now a yoga instructor, teacher trainer, and studio owner, opened Veda Yoga in September of 2014. After a decade of teaching and managing for CorePower Yoga, she was inspired to open her own studio. The powerful nature of the practice compelled her not only to change her life, but also share the gift with others in a fun, spiritual and accessible way. Kumi has visited India several times and wishes to share her experiences with you through a deep and rejuvenating yoga practice.
Theresa Devi is a founding director of Yoga108 and an experienced registered yoga teacher (ERYT 200). For her, yoga isn’t something she does as a profession but a lifestyle she lives and breathes, weaving the teachings of the great masters into everything she does. Her journey began in 2010, after a stressful divorce, and she turned to yoga for help. Within a short time she completely transformed her life, as unhealthy habits gave way to vegetarianism, strength, clarity of mind and inner peace. Inspired by her own positive change, she took a teacher training so she could give the touchstone effect of yoga to others.
Sanak was born and raised in Germany, but has lived in India for his entire adult life (for over thirty years!). He spent eleven of those years traveling india on pilgrimage by foot (padayatra), and during that period he visited thousands of villages, circling the entire subcontinent twice. In the modern era, such austerities have only been performed by an extremely small group of devoted souls, but Sanak has the further distinction of being one of only two non-natives to have ever accomplished this! Sanak also spent years trekking in the Himalayas, and for the last decade he’s been managing (and residing at), an animal sanctuary in the holy town of Vrindavan. We are fortunate to have him serving as our trek guide on our upcoming fall tour.
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