South India Tour - February 9th till 23rd 2020
Pepe and Ommurti, 2 experienced yogis and India travellers, are going on a 2 week trip from Hampi to Coimbatore. We will be exploring Gokarna’s beauty and beaches (just underneath Goa) and the water jungles of Kerala along the way. We’re opening up this tour to you, so you can explore colorful and spiritual India with us.
It is not a pilgrimage and it’s not a sightseeing trip, it’s somewhere in between. We would like to have fun and enjoy the magic of India, as well as have the opportunity to grow in yoga and connect with ourselves on a deeper level.
What to expect:
Daily yoga classes, guided meditations and/or deep relaxations. Regular asana coaching classes.
Exploring the ancient ruin temples of Hampi.
Hampi is a favorite bouldering place for climbers from around the world. An opportunity not to be missed.
We are taking maximum 12 people on this trip so travel will go smoothly and we can all get to know each other.
We’ll spend a couple of days in and around beautiful hippie beach town Gokarna. Here we will visit beautiful beaches, go swimming and maybe do a little sunbathing.
In Gokarna we’ll go for a hike along the coast from beach to beach, impressive views!
And we might fit in a visit to the Vibhuti waterfalls.
We’ll be staying at a yoga ashram for a couple of days just outside Gokarna, learning about yoga, meditation and philosophy.
Swami Yogaratna will share with us her sunset and sunrise meditations. And we will participate in a sacred fire ceremony (havan).
We’ll sleep on a boat that will take us through the luscious water jungles of Kerala.
There are beautiful temples in almost every town in India. We’ll try to attend pujas (rituals) in the temples.
We can hold Satsang (spiritual discussion and exchange) to engage the mind and share ideas.
We will participate in epic celebration of Shivaratri at Sadguru’s Isha foundation in Coimbatore.
Thousands of people will come together all night to meditate and chant the name of Shiva.
An enlightening experience!
We’ll do some great Indian shopping and haggling.
We’ve got some experience with this so we can help you haggle 😉
Plenty of opportunities to eat delicious Indian food and have masala chai, lassi (Indian yoghurt drink) and where appropriate and desired, maybe an Indian beer...
Brief Itinerary: (tentative)
2 week period: Sunday February 9th - Sunday February 23rd 2020
Day 1: meet in Bangalore, adapt, adjust, accommodate 🙂
Warm welcome by our friend Rohit who is helping us out with logistics
Day 2: overnight bus from Bangalore to Hampi
Day 3 - 5: Explore the ancient temples of Hampi and go bouldering on it’s magical rocks
Day 5: overnight bus to Gokarna
Day 6 - 9: stay at Shankar Prasad Ashram in Gokarna for yoga and beach time
Day 9: overnight train to Allepey
Day 10: staying 1 night at an Ayurveda retreat in Allepey
Day 11 - 12: tour through the water jungles of Kerala and an overnight stay on a houseboat
Day 12: travel Allepey to Coimbatore
Day 12 - 15: staying in Coimbatore for Shivarathri celebration
Day 15: Goodbye / onward travel
Who are we:
Pepe Cardona Naranjo:
Pepe is a 38 year old man, half Catalán and half Gran Canarian.
He is passionate about sports, altruism, psychoanalysis (especially Jungian theory) and everything hidden to the five senses. He has spent much of his life in Barcelona and London, where he managed his own restaurant and ended up in the Balearic Islands.
About two years ago he decided to discover the real India, and what better way than to help manage the Shankar Prasad ashram for a period of six months. This was a great time of introspection in his life, where several pending answers were revealed.
Pepe’s goal in this life is to get involved and understand more of the spiritual life, rather than be affected too much by material life.
Pepe is a natural group leader and is great at connecting people. He is very attentive, has a great sense of humor, and likes to make sure everyone is having a good time.
Pepe is also a personal trainer and will help you with individual asana coaching.
Ommurti Tolsma:
Ommurti or Omi is a 36 year old woman from the Netherlands. She runs a restaurant at a Dutch art festival in the summer. The rest of the year she teaches and learns about Yoga in different countries, mostly in New York and India. This will be her 6th trip to India.
She has spent a lot of time living and serving in ashrams / yoga retreats. Her yoga classes have a nice balance between effort and relaxation, and she enjoys teaching Yoga Nidra / deep relaxation as well.
Ommurti enjoys cooking, dancing, playing the harmonium and singing. She is social and funny and has some infamous Dutch directness. Her goal in life is finding a balance between spiritual depth and worldly enjoyment, which involves the harmony between being versus acting.
She has greatly benefited from her travels in India and all she has learned through Yoga. She looks forward to sharing this with everyone who will be on the tour.
Who are you?
Ideally this trip is for people who are excited to explore both the spiritual and cultural sides of India. You don’t need to be an experienced Yoga practitioner but a genuine interest in spirituality and yoga is recommended.
Are you visiting India for the first time? Have you been before and know that getting things done in India can be challenging? Or do you just want to have a great holiday / spiritual journey with a bunch of fun-loving yogis? This trip is offering a cool variety of places and activities.
As a participant your energy is going to contribute to the good vibes of the group as much as anyone else’s. Some degree of self-sufficiency is important. Let’s all contribute to create an amazing time together!
Investment:
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What’s included:
All scheduled transport and accommodation while in India is included in the trip.
We will book all scheduled transport and accommodation for you, including our stays at the ashram and on the houseboat.
We will help you prepare for this trip mentally, eg culture shock, ashram life, yoga, difference in temperature and food. We will also offer practical tips on what to bring. We will have a personal chat with everyone joining this tour.
Any questions that you have before, during and after the trip, we will support you as much as we can.
Regular yoga classes, asana coaching, guided meditation and deep relaxation are included.
Other things included: temple tour in Hampi, guided rock climbing in Hampi, fire ceremony at Shankar Prasad, sunset and sunrise meditations with Swami Yogaratna, Shivarathri celebration at the Isha Foundation in Coimbatore.
We can advise you on flights to and from India and visas, but you will have to arrange and pay for them yourself.
Generally meals are not included, except for a couple of places like Shankar Prasad ashram and the houseboat. We will regularly eat together but people can also venture off on their own or in little groups.
All scheduled transport is included. Transport for trips during personal time are at your own cost.
Price is based on shared accommodation. If private accommodation is available, a surcharge for this is offered upon request. Please be advised that at certain places (for example the houseboat), single accommodation might not be available.
Further questions?
For any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
