I flew in to Cali, Colombia, and was greeted by the 96 degree embrace of the Equatorial city. A taxi took me through the city, past the numerous monuments to revolutionaries and salsa musicians. We ascended a mountain crowned by a colossal statue of Jesus called Cristo Rey and soon arrived to the site of my volunteer placement: Yogendra EcoAshram.
Yogendra is a yoga studio with extensive living accommodations for volunteers and retreat students. There’s a courtyard with a gazebo and hammocks and an eating area where beautiful vegetarian food is enjoyed. The view is of both the entire city of Cali from a thousand feet above and, in the other direction, the jagged Los Farallones de Cali mountain range. The Ashram also has a composting system for its food residuals and eco-toilet waste.
After five days of preparation, organization, and cleaning, a 200-hour yoga teacher training course began where myself and 21 other students were under the tutelage of Chaitanya Nitai Das and Syam Villabhi Deva Dasi. Chaitanya is the director of Inbound School of Yoga, an international yoga company with studios throughout the Andes Mountains as well as India and Miami. He’s been practicing yoga seriously for over 35 years and has taught thousands of students-now-teachers. Syam has taught yoga and AcroYoga in Cali for 5 years and in the rest of the world for many more. As she was previously an acrobat, her knowledge of the body and movement is incredible.
The course consisted of about 4 hours of physical yoga class, 3 hours of posture instruction, and 2 hours of yoga philosophy & theory every day. For that reason, the course is given the title “intensive.” We, the students, ate 3 amazing vegetarian meals every day prepared by the talented chef, Prabhupada (the food was one of the highlights; several students took a vow to become vegetarian after the course).
Through the three weeks of intensive instruction, our yoga practice improved significantly and our understanding of spiritual matters was deepened. The last week was spent learning about the technical part of teaching yoga where many of us were inspired to lead classes on our own.
After the 3 weeks had come to a close, a ceremony was held where a mandala of beans and nuts was made in the center of the gazebo and each of us was given a certificate of completion as well as kind and motivational words from our teachers. The following day, the students left for their respective countries or following plans. I stayed back and began well needed rest and cleaning up after the course.
I recently talked with Syam about what the following months will be like for me here at the Ashram as a volunteer. We planned out a few different projects. The first of which is work translating for the Spanish speaking students of the upcoming courses. In doing this, I’ll be able to refine my Spanish skills and be a messenger for certain students. Second, I’ll be starting a vegetable garden on the Ashram! So far, it’s been my job to water all the plants on the property every morning. Because I expressed joy in that, Syam thought a position as “Gardener” would be fitting. Finally, I’ll be accompanying Syam in Cali city with her local yoga course for Caleños to help with administrative and practical affairs.
I’m overjoyed that I can spend my time in a place that gives me so much space to deepen my meditation and yoga practice. Everyone who comes through has a story and compelling personality. I couldn’t be more grateful for how things turned out and I can’t wait to live and grow through the following months!
Sinceramente,
Jimmy Friedman
