Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, similar to a studio, yeshiva, iʿtikāf or dojo (Wikipedia).
The first time I heard of it was in Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, a book about the author's travels in Italy, India and Indonesia. She stayed in an ashram in India to do silent meditation. At the time of reading, which was waayyy before the movie came out, I wasn't into backpacking yet, or anything away from the comfort of home. It seemed ridiculous to me why anyone from a western country would go on such a long journey to this hectic part of the world that was full of dust, and jail yourself in a place where you need to follow strict rules and schedules, restrict your diet and scrub floors and clean toilets.
It was only when I started traveling on a tight budget that I began to see the intrigue of living without luxuries, mainly because it surprised me by how little I needed to get by. What I thought I couldn't live without--TV, cosmetics, handbags, shoes, fancy clothes, tons of different shampoos and lotions--turned out to be unnecessary clutter. To purge my life of all that stuff I didn't need felt like a burden being lifted off my shoulders. My life was simpler, my mind clearer, and my wallet happier. Backpacking was my rehab.
At the same time, I was also doing a little bit of yoga. And I was tempted to experience yoga in its country of origin. There are ashrams that only focus on meditations, some on yoga while the others on ayurvedic treatments, to name a few.
2016: After some research, I decided to go to Rishikesh, the yoga capital of India. There were many ashrams and yoga schools to choose from, each with different rates. From word of mouth, I found one in Ram Jhula, an ashram called Ved Niketan, apparently the cheapest in the area. It is a large complex of buildings surrounded by gardens, with a yoga and meditation halls in the center. A single night stay in a single room costs 15,000 rupees. A double room costs double that. If you stay more than 5 days, you can attend the daily yoga classes for free. Otherwise separate charges apply.
The schedule is pretty lenient. There's a meditation class at 6am-7am, morning yoga class at 8.30am-10am and evening yoga class at 5pm-6.30pm. Aside from that, it's free and easy. Even the classes are not compulsory. If you're not happy with the teacher, you may find classes elsewhere while still boarding in the ashram.
Rishikesh, I was told, is a vegetarian region, so you will not find any restaurant here that sells meat. If you're an aspiring vegetarian/vegan, this is good news as there is nothing here to sway you. The ashram kitchen sells breakfast and thali sets but the price is almost similar to the nicer restaurants outside (which have wifi!). If you're feeling more adventurous, you could try the street stalls. I particularly liked the 10rupee/cup chai tea sold everywhere on the streets.
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| Main entrance |
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| I like that there is so much greenery here |
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| Yoga hall |
The room is very basic. There is one shaky bed with a stone-hard mattress, a blanket and a thin pillow, two windows, a power point for your electrical supplies, and a stone shelf carved into the wall. The room also comes with a lamp and an electric fan. There are toilets and shower rooms at both ends of each building. It could get very hot during the day and the electricity is prone to disruption. Fortunately I didn't face any problem with mosquitoes during my stay.
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| Random guy in yoga class |
