Out of Norm Travels to a Yoga Retreat in Nepal

by Magdalene Teo-Yong (Singapore)

A leap into the unknown Nepal

For many, travelling is a sort of ala "Amazing Race" with the maximization of the limited time in a particular location by going from point A to point B. Well, for the first time in my life, I gave myself the luxury of time by signing up for a 4 days yoga retreat in Nepal in early March 2020. Mind you, I am neither flexible nor a yoga fanatic so I was definitely doing something that scared me. For those unaware, Yoga is an ancient philosophy and practice of health and well being. The practice emphasizes the quality of health and life with diet, physical acts, posture, breath, mental, rest and meditation, In the modern world, it has gained momentum with emphasis on the physical aspects. I booked my retreat at Himalayan Yoga Academy, which was around 20-30 mins from the Thamel area of Kathmandu. A standard daily routine starts with morning 6am wake up followed by Jala Neti (Nasal Cleansing) then morning Yoga with chants and meditation. I would be free before or after lunch depending on the scheduling of the therapy session. I had the full body oil massage on day 2 and Shirodhara (oil treatment) on day 3. A round of evening yoga before dinner followed by Trataka (Concentrated Gaze) before lights out at 10pm. I will cover my experiences of the Jala Neti, Trataka and Shirodhara sessions as they were rather interesting and unique to me. Jala Neti is done using a stainless steel Neti pot. The pot is filled with warm salt water and the whole process starts with a gurgle of the warm water before tilting the head to commence the pouring of the warm salty liquid from one nostril to the opposite side of the nostril. The pouring is done by inserting the nozzle of the pot into one nostril with the liquid flowing in through one nostril and out through the other nostril. The mouth is open throughout the process to breathe. After finishing both nostrils, I was taught how to force exhalations from both the nostrils in all the directions i.e. left and right, top and bottom. Jal Neti is a nasal cleansing yogic process used to remove the congestion and blockages of nasal as well as respiratory regions. After Jal Neti, I felt myself lighter and breathing more easily than before. It could also be the cool mountain air helping with that process. Trataka is a method of meditation that involves staring at a single natural point like a candle flame or a flower. In Sanskrit, Trataka is n. त्राटक Trāṭak: "look, gaze" is a yogic purification and a tantric mediation said to bring energy to the "third eye" and promote various psychic abilities. The candle is placed about 1m away with the flame level with the eyes. The body is kept relaxed with spine erect in wakeful state. My eyes soon watered after a few seconds of gazing after which I was advised to close them to see the flame in my mind before opening them when comfortable. The process takes about 15-20 mins. I found myself very relaxed after Trataka as it kept my mind free from other thoughts other than the flame. I saw different colors such as gold, blue and purple on the 3 nights when this process was performed. Last but not least is the Shirodhara therapy which is an ancient Ayurvedic therapy. Basically, I laid down on a bed with warm oil pouring down over my forehead in a continuous stream. The gentle pressure and soothing warmth of the oil allowed me a deep state of rest, similar to meditation. After the therapy, the entire hair will be covered with oil so I spent the rest of my day in deep 'zen' mode. It is said that the forehead or ‘ajna marma’ is an area where nerves are highly concentrated. The pressure of the oil onto the forehead creates a vibration and the oil saturates the forehead and scalp and penetrates into the nervous system. I hope that you have found the above interesting and wish that this blog post made you consider having a more restful vacation the next time you spend your holidays!