If someone told me that I would go to India on my own a few years back I would have laughed at them and said “no chance – you must be mad!”. A couple of years ago I made a list of the countries I always wanted to visit. I created a list of the countries I could easily travel to by myself and then created a category of countries I would like to visit but only if accompanied by either a male friend, partner or a spouse. India belonged to that category. I could never imagine going there on my own. However, something has shifted in my consciousness since my dream in April 2023.

A captivating dream of a mesmerizing river

I do not really give much significance to dreams, but that dream was very powerful, and it has stayed with me ever since. I kept revisiting it in my head. That dream has changed the colour of my thoughts. I remember waking up in the morning and describing the dream in my Morning Pages. I wrote that I was dressed in white, in a long, flowy dress and sat closely to the  river. I was there with some friends but at one point I disconnected from them and decided to enjoy the evening on my own. There were hundreds if not thousands of people by the river. Women were dressed in beautiful vibrant colours and the atmosphere was filled with music and singing.  People were taking part in celebrations and rituals I did not understand. All I could remember was that the celebrations were exceptionally touching and mesmerising: the chants, the music, the lamps glowing with fire. My dream was happening in a foreign land, probably in India and I remember that I attracted attention from the people there. The atmosphere was festive and beautiful. I felt touched and deeply moved. I was at peace. I was very happy because I felt inexplicable connection to the river and to the people who participated in the event. When I woke up in the morning, I kept thinking of that dream. It has puzzled me and haunted my imagination. I remember writing in my Morning Pages: “Is this dream some sort of a message from the Universe that I should go to India?”

It was a beautiful dream and thinking about it was comforting and soothing for me. It was after a thorough online research that I found out that what I experienced in my dream was called Ganga Aarti. Ganga Aarti is a magnificent spiritual ceremony performed every evening along the ghats of the Ganga River in Rishikesh, Varansi and other holy cities located by the Holy River. The dream was magnificent and magical but my real life was not magical at all. I was not particularly happy. I was burnt out in my job and felt I needed more space for growth. I felt trapped and stuck. I craved flexibility and independence. I longed for travels and adventures. I longed for deeper connections and friendships with like minded people. I needed a change of scenery and of work environment. I was stuck in a rut. I had worked in secure and specialist services as a teacher. The place where I had worked was very gloomy, depressive and very hermetic. My students were not regular students. They were socially, emotionally and psychologically challenging young people. Some had forensic background, others were prominent self-harmers. Due to their complex emotional and psychological needs they could not attend mainstream education. My teaching job was rewarding but also extremely stressful and emotionally draining.

My first cooperation with a life coach

I would find comfort and solace in yoga, dance and meditation. Prior to my strange dream in April 2023, I had been doing yoga almost daily for about 3 years. Because I was stuck and wanted to help myself to get unstuck I began to read lots of self-growth books. I also contacted several life coaches. I was lucky enough to find Olga, who had been training to become a life coach and offered me 6 sessions pro bono, in exchange for feedback for her bran new website. I started my coaching sessions with her in July 2023. During my initial consultation with Olga, she said something I knew deep down myself: I outgrew an employee role a long time ago. An employee box was too small for me. I could not be contained in that narrow, tight box anymore. She asked me what I was most passionate about when I was a child and I replied that I loved dance, movement and music. I could dance in my room for hours. Olga offered a solution to my predicament. She said I should become a yoga teacher! She said that once I gain experience as I yoga teacher, I would develop my own style and even incorporate dance movements into my classes (something I would absolutely love!). I felt so energised and empowered after my sessions with Olga. I began visualizing myself teaching others yoga and my individual dance movements! Following my second coaching session with Olga I decided to go to India to learn yoga from real masters and authentic yogis.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

After I made the decision to do a yoga teacher training I began to second guess myself. My gut feeling was telling me I should go, but my reason (or maybe my ego) was planting doubts and fears. One evening I went to a Buddhist meditation centre and I met a lady who I used to work with. She used to be my professional mentor and I have always valued her opinions. She is a well-travelled lady with lots of life experience. I told her about my dilemma. I told her I was dreaming of going to India but fear would stop me from taking the plunge and booking flight tickets. I told her about my dream from April 2023 and when I was describing that dream I felt so happy. She looked at me and said: “What stops you? Fear? Fear of what? What is it? Money?” I said: “no, no, definitely not money. I feel fear to go to India on my own. I have never been to Asia”. She said: “If you really feel like you want go there, just do it. Don’t let fear to stop you. Doing yoga course in India can open up so many opportunities for you! You will meet many like minded people. Who knows, you might even end up opening up your own yoga school in Bali!”. Wow! Bali! I began picturing beautiful beaches and palm trees! She added that she had some regrets in her life and all of her regrets were related to not taking an action or not doing something she felt she should have done. I thanked her and with a heart filled with love, gratitude and hope I ran back home and booked one way ticket to Delhi. It took me a couple of weeks to decide which yoga school to choose. But I knew I would learn yoga in Rishikesh – the world capital of yoga.

Three reasons I went to India in a nutshell

These are the three reasons I decided to go to India: my dream of Ganga Aarti in April 2023, six sessions with my life coach and my love of yoga and dance. When I told my yoga teachers about my mysterious dream from April 2023 they told me that Ganga Ji had called me to its banks. They also said that when the right time comes, Holy Ganga will send me back home. I stayed in India for 9 weeks. My 500hrs yoga teacher training in India was the most beautiful and most soul nourishing time in my entire life. My story is a good example that when we feel the fear, we should do it anyway! The best things in life are always on the other side of our fear.