While Baba Sehgal’s latest video might
encourage everyone to come to Goa with the sole reason of partying, things are
a little different with some of the international tourists who have been coming
to Goa with a completely different agenda. Yoga, for long, has caught the
fascination of people from all across the world who have often visited India to
practise and to learn this ancient scientific tradition. Goa too has grown over
the years to become one of the sought after destinations in India to learn,
practise and teach yoga. The areas along the northern beach belt like Morjim,
Ashvem, Mandrem and Arambol and places like Agonda and Palolem in the southern
part of Goa are the most preferred locations for a host of yoga retreat and
massage centres that offer discourses and lessons to practice and/or teach
yoga. The recently concluded India Yoga Festival saw a sizable number of
participants – most of them non-Indians, and the Bhakti Camp – an extension of
the festival that focuses on Bhakti Yoga, is currently underway at Vedic Valley
– a Vedic retreat centre in Morjim.
Astrid, one of the participants at the
Bhakti Camp, teaches yoga in Palolem for a few months every year before heading
back home to the Netherlands, again to teach yoga. She shares her experience:
“Bhakti and singing is like meditation. It has been an amazing experience here
with people who want to open their hearts and share. Yoga has changed my life
completely from working 80 hours a week as a Festival Producer to choosing life
for myself without being selfish. I used to be a total workaholic; I only work
on sharing the love for yoga now.”
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Pandit Anand Acharya Semalty, who has been
running Vedic Valley for the past 10 years with his Austrian wife Akasha
Semalty, says, “It is not a surprise anymore that this ancient magical
tradition of yoga that has been passed on to us by our ancestors is being
practised with utmost sincerity by international tourists who have realised its
value and importance, while their Indian counterparts are busy ‘living the good
life’ partying and consuming alcohol and all sorts of intoxication in Goa. In
fact, most of the people who come here, come to Goa with the intention of
learning yoga. What is notable is that these people who come from all walks of
life, continue to practice yoga after returning to their respective countries.
And after years of practise, even come back to teach yoga in India. Such is the
irony!”
