Training for the Sacred Journey into the Himalayas 2016 Yatra

with Yogi Amandeep in Guru Ram Das Puri in New Mexico

It was three weeks ago that I  received an email from Yogi Amandeep that I can join his yatra (pilgrimage), the Sacred Journey into the Himalayas called "Siri Hemkunth Sahib - the 10th Gate of Mother Earth, 12 days of transformation and transcendence."

I've been to the Himalayas before - at the foothills, in Rishikesh last year when I did the Stress and Vitality training module with Gurumukh and in the Nepal side in 2001 when I climbed Annapurna.  I've always dreamt of going to the Himalayas and follow a yogis path though, meditating inside caves, trekking in the snow, surrounded by snow-capped peaks.

I only found out about the yatra when I was at the Kundalini Yoga Festival in Espanola, New Mexico last June.  I really wanted to go because the trip was everything I dreamt of doing plus a visit to Siri Hemkunth Sahib, a place known as a vortex center and revered as a sacred space which has powerful charged fields of consciousness.

Unfortunately, Yogi Amandeep told me that the yatra was already full and the registration has been closed since April. He made me hopeful when he said that he'll see what he can do when he returns to Canada on July 4.  I was relentless when I got back to Manila, emailing him to inquire if there's by any chance, any space left.

I was elated that after a number of emails, I finally received an affirmative reply. Of course, I was also panic-stricken knowing that I only had a few weeks to prepare for the climb. The website emphasized "This is not a tourist trip... it's a sacred journey into your higher consciousness. Participants should be physically fit and should be able to walk and trek long distances." The website also recommended to do some prior training  such as walking, hiking, bicycling to get in shape and stressed "you'll be climbing at high altitude."

This is the itinerary:

Aug 25-27   Haridwar 314m altitude
Aug 28        Rishikesh to Gobind Ghat 265 km by road, 11 hours; 1,828 m altitude
Aug 29        Gobind Ghat to Gobind Dham 13 km by footpath 4 to 7 hours; 3,049 m altitude
Aug 30-31   Gobind Dham to Valley of Flowers 5 km by footpath 2 hours; 3,500+ m altitude
Sep 1-3        Gobind Dham to Hemkund Sahib 6 km by footpath 2 to 4 hours; 4,329 m altitude
Sep 4           Gobind Ghat to Haridwar
Sep 5           Yatra ends at 12 noon

Summer Solstice in Espanola at 2,133m altitude

The altitude is the most difficult part with the highest at 4,329m (15,000 ft). When I was in Espanola, I was down with altitude sickness on the third day. The elevation was 2,133 m (7,000 ft). I felt dizzy, my throat was parched and I had difficulty walking. I was given homeopathic remedy and rested.

You know the saying that goes everything's right when the universe provides. Well, that week I found out I can join, I immediately looked for a gym to train in. There was a cross functional gym right across the yoga studio where I teach in Podium. I inquired and was taken aback with the one-on-one coaching fee. That same day, I was with JP, my osteopath friend,  who I see for my monthly TMJ maintenance tune up. I told him about my predicament that I needed to train fast and at the  same time, safely without costing me an arm and a leg.  He said that he's been training with Coach Francis Capati in my hood and he'll ask if he can accommodate me.

ewith Coach Francis 

The rest is history. Coach Francis is heaven-sent!  His workouts vary from conditioning,  strengthening and endurance. The Coach would at times don a 20-pound weighted vest and clasp a 5-pound weight on each of my ankle (see right photo). He said that the weighted vest would simulate carrying a backpack load and the ankle weights to increase resistance, the higher the climb, the heavier  the load will feel especially at a high altitude.

As of today, I've seen him the last three weeks, seven times already and I was able to include a hike for 11-km to Mount Makiling's mud spring.  I've purchased an all terrain treeking shoes, a Salomon X-Ultra GTX mid-cut shoes and a 10-liter day Osprey pack which I now put on when I train.  Although, now I'm deliberating whether I should get high-cut shoes to protect my ankles.

At Mount Makiling

I've started out at 112 pounds (weight recorded on July 14) and I'm now 115.28 pounds, gaining some muscle weight. I've started to consume rice everyday and taking BCAA (branch-chain amino acids) to aid in the recovery process.

I have four more weeks to go before the yatra. I'm planning to hike Mount Makiling tomorrow targeting peak 2 and add more climbs the following weekends.

With Coach's training, carbs now in my diet and logging more sleep [as coach insists to do by the way],  I do pray that I make it up to Hemkund Sahib at 4,329 m. That's equivalent to 500-floors! So help me God.

Kundalini Yoga Summer Solstice in New Mexico

Ego Eradicator warm up at the first day of White Tantric

This is my second summer solstice festival. The first one was three years ago in Fondjouan, France where I was still new to Kundalini Yoga. 

The festival is a nine-day event organized by 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Wholly Organization) each year to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year [in the Northern hemisphere] with Kundalini Yoga, meditation and White Tantric Yoga. 

The highlight is the White Tantric Yoga, a three-day group meditation done in pairs which is held on the first day of summer solstice. It is described as "an ancient and unique yogic science that accelerates spiritual growth by dissolving, deep-rooted subconscious blocks through the direction of a facilitator and the energy of Yogi Bhajan, the Mahan Tantric." Since Yogi Bhajan's passing in October 2004, a video is played on a giant screen is shown where he is giving instructions.

There are two places in the world where the summer solstice festival is held - in New Mexico, where the gathering started in 1969; and in France. This year  for me is at Yogi Bhajan's Ram Das Puri ranch in Espanola, New Mexico  located in a high desert terrain with an altitude of 7,000 feet and temperature ranging from 28-35°C during the day and drops down to 15-20°C in the evening. 

It was terribly hot. I was drinking lots of water, and the special electrolyte drink made with water, lemon juice, orange juice concentrate and salt.  Despite this, I did get altitude sickness on my third day there.

Drive to Guru Ram Das Puri

Before White Tantric, for six days I attended several  kundalini yoga and meditation classes and workshops facilitated by popular and renowned teachers. The yoga plus the strictly vegan food served as some kind of body-mind-spirit cleansing  in preparation of the White Tantric. Yogi Bhajan described the process “At a solstice, you have to break your patterns. You are here to go through certain changes. And you cannot live intellectually all your life. You have to live by the power of your soul.”

My regimen consisted of a very cold shower at 3 am (there's no hot water), morning sadhana at 3:45 am, 7:15 am class, breakfast of spicy potato-celery-onion soup and bananas at 8:30am, two classes, quinoa tabouli for lunch at 1:00pm, rest at 2:00pm, another two classes in the afternoon, watermelon snack in between, dinner of spicy mung beans and rice at 5:30, evening program and end the day with a gong bath at 8:30pm. I would be in bed by 10pm, completely exhausted.

3:45am sadhana

At Snatam Kaur's Compassionate Living workshop

Guru Singh leading the all star musicians

On the day of the White Tantric on the first day of summer solstice, you can just imagine how the energy was after doing six days of this type of cleansing. We were more than 3,000 people from all over the world,  dressed in white, wearing turbans,  lined up in rows in diagonal z-lines, and seated in front of our partners with knees touching. 

3 days of White Tantric Yoga group meditation

Mind you, the meditation was not easy - it even felt like torture! Imagine you're holding a Kundalini yoga meditation pose for 31 to 62 minutes long. My partner was very tall.  We were not allowed to talk and had to gaze into each other's eyes. In one of the meditation, the right arm was extended and index and middle fingers touched each other's  forehead. As my partner's arms were much longer, I felt like my head kept being pushed back. It hurt my neck and I was getting irritated by the weight of his hands but I carried on and pushed on, determined to finish the meditation.

On the last day of White Tantric, right after lunch, the meditation was to extend the arms up 60-degrees, with fingertips touching each other for 62 minutes chanting Ardas Bhaee. Halfway through the meditation, I couldn't hold the tears back. I was bawling hysterically and shaking. I must have been the only one crying at that point. I couldn't feel my body anymore and I found myself floating up, up through the roof, up to the clear blue sky. The people around me, including my partner, became a blur of white. 

After three days on that strict routine in the middle of the desert, I came to realize that it's true -- We are all connected, we're just pure energy.

all smiles after three days of White Tantric

The solstice is an auspicious time to honor the sun and recharge ourselves. I've done three so far. Last year was actually my first time to complete all three days. In France, I did only the first day since someone warned me that it's not safe for beginners to do the three days. This is baloney! If you're heart is into it, you can do all three days. The second one was in October 2013 in Bangkok. As Yogi Bhajan recommends, “You come to Summer Solstice. Here, you recharge your batteries, straighten up the line of endurance, bring courage in yourself, grow through physiological nervous energy systems, come to an understanding that you can sit with somebody for 72 hours, and not freak out.” 

For those of you who want to do the sadhana meditation for the year which is on the 4th sutra "Understand Through Compassion Or You Will Misunderstand The Times" click here. Happy Solstice!