India changes your life, guaranteed.

Every location in the world has its own magic to reveal, hidden doorways to unlock and treasures to find. Some places have the energy equivalent of escalators built in, so just by being there doing nothing, you move forward. India is one of those places that just changes you by being there. There are so many deep wells of devotion to dip in to - literally and figuratively. There is an open heart centered realness to the people you meet - everywhere. I have been to India three times so far in my life and each time have returned home completely upgraded and inspired. 

I think having the intention of going on a yatra - a pilgrimage - is a big part of entering the magic realms. I've been fortunate to join Harijiwan and Ra Ma's yatras each time I've gone to India. This time we left a few weeks early and had some adventures on our own before joining 80 of our yogi besties for the official yatra portion of the trip..

We had a wild 48 hours in Delhi, a few days taking care of tailor business in Amritsar, and then 8 days in Rishikesh getting our entire mind body energy systems rebooted with panchakarma - the ancient ayurvedic system of cleansing and healing. The panchakarma was no joke and it worked. Jai Gopal and I both had profoundly moving experiences and look forward to doing more. We also got to visit the "Beatles Ashram" while in Rishikesh which was very mysterious. I had a yoga mat with me so took advantage of the exotic surroundings that definitely left me with more questions than answers. How did such an intentional and prayerful place get built and then abandoned so quick? What really happened there? I'd love to know.

Then we went back to Amritsar, joined our yatra friends and blasted off in to a whole other stratosphere of adventure. Beginning with the Golden Temple and the steps of Goindwal!!!!! 

We continued on to Anandpur Sahib where we connected deeply to the warrior energy of Guru Gobind Sahib. See the swords of light around Jai Gopal as we entered the Kashkar Sahib compound? 

Onward from there we drove up in to the Himalayas to Mcloed Gange in Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and so many mystical beings and realms..

This is my face after meeting the Oracle of Tibet. 

Temple cat outside the Dalai Lama residence area.

This is a collage I made to try to capture some of the essence of this place..

I will be unpacking the gifts from this trip for life times. Grateful beyond words. 

I shared a lot more India gems in my @jamilastarwater IG. Check my saved stories for more.. 

(This content is sponsored by our Travel Yoga Mats 😆 )