START HERE

A few years ago, if someone had told me that I would travel to India on my own, I would have laughed and said, “No chance—you must be mad!”At the time, I had made a list of countries I had always wanted to visit. I divided them into two categories: places I felt I could easily explore by myself, and places I would only consider visiting with a male friend, partner, or spouse.India belonged firmly to the second category. I simply could not imagine going there alone.And yet, something began to shift in my consciousness after a dream I had in April 2023.

A captivating dream of a mesmerizing river

I do not usually attach much significance to dreams, but this one was exceptionally powerful, and it has stayed with me ever since. I kept returning to it in my mind. Somehow, it changed the colour of my thoughts.I remember waking up that morning and describing it in my Morning Pages. In the dream, I was dressed in white, wearing a long, flowing dress, and sitting beside a river. I was there with some friends, but at one point, I separated from them and decided to enjoy the evening on my own.Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of people had gathered by the river. The women were dressed in beautiful, vibrant colours, and the air was filled with music and singing. People were taking part in celebrations and rituals I did not understand, yet everything felt deeply moving and mesmerising: the chants, the music, the lamps glowing with fire.The dream seemed to be taking place in a foreign land, probably India, and I remember attracting the attention of some of the people there. The atmosphere was festive and beautiful. I felt touched, peaceful, and deeply happy because I experienced an inexplicable connection to the river and to the people taking part in the ceremony.When I woke up, I could not stop thinking about it. The dream puzzled me and continued to haunt my imagination. I remember writing in my Morning Pages:

“Is this dream some kind of message from the Universe, telling me that I should go to India?” It was a beautiful dream, and thinking about it felt comforting and soothing. After some extensive online research, I discovered that what I had witnessed in my dream was called Ganga Aarti—a magnificent spiritual ceremony performed every evening along the ghats of the River Ganga in Rishikesh, Varanasi, and other holy cities situated along the sacred river. The dream had felt magical, but my real life was not magical at all. I was unhappy, burnt out in my job, and increasingly aware that I needed more space to grow. I felt trapped and stuck. I craved flexibility, independence, travel, and adventure. I longed for deeper connections and friendships with like-minded people. I needed a change of scenery and a different working environment. I had fallen into a rut. At the time, I worked as a teacher in secure and specialist services. The place where I worked was gloomy, oppressive, and completely closed off from the outside world. My students were not typical students. They were young people with complex social, emotional, and psychological needs. Some had forensic backgrounds, while others had a long history of self-harm. Because of the complexity of their needs, they could not attend mainstream education. My teaching job was meaningful and rewarding, but it was also extremely stressful and emotionally draining.

My first cooperation with a life coach

found comfort and solace in yoga, dance, and meditation. By the time I had that strange dream in April 2023, I had already been practising yoga almost every day for around three years. Because I felt stuck and wanted to help myself move forward, I began reading extensively about self-development and personal growth. I also contacted several life coaches. I was fortunate to find Olga, who was training to become a life coach and offered me six sessions free of charge in exchange for feedback for her new website. We began working together in July 2023. During our initial consultation, Olga said something I already knew deep down: I had outgrown the role of employee a long time ago. The employee box had become too small for me, and I could no longer fit inside such a narrow, restrictive space. She asked what I had been most passionate about as a child, and I told her that I had loved dance, movement, and music. I could dance alone in my room for hours. Olga then suggested a possible way forward: I could become a yoga teacher. She said that, once I had gained experience, I could develop my own style and perhaps even incorporate dance movements into my classes—something I would have absolutely loved. I felt energised and empowered after my sessions with Olga. I began visualising myself teaching yoga and sharing my own movement ideas with others. After our second coaching session, I made a decision that would change the course of my life: I would go to India to study yoga with experienced teachers and authentic yogis.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

After deciding to complete a yoga teacher training course, I began to second-guess myself. My intuition was telling me to go, but my rational mind—or perhaps my ego—kept planting seeds of doubt and fear. One evening, I visited a Buddhist meditation centre and unexpectedly met a woman I had worked with in the past. She had once been my professional mentor, and I had always valued her opinion. She was well travelled and possessed a great deal of life experience, so I told her about my dilemma. I explained that I dreamed of going to India, but fear was preventing me from taking the plunge and booking the flights. I also told her about the dream I had experienced in April 2023, and as I described it, I could feel myself becoming happy and animated. She looked at me and asked, “What is stopping you? Fear? Fear of what? Is it money?” “No, definitely not money,” I replied. “I am afraid of travelling to India on my own. I have never even been to Asia.” She said, “If you truly feel that you want to go, then just do it. Do not allow fear to stop you. Completing a yoga course in India could open up so many opportunities. You will meet like-minded people. Who knows? You might even end up opening your own yoga school in Bali!” Bali! I immediately began picturing beautiful beaches and palm trees. She then told me that she had a few regrets in life, and every one of them was connected to not taking action or failing to do something she had felt called to do. I thanked her, and with my heart filled with love, gratitude, and hope, I hurried home and booked a one-way ticket to Delhi. It took me another couple of weeks to decide which yoga school to choose, but I already knew where I wanted to study: Rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world.

Three reasons I went to India in a nutshell

These were the three forces that led me to India: my dream of Ganga Aarti in April 2023, the six sessions with my life coach, and my enduring love of yoga and dance. When I told my yoga teachers about the mysterious dream, they said that Ganga Ji had called me to her banks. They also told me that, when the right time came, the sacred river would send me home again. I stayed in India for nine weeks, and completing my 500-hour yoga teacher training there became one of the most beautiful and soul-nourishing experiences of my life. My story reminds me that sometimes we have to feel the fear and move forward anyway. So often, the most extraordinary experiences are waiting for us on the other side of fear.