Prashanti Visit
- Jamie Lockwood
In December 2009, I found myself in Bangalore for a work project with about four extra days to spare. I had been feeling a bit run down and thought this would be a perfect time to take a few vacation days to go visit the beautiful Prashanti that Raghuramji and others had told us so much about during YICC.
I looked on the website and discovered there would be a conference the week after I visited focusing on Yogic Therapy for Diabetes with short sections about other ailments. I hoped that I might be able to participate in some of the pre-event activities and maybe even visit with some of the renowned doctors and swamis that would be present.
I emailed Ashwini and Anil who very generously contacted Dr. Nagaratna and explained that I would be coming for a short visit. They graciously asked her to help take care of my accommodations and schedule. Dr. Nagaratna, who I am now convinced is SuperWoman, immediately emailed me back and included several others, who quickly took care of my arrangements including the bus ride from the city center office to the lush, peaceful grounds of Prashanti which were about an hour long bus ride away.
I arrived at the small unassuming City Center office early in the morning and waited with others in the tiny lobby for about 15 minutes before the ‘school’ bus arrived. The people around me spanned all ages with a mix of males and females, some who worked at Prashanti and others who were getting treatment there.
We piled onto the bus (which filled up quickly along the way and made my huge travel bags quite embarrassing!) and after a relatively short, bumpy ride to the outskirts of town, we arrived at Prashanti. It was such an amazing sight and I immediately felt relieved to be there. The grounds seemed enormous at first but over the days would become smaller and more easily navigated. They dropped us at the main office where everyone else quickly scattered, running off to take care of whatever tasks they had come here to work on. I was left at the office with my bags still unsure what I would be doing here or what to expect.
I spoke to a few people about my story (worked for Yahoo!, YICC student from US, etc) and they said they would take care of everything. An older gentleman quickly grabbed some amenities from a closet along with my bags and motioned for me to follow him. I ran to catch up and was excited to see where I would be staying. He showed me to a beautiful building near the edge of the campus and walked me to my room which was upstairs overlooking the jungle-like landscape that wrap around the edges of the grounds.
The room was very simple- a bed, a closet, a desk and a bathroom (of my with hot water!) – yet it was perfect in every way. A door opened up onto a small private patio which would quickly become my secret oasis- and laundry spot! J It was a strange adjustment from the luxuries of the Taj Residency where I had stayed the days prior for work but it was actually much nicer than the Taj ever could have been. It was so nice to be away from it all – free from the material things and busy schedules that clutter our minds and hearts. I was still unsure where to go or what to do so I took a little nap then walked down to the offices to find Dr. Nagaratna in hopes of putting together a plan for my short stay.
They fed us all a lovely breakfast (which I would soon learn was a standard part of the daily schedule-mmmm!) When I arrived at the office, a nice young lady there showed me the standard schedule and said that she would help me put together a plan since Dr Nagaratna was busy tending to the upcoming conference details. We went through the various sections which I would be allowed to visit as a student which included Neurological Disorders, Asthma, Heart Disease, Mental Health, Back/Neck pain, Arthritis, Diabetes, Obesity, Promotion of positive health and GI Disorders. I chose to sit in on a few sections along with a blend of basic yoga training, meditation, lectures by visiting swamis, pranayama and ayruvedic medicine. It was amazing the effects the combination had on me in just a short time. I felt revitalized and learned so much about managing my energies and staying disciplined.
While in the office I met another former YICC student from Lebanon named Nayla who would become a dear sweet friend over the next four days. I came to find out that she had taken the YICC course at Prashanti about 5 years back but had lost her way after going through some relationship troubles and was now back on the very same grounds in search of healing and restoration. I loved that this sacred place was such a lovely mix of teaching and learning and healing – everyone seemed to take on the role of student, teacher, patient and doctor depending on where they were at in the process.
I found Dr Nagaratna later in the week and she was so kind to take time to ask me about my stay and make sure the classes were in line with what I was looking for-she is truly an amazing and inspiring woman! I met a few other people during my stay that made me feel right as home at well- they invited me to join them for the daily meals, their yoga practice and the nightly social events/talks which was so nice to have that sense of community. At meal times (8am, 1pm, 7pm) we all gathered in the cafeteria, said our prayers then were served a delightful mix of healthy but tasty food.
There was a range of visitors from around the world- everyone from students studying diligently to doctors doing research to help staff to patients, which included people with serious ailments or just burnt-out executives in need of a break. It was more than I could have ever imagined…and the best part is that I went in without any expectations so everything appeared to me as such a blessing. It is amazing what transpires when you let go of control and expectations and just allow things to happen as they are supposed to.
The highlight of the trip however was when Raghuramji returned from his travels and invited Nayla and I to his quarters for lunch with him and Dr Nagaratna. We stayed for a few hours and talked about philosophy, yoga , health, the world, their history, the future and everything else in between. It was such an honor to have spent that time with Raghuramji and his family and I was humbled by his hospitality, friendliness and unending wisdom- truly a day I will never forget.
The only downside to my visit was that it was so short. By the end of the four days I felt a significant change in how I felt- psychologically, spiritually, emotionally and physically- there is no doubt in my mind that YICC and my visit to Prashanti have changed my life for the better. We are so lucky that we have discovered this beautiful practice--I sincerely hope that you all make time to visit Prashanti sometime because it is like coming home. I feel beyond blessed to have discovered YICC, Prashanti and this amazing group of people all which is helping us connect to our true self and deepest purpose in this life.
Jamie Lockwood works as an Academic Relations Manager at Yahoo! Labs, where she designs technology based programs for students and faculty at universities around the globe. She has been studying yoga for 10 years and participated in the YICC program last spring. She visits India a few times a year and her personal passion lies in working with students and faculty to develop and fund socially motivated technology projects in rural parts of India and Africa
