A Day in the Life of a Pratham Yoga Student

Have you ever wondered what a day at one of Rishikesh’s most authentic Yoga Training Ashramas looks like? Maybe you are thinking of joining a Yoga Teacher Training Course in Rishikesh and would like to have a glimpse into the daily routine from student’s perspective?

If yes, this article is for you!

Daily Schedule at a Yoga School

5:00 AM Wake Up

It’s 5 AM and the alarm rings, since I am one week into the Yoga Teacher Training at Pratham Yoga School, I am already used to wake up early, and so it became easy for me to get out of bed on time. While hearing the calming sound of the river flowing by the Ashram, I sit in my bed to set a beautiful intension for the day and make my morning affirmation meditation in bed, before I head to the bathroom to freshen up.

The Ayurvedic morning routine involves a copper tongue cleaner to scrape off unwanted toxins from my tongue that accumulate naturally overnight, it helps in preventing bad breath and detoxes the system. Honestly, I was surprised by the process and feel really fresh afterwards!

I dress up in comfortable clothes for morning practice and quietly walk downstairs to the garden where we practice Kriya Yoga, the Yoga of cleansing the body and mind. 

5:45 AM Kriya – Yogic Cleansing

One of the techniques we do daily is called Jala Neti which involves a small water pot with lukewarm sterile water and a pinch of Himalayan Salt that we gently rinse through our nostrils to clean them and prepare for Pranayama practice (Yogic breathing practice). It felt unusual in the first try but by now I really appreciate being able to breathe freely even in the early morning. Once I complete my Kriya, I walk to the Yoga Hall and place my mat and once again remember my intension that I had set earlier.

6:00 AM Asana & Pranayam – Practical

Our teacher arrives and the morning practice begins, with the sound of birds and river in the background - this place is just the perfect environment for this Once in a life time experience!

We start with some warm up variations from the Pawanmuktasana Series and as the class progresses dive into some beautiful flow variations. The session it is well structured and the guidance of the teacher feels very natural and harmonious. I feel the teacher is very present and observes students well, to guide them into a more individual approach by offering variations and adjustments whenever needed.

One thing I appreciate about the teachers here is that they always ask for consent before hands on adjustments, it feels like a very safe space, to grow and move out of one’s comfort zone.

After we complete the Asana practice session we start with Pranayama the Yogic Breathing Practice, and I must say these sessions have really transformed my mental balance for the better – even after only one week I can observe that the connection with my breath is having huge effect on my well -being! Vijay Ji explains also the theoretical and scientific approach to these ancient breathing practices, which makes it even more interesting.

8:00 AM Breakfast

Time to have a nourishing breakfast at the outdoor dining area. With the sound of water birds and stunning view to the outskirts of Rajaji National Park, I once again remind myself how grateful I am to have chosen a Yoga school away from the tourist area and busy market in Tapovan/ Laxmanjhula. After food I take a short walk in the village area and then happily return to my next class.

8:45 AM Yoga Anatomy 

In Yoga Anatomy we study about basic human anatomy and learn lots of points for energy blockage release. This class has a great practical and theoretical mixture and what I love most about it is that the teacher has a very individual and personal approach and all students get chance to try some of the emotional release pressure points on each other. I feel we also get better understanding how Asana and Pranayama effect our body and mind from anatomy perspective.

10:00 AM Ayurveda

After a short break we dive into the foundations of Ayurveda and Yogic nutrition and wow – this entire path is truly holistic and surely will have a great positive impact on my life. I enjoy learning about the importance of mindfulness in our daily lifestyle choices be it from our morning routine towards meal choices and after work time. We learn specific what food is suitable for which individual body type and I’m so excited to see what parts of Ayurveda can be integrated in my daily life back home!

11:00 AM Short Break

We walk out in the garden and I use this time for some barefoot walking to connect to the ground or I take a short walk to the village. A few of the other students like to go back to their room and take a break there.

11:30 AM Adjustment / Alignment / Methodology

What an amazing class! I seriously love this class because it has such great in-depth guidance for all who really aim to become Yoga Teachers in terms of learning how to teach, how to guide students and how to decide weather (or not to) and how to adjust students in various the most important postures.

It also offers a great space to explore one’s limits and maybe even move out of comfort zones pushing mind made boundaries to safely learn how to go deeper into postures and release blockages which have been build up over the years. Next week we will start the Methodology part in which we will learn how we can use voice guidance and class set up etc to build up engaging classes ourselves back home.

13:00 PM Time for Lunch

Back to the Outdoor dining area where a buffet situation is awaiting all hungry Yogis! Before we eat, we chant a Mantra all together to give thanks and bless the meal. After everyone gets a plate and starts serving themselves. We are encouraged to keep silence during the meal which was quite unusual and challenging at first but now after 1 week has become more natural and actually a very great mindfulness exercise! Our Lunch usually has Lentils/pulses (such as yellow, red, brown lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas), vegetables, salad and rice, some days with raita yoghurt.

13:30 PM Rest

I return to my room and relax there until the next class starts. Sometimes I take a powernap or I take time to talk to my friends and family back home. I also read the notes from the morning and try to so some revisions!

15:30 PM Yoga Philosophy

After our rest time I walk back to the Yoga Hall which is painted in traditional Indian tribal paintings that make a very cosy atmosphere. We have a class of Yoga philosophy with Siddhant Ji, who has decades of experience through life as a sanyasi and master of philosophy and various meditation techniques.

This class is really mind blowing, what ever the teacher speaks, I feel he speaks directly to me and even other students have that same experience. The foundations of Yoga philosophy are not some abstract concepts that don’t fit in today’s modern world – NO in contrary from what I learned so far, these all are techniques and pieces of wisdom anyone can use to change and transform their life for the better! I am truly grateful for this class which unexpectedly turns out to be of such huge value for me!

16:40 PM Asana Vinyasa Flow

Time for the 2 practical Asana session today! The evening session is more dynamic as well as challenging, we learn a good variation of flows that we repeat regularly so it sticks to our mind. We learn also what counter poses are important to have a balancing practice. What I love the most about this class is that we get to challenge ourselves in a fun way and to expand our limits and gradually build up to learn more advanced postures that I would have not thought I could do. I always feel safe and supported during the class and honestly cant wait to integrate and share these practices with others!

18:10 PM Tea Break

I go back to my room to change into my comfort clothes for meditation and then head back to the dining area to enjoy a nice cup of ayurvedic tea while watching the sunset with the others. This view will always stick to my heart I believe! The national park with hills in the distance covered in shades of orange, of the evening sun, overlooking the river – I couldn’t ask for more!

18:30 PM Meditation Practice

Finally, time for another wonderful class – meditation. We explore a variation of meditation classes, which is great to understand which technique is the one I would like to integrate further into my daily practice after completing the course. We also learn some theory parts of the techniques and will get a voice recording to take with us at the end of the course, so we can built up a meditation self-practice back home, which is amazing!

19:45 PM Dinner

We end our day with a nourishing sattvic dinner which is not to heavy but exactly what we need after a day of study. We usually get 2 types of veggies/paneer along with Chapati and some days soup. A few of us eat outdoors again and some others go to the inside dining area. After dinner we usually sit together for some time and reflect on the day, its been really nice to hear my class mates’ stories as well and makes us feeling even more connected.

20:30 Relax and Selfstudy

A few of us head out for a short evening walk in the village, while some others go back to their rooms to relax and journal a bit. Sometimes we sit together for a while as well, it all depends on the flow of the day! I do revise the things which we did that day, so it won’t be a big load in the end of the course. Once I got ready for bed, I do my daily gratitude practice, that is something that Pratham Yoga suggested us to do daily and along with the journalling it really helps to process what’s coming up during these days of yoga practice.