Sunday, March 23 – Sunday, March 30
RISHIKESH – UTTARAKHAND

They said: “Everywhere there is the light of God.” But all the people cry out: “Where is that light?”
The ignorant one looks everywhere, right, left; but a voice says: “Just look, without right and left!””.
Rumi

That’s a beautiful way to put it! It’s true, that legend captures a profound insight: the idea that the creator placed happiness within us because that would be the very last place we’d ever think to look for it. It’s a powerful reminder to turn inward.
Eleonora Truzzi

An immersive and conscious journey into the multicolored intensity, spirituality, traditions, and contradictions of North India, experienced through the practice of yoga and meditation, exploration, food, and human connection.

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. This city is sacred to Hindus and traditionally recognized as the Yoga Capital of the World. It’s a precious gem nestled among the Himalayan mountains, divided in two by the Ganges River. Rishikesh is a destination for pilgrimages from all over India, spiritual tourism, trekking, and yoga teacher trainings.
The atmosphere here, for India, is remarkably contemplative yet still marked by a unique intensity: an explosion of colors, scents, noise, music, energy, nature, and spirituality.

A journey to India, if experienced with awareness and openness, with a clear and receptive gaze, is in itself a Yoga practice. India pushes extremes, like Shiva embodying excesses, destroying any claim of univocity, control, rhetorical definition, or judgment. You cannot measure it, govern it, or define it to make it predictable or to lessen its emotional impact. It confronts you, challenges you, offers mirrors at every street corner, every glance, every encounter. It dispenses life lessons with the candid spontaneity of a child. It is neither “romantic” nor gentle in its ways, but it embraces you—if you let it—with the love of a great mother who understands and welcomes all, without imposing conditions. And in such an embrace, you cannot help but recognize yourself and surrender.

It is an unrestrained dance of sensations, suggestions, emotions, stimuli. And it is the motionless, profound silence from which all sounds originate and to which all return. If you allow yourself to be led, India guides you to meet all the deities, the gods that inhabit your inner space: resistances, fears, limiting beliefs, but also resources, inspirations, ideas, and intuitions—up to that place where all forms dissolve and resolve into pure energy. Where boundaries fade, and Union, interconnectedness, ultimately Love, are no longer an idea of the mind or a New Age pose, but real, vibrant experiences, flashes of awareness.

Our journey to India, therefore, aims to be an occasion for encounter and transformation—at least of our gaze. We will not consume experiences in series, but rather allow ourselves to be permeated by what we experience, with attention and presence, with respect and humility. We will do this by consciously encountering diverse landscapes and contexts, from shared meals to excursions, from Hatha yoga and meditation practices to moments of lighthearted and carefree conviviality, from participating in ceremonies and kirtans to immersing ourselves in chaotic, colorful markets.

The yoga and meditation practices, open to all levels, won’t be led solely by me. We’ll have sessions guided by some eminent Rishikesh teachers, including Yogi Tara Ji (founder of Gyan Yoga Path Yogashala and CEO of Yogis Kutumba) and Yogi Darshan Ji, who will host us at the Prakrutri Yoga School. Other sessions will be arranged during our week-long stay, based on the availability of the masters and Swamis I’ve had the chance to meet during my study visits in Rishikesh.

Accommodation and Meals

Sattvic breakfast and dinner will be served at the Prakruti Yoga School. Sattvic cuisine is vegetarian, less spiced and hot than typical restaurant food. It avoids irritating and stimulating ingredients, doesn’t produce toxins, and helps keep the mind-body system in balance, leaving the nervous system relaxed and well-disposed for practices. Last but not least, it’s easier for more sensitive stomachs to tolerate. As for lunch, I’ll be sure to give you reliable and tasty recommendations during our excursions and explorations. We’ll also treat ourselves to a traditional dinner to celebrate the conclusion of our journey.

Accommodation will be in simple and clean double rooms, in an ashram style (special requests for single rooms may incur an additional charge).

Regarding the seminar dates, which officially begin on the morning of March 23rd and conclude on the morning of March 30th, the night of March 22nd is complimentary for those who wish to arrive early.

Schedule

Our program, while flexible in its timing to accommodate the group’s needs and responses, will nonetheless include one yoga practice each morning at 7 AM before breakfast, followed by free time, a walk or excursion, and another practice before dinner (which may be replaced by ceremonies or satsang when scheduled). Lights out will be at 10 PM.

How to get to Rishikesh?

Direct flights to Delhi are available from Milan Malpensa. An economical window for round-trip flights is March 21st-31st. From Delhi, you can reach Rishikesh by Train, bus, or shared taxi (6-7 hours). A 50-minute internal flight to Dehradun, and from there a 30-minute taxi ride. I can help arrange this taxi for you at a good price (around 11-12 euros to be split). I find the internal flight often to be the least tiring and least dispersive solution (and often the most economical), with indicative prices of 40-50 euros. On your return, if you take the flight, I suggest spending a night in Delhi near the airport (I’ll provide suitable addresses).

Additional

For those wishing to extend their stay in India, a second week-long travel segment is planned for Pushkar, Rajasthan. I’ll facilitate this portion, assisting with bookings, itineraries, and connecting you with local teachers.

Following the selection interview, I’ll provide you with advice and guidance on the Indian Visa, insurance, how to pack your bag, essential items to bring, what to wear, how and where to exchange currency, and how to pay the confirmation deposit.

About Me

Who am I? You’ll find some information here…

The sessions, courses, seminars, retreats, and materials offered by Sarangi are intended for inner exploration, problem-solving, and personal growth. They are not a substitute for the work of doctors or psychotherapists, as their purpose is not to consider, treat, or resolve medical or health-related pathologies and symptoms.