During one of the courses at the ashram we met a lady who worked at  the original vipassana meditation center, Dhammagiri in Igatpuri. After casually saying that I was keen to do a course she promptly informed me that she could get me in (it is normally a 6 month wait to get in). Sure I’ll do it. How hard could it be…??

For those who don't know what vipassana meditation is, it's a 10 day course where you cant talk to any one, or even make eye contact with anyone else. Writing material, phones, religious material, computers and anything else that has a hint of fun in it is banned. You meditate from 4:30 am till 9:30 pm with only a few hours break during the day. For me the silence was some thing I was looking forward to, the sitting cross-legged for umpteen hours a day was not… But nonetheless I decided to give it a go. Leaving Robyn and Gypsy behind I jumped on a local bus and headed out to Dhammagiri. The center is stunning to say the least, with an epic mountain as the back drop. I couldn't think of a better, or more peaceful place to be quiet for 10 days.  Without going into too much detail, just let me say that the course is like a roller coaster of emotions. One day you love it the next you hate it and want to leave, you are happy and content followed by angry and emotional with a dose of breaking down for good measure then back to being ecstatically happy. And all this you deal with in silence, some times sitting in a hall with 300 other people and sometimes you are in small dark little cells. I know, I’m not exactly painting a good picture of it, but at the end of the 10 days I had learnt more about myself than in 34 years of life. I came out of it with a new outlook on the world and on my own self as well. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

And the cost of this course you may ask… well that's the crazy thing… it’s free… Yep free! You don't pay a cent, actually they won’t let you pay if it’s your first time. They feed and house over 600 students per course and they rely on donations from older students to cover the costs. Sounds crazy and like something that would never work? … Well you’re wrong. They have over 50 centers all over the world. Their only goal is to spread the concept of taking away the misery of your mind and to help everyone to find their inner happiness.

Would I do it again?

Maybe in a few more years I’ll do it again. I feel like I need time to work on the new tools I’ve been given first.

Would I recommend other people to do it?

If you want to learn about yourself and are interested in looking within yourself instead of externally and materially, then absolutely!

It truly is a tough, but amazing experience and I would recommend it to every one!

Christian, a very talented up and coming videographer made this short documentary about life at the Ashram in July. It not only features interviews with both of us (!!!) but also a lot of information and beautiful images from our Indian home. Check it out below!

We’ve been at the Ashram for nearly 2 months now and it’s been a fantastic time so far. The first month, I’ll admit was hard. But only because I’ve been spoilt and always had Roh around to share half of the parenting, not to mention domestic duties. So while he was busily studying for his Teacher Training Certificate, it was all mummy. And I take my hat off to all those single mums, and those stay at home mums out there. It’s hard work. 

Gypsy also went through a difficult patch at the beginning. She’s so used to always being on the move, always meeting new people, and being afraid those new people were going to hurt her that she’d really become quite clingy and attached, and visibly scared of strangers. But being here in the same room, with the same staff, same volunteers, same students, same other toddlers to play with day in and day out, slowly but surely, she is back to her old “I love everyone” personality that we love about her. After Roh graduated as a Yoga teacher (lets add that to, rock climbing instructor, dive instructor, Quad bike tour guide, First-aid instructor and English teacher), we have taken it in turn to take Asana classes. Which has meant that for 2 hours everyday, I’ve been child-free. What an amazing feeling! Especially after she was soooo clingy for so long. BUT, yesterday was a huge step for us all. Roh and I BOTH took a class together, and left her with the kitchen ladies, and the 2 other toddlers for 2 hours!! And she had a great time! She screamed when we tried to take her home. She’s got her friends now and quite an active little social life too! It’s so beautiful to see this in her.  She’s also started saying a couple of Marathi words! Toddlers really do learn sooo much from each other.

Life at the Ashram is a simple life. As volunteers we are quite busy looking after the students, but we also have more freedom for self-practice. Roh and his new-found fitness (he’s lost more than 10kg in the 8 weeks we’ve been here) does 108 Surya Namaskara (sun salutations) every 2-3 days, as well as lots of Pranayama and Asana on top of a 2 hour Asana class everyday. He’s feeling and looking great. I am also editing one of the Ashram textbooks so I do a 2 hour class and an hour of editing everyday. I also run the shop, and Roh runs the library.

Like I said, it’s a simple life, but a fulfilling life. We are both happy, balanced, and loving having the time to spend playing with Gypsy and not just keeping her occupied on bus/train trips. We go for at least 1 big walk around the Ashram everyday, finding butterflies, ants, leaves, frogs, grasshoppers and occasionally snakes. Oh and puddles of course. Gypsy LOVES puddles! Especially muddy ones!

The monsoon is coming to an end. The rains were more than 3 weeks late coming and the farmers were all getting seriously concerned. But then the heavens opened and wow, did they open! It was the strongest rain and wind. Much stronger than any Typhoon we ever experienced in Taiwan. Except it was all day, everyday. Leaving the house, even just to do to the dining hall was a logistical challenge. 3 umbrellas were sacrificed. And many a bored day was spent stuck in our room unable to go outside and trying to entertain a toddler. We got creative. And Gypsy learnt the word “Elmo.”  But as the sun sneaks back into our lives, so does the colour green. Everything is green. Sooo green. The mountains around us are covered with waterfalls. More than we could even count and its just beautiful.  

So that is our life here. A simple life. A happy life.  We plan to be here for another 6 weeks so if you don’t here much from us, we haven’t fall off the edge of the world, we are just recharging our backpacks and our prana before we head to Nepal in October.