One about the largest Ashram in Germany.
“You will love the strangeness of it all…” That one phrase triggered the curious cat in me. I had to do it.
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If you ever engage in a discussion about Yoga practice with any German born and raised in the NordRhein Westfalen area, likelihood is high that you will be referenced to this particular place: Yoga Vidya in Horn Bad Meinberg. I warn you though, the opinions of it vary tremendously. The input I heard included words like: “cult-like”, “only hippies” and “too religious”.
How did I end up signing up for a weekend there?
If you are anything like me, Yin Yoga is very difficult to get used to. Ever heard about: Yin and Yang? Well then, Yin is slow. It is meant to keep you holding one position for at least 5 minutes and just breathe. At the beginning, the struggle was real: my squirrel mind going everywhere at warp speed and gaining momentum like a Jaggernaut. Besides the fact that this weekly Yin class I started to attend is on a freaking Sunday morning… at 9:30am! I cannot put into words how difficult I found the first session(s).
I don’t really remember when was that it all changed for me. This moment where I changed from cursing the moment I unrolled the yoga mat… towards the point in between Asanas and breathing when hearing the words “Abschluss Entspannt” (closing relaxation) surprised me that the 90 minutes already breezed by.
Me being me, probably gave clear expressive signals that this metamorphosis took place and was no longer counting minutes. Therefore, perceptive Yoga teacher one day approached me and suggested to join her in a Yin weekend seminar she usually teaches at something called Yoga Vidya, in the depths of bucolic Germany.
It could have well been that after Sanja suggested this idea to me, my unconvinced blank face prompted her to throw in a more alluring phrase: “you will love the strangeness of it” which somehow echoed the prior strange input I heard from this place.
“Strangeness?” Oh, the hell with it, I´m in.
Timing was perfect for attending the seminar: end October, my favourite time of cool crisp autumn weather. You can easily reach it via train, plus a free shuttle from the train station to the actual location. Price was reasonable. I was also briefed that food is 100% vegetarian and 95% vegan, which -now- suits me perfectly. No TV, limited Wifi, no alcohol… but to my relief I got confirmation of the existence of a coffee machine in the premises. All sounded to me like a multi-dimensional cleansing opportunity.
As per true German style, after booking the weekend I got a detailed PDF document with clear instructions on arrival, check-in, house rules and other tidbits. I translated and printed out everything, of course! In addition to this, I got plenty of insider top tips, for example: bring a Tupperware (I will explain this later), bring your own refillable bottle as Bad Meinberg is notorious for its super high quality spring water, bring slippers (!) as you are supposed to only move around the different houses/buildings and then walk into rooms where bare feet are a must. On hindsight, without these prior tips, my experience would have been not as positive as it ended up being.
First time in my life that I spent an entire weekend surrounded by strangers, in slippers at all times, zero primping, and the comfiest clothes ever (besides pijamas).
The weekend seminar scheduled to start on a Friday at 2030hrs. Wise decision I made to kickoff the experience with no work that day and take my sweet time to arrive before sunset and get a premium tour of the site. An utter luxury to get the stories from someone, who trained there as a teacher just around the time this place was birthed (circa 15 years ago). She has been there since the first building was setup and see it grow over time. The sense of belonging and -good- pride was palpable. Her enthusiasm was contagious.
Upon arrival, the lobby with high ceilings, large windows flooding with light, hits you with this odd first impression: people floating around in pijamas and slippers projecting zero urban stress. It was indeed unusual for a city mouse like myself.
I have a very judgemental and square mind. My motto sometimes is: “in a world of greys, I gotta create my own black and whites”. To my usual demise, it is inevitable for me to make up my mind about anything in the first 5 seconds… And yet in this place, I was hooked from the moment I stepped in, I was fascinated by the eerie tranquility.
First up: the ultra famous spring water in three different varieties, very conveniently setup in faucets coming out of an artsy wall and signs that explained which water is which. We are in Germany after all. I had to have a sip of all the options and decided for one whose name I cannot pronounce, but it was clean, crisp and filled with suggestion.
Second up: the 70´s – 80´s style everywhere, from the building itself to the walls, furniture and carpets. If you ever spent some time at a 1980s Holiday inn you will feel completely familiar with the surroundings in the best comforting way possible. The place was vintage but perfectly maintained and decorated with intention. Paintings of Mandala symbols, photos of founding gurus, sculptures of Hindi deities, hand-made watercolours, wonky -real- potted plants and this sense of quietness everywhere.
The rooms are befitting of a frugal hospital room, with everything you need: not more, not less. If you go there expecting a 5star resort, a minibar and pay-per-view TV, then best book your weekend somewhere else. This is a place of purpose, where everything is meant to be and the concept of “more” is just “more”, nothing else. At reception you pay a small fee for clean linens and towels, in the room you make your own bed and please bring your own toiletries. The bathrooms were good sized (per German standards) and clean. The view from my window beckoned me to go for a walk in all that nature as soon as I got a chance. I was delighted.
View from my room window.
After installing myself in the bedroom, we toured the grounds, and boy are they big. Three buildings the size of entire hotels, countless yoga rooms, meditation rooms, large concert venues and hallways everywhere. However, the most important thing for me was the feeding area. A large dining hall with long tables clearly setup for buffet style, plenty of sitting space and even a separate room for eating in silence, which would be my definition of heaven.
They feed you only twice a day: 11am and 6pm. So if you are my people and wanna snack in between classes, bring your own Tupperware to stash some food from the buffet to eat separately at leisure. After the tour, it was 6pm and in a heartbeat the hall was flooded with hungry yogis. Again, reminder that you are in an organized society like Germany and people calmly queued for the trays where the all-you-can-eat concept slightly collides with the frugality of everything else.
I was impressed by the quality of everything. Fresh, simple, home-made, honest food, sourced entirely from organic sources. Everything is vegan unless clearly marked as containing dairy. 95% completely vegan and 5% vegetarian. No meat or fish at all. The dishes ranged from whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce to Chana Masala to spinach Dahl; from ayurvedic-style Kitchery to simple steamed veggies; and in case you are in need of MORE plants: a bountiful salad bar. There is a table packed with condiments ad-libitum, so you can imagine my overdose of chili powder sprinkling and drizzle of high quality olive oil every day. Breakfast offered muesli with soy yogurt, a myriad of delicious marmalades to choose from, whole grain breads and seasonal apples (and bananas). Clearly the food was also intentional, not only in nutrition but also in the spiritual sense.
Side note: Somewhere during my weekend, for a couple of minutes I got to meet the person that runs such a kitchen, said to be capable of feeding a thousand people at once. She is a young woman with a strong commanding presence at her mere 33 years of age with piercing dark no-bullshit eyes and kind smile. I stuttered what -I hope- sounded like a positive recognition for her work and what an honour it was to see such a boss-lady showing the world how a cruelty-free environment-healing nutritious delicious food is possible even at large scale.
From 8am to 8pm you will find strategic spots with huge thermos of herbal teas. The place does not encourage caffeinated beverages as they obviously interfere with meditative stillness. However, it seems they probably forecasted that most people would not appreciate to undergo caffeine withdrawal symptoms during what should be a relaxing time, and so, they assigned a lovely corner in the main building as a makeshift coffee shop with freshly ground brew and plant milks free to choose. “Café Maya” wisely closes at 6pm, so you are decaffeinated by 10pm and go right to sleep.
Beautiful walk in solitude…
To my surprise the other highlight was the nature surroundings. It was an absolute pleasure to go out for a solitary walk on the outskirts of the Ashram, with no other sound but some birds… With that perfect feeling of having nothing else to do and nowhere else to be but right there and then. Lay on a bench gazing at a blue sky, huge random trees, unkempt gardens and just breathe the purest of air. I am happy to report that I found my outbreath here, my inner speck of light, the beginners mind when it comes to my happy place in meditation practice.
I took a two hour nap on that bench, under the sun and perfect blue skies. Best nap ever.
I will not go into details of the actual seminar and the Yin sessions, as they are something you need to experience for yourself. All I gotta say after a total count of 6 hours of Yin “Asanas” that my hips don’t lie. Every joint in my body was hurting like I ran a 20k marathon. Important to mention: since Yin yoga targets the lymphatic system as well, combine that with the purest water ever and ayurvedic style food… yes, you end up peeing like a race horse with all that cleansing.
Even if you sign up for one specific seminar, there are open house activities that you can join besides your agenda, that is, if you manage to find that one room amongst the hundreds of them. One I absolutely need to experience again is the group meditation at the largest room in the Ashram, reason enough to go back to Bad Meinberg. This activity starts at about 2030hrs where people slowly arrive and fill it up to the brimful, adding to the soft musical humming in sanscrit: “Om Namo Narayanaya” that somehow ends up with 30 minutes of semi-guided meditation in this room with +200 people giving a buzzing energy that could ignite even the strongest spiritual skeptic.
About the demographics: Not precisely the most international bunch, but had a healthy mix of ages. The young Sevakas (the volunteer workers) and older people, some visiting over the weekend, some in training for something… and to my delight: people living there with their DOGS. It made for me a more wholesome experience to interact with a couple of adorable furry four legged friends.
Cruella de Vil moment here: at least 5% of the population were kids. And by kids, I don’t mean the small kind that you carry in your arms, I mean: toddlers, running around and roaming everywhere. Good thing that I had my “acceptance – surrender” hat on, otherwise I would have hid in my room the entire weekend and hermit away…
I am an introvert. I should not wear that badge like I do, probably ego driven and proud of it. But being utterly honest: I am someone who yearns solitude. It has taken four decades of existence to really accept this undeniable side of me. This experience was so healing because it offered me the best of both worlds: the feeling of being by yourself, allowing solitude without judgement and yet submerged within the strongest sense of community I have never felt before. A community thriving on the concepts of selflessness and kindness, even surrounded by strangers and even if you don’t really speak to each other.
I travelled to Vidya after what seemed two weeks of constant disappointment at work. Political misleading lies, “every man for its own” selfishness, pretending masquerade, yes-people encouragement, lack of individuality and most importantly: oppressive corporate greed. This Ashram and what it stands for is the diametrical opposite of all that. It is not only an established operation but actually growing 100% away from avarice and 100% towards “doing the right thing”. Having “enough” as the overarching philosophy, it facilitates you steering away from modern world materialism. It does not matter how cool you look, how new your yoga mat is, how many pairs of leggings you have. It does not matter how rich you are, or how much power you have at your job or how large your resume is. All it matters is that you are there for a higher spiritual purpose. A purpose to improve oneself based on working on your soul with earthly ancient techniques. Call it Buddhism, call it Hinduism, call it Catholicism, it does not matter. Spirit is all there is. Now is all you have.
It was healing. This is what I needed, a different meaning for holidays…
I gotta go back and soon. My body, mind and soul will ask for it, I am sure.
