If you are reading these reviews, you are probably searching for a yoga teacher training course that would be right for you. You are probably getting overwhelmed, very confused, maybe even a tiny bit frustrated. I remember feeling all of those things when I was doing my research to find the perfect fit for me. I am not advanced in my yoga practice, when I came to yoga vidya, I would say my status would be that of a beginner. I wasn't a confident world travelor. What I was was someone who was facing a big birthday, who had so many questions about the direction of my life. I wanted to find my inner confidence, my inner joy. And I wanted to advance my yoga practice. I was nervous about visiting India alone, being there for a month a not really knowing what I was getting myself into. Let me help you answer some of your questions. Rishikesh..completely safe. It is a holy city and it is filled with insightful, kind people. The facilities at yoga vidya mandarin..i felt spoiled. The room was beautiful, clean. I had my own bathroom..hot and cold water. I had access to wifi every where, so you will definitely be able to keep in touch with loved ones back home. Yoga vidya, unlike so many of the other schools, was a bit separated from the main shopping areas, so it was very peaceful. We had a beautiful garden, rooftops, even beautiful little restaurants around the facility if you want to try different things outside of the yoga vidya kitchen. Which brings me to the food..amazing. I cannot say enough about the kitchen staff. They listened, they tried to accomodate, and they cared about our enjoyment of their wonderful food. And now the classes..our teachers were incredible. You will start every morning with singing beautiful mantras with Hope. Her voice and the words will stay with you throughout the day. I often heard my fellow class mates humming them throughout our stay. Pranayama with Puja. The importance of the breath. Philosophy and meditation with Sandeep. I found myself wanting to remember every drop of wisdom imparted by this insightful, intelligent teacher. And then there is Viveek..our asana instructor. Confident, wise,funny. He pushed us, he encouraged us, and we saw miracles happen in ourselves. We accomplished so much in such a short period of time. Our group was amazing. Every one from some different parts of the country. You would thing we would have been so different, we were different ages, our life experiences were vastly different, but our reasons for coming to yoga vidya were so much the same. It is easy to say that we are all taking the experience and the lessons learned home with us. If you have any questions that I didn't answer for you ..ask Lalit. Your host, your caretaker, your mentor, and your friend. If we ever needed anything, all we had to do was ask Lalit. He took care of the excursions..our care...he took care of us. The staff is simply incredible, the experience will change your life. My only regret is that I didn't stay for the 500 hours. I hope this helps you answer your questions..if you have more ...and I can help ..don't hesitate to ask me. If you make the choice to go with vidya mandarin..you will never regret it.
Namaste