On the 6th of January 2019 I arrived in Rishikesh, India, to start my yoga teacher training.
Rishikesh is located on the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, known as the Yoga Capital of the World. It is a pilgrimage town, regarded as one of the holiest places on earth. People from around the world flock to the town in search of higher knowledge.
Rishikesh is a dry city so no alcohol is consumed or available, and all meals are vegetarian based. Giving up alcohol for a month would not be a problem as I do this twice a year to detox though giving up meat might be a challenge.
I had signed up to do 200 hours of yoga teacher training commencing the day after my arrival (one month of intense training, two styles of yoga – Ashtanga and Hatha – which also incorporated meditation, yoga philosophy and anatomy).
My first week in the ashram was pleasant, I had made a bunch of new friends from across the globe, we all connected in some shape or form. We came from different backgrounds with varied circumstances and we all united and supported each other through a very challenging month.
Yoga training is a deep practice. The more we learned about the anatomy of a posture, various meditation techniques and the philosophy behind it, the more in tune we became with our mind, body and spirit. As you can imagine this can be very confronting, we were releasing emotions that had been harboured for a long time.
For me, I had been practising yoga for ten years. From a young age, I had suffered from anxiety and later found out that a childhood trauma was the trigger. Now and then the anxiety is heightened by a variety of situations. I can control it with regular yoga practice, breathing techniques and essential oils.
It was confirmed in Rishikesh that I had always been chasing the next career step, the next pay bracket, the next holiday, the next anything … The real question was – was I really content or had I been content with everything that I had already achieved?
Sadly, the answer was no. I realised that I hadn’t been happy and lacked fulfillment, clarity and direction in my life. Ouch. That was very hard to digest but it was the truth.
I don’t think I’ve ever been that honest with myself. When I cried myself to sleep that night the tears were tears of relief.
The weeks in Rishikesh flew by and I was becoming agitated that I would be returning home soon. All I wanted to do was stay in this holy place, practise yoga and hang out with my new friends.
Leaving Rishikesh was hard. During those last weeks I found fulfillment, clarity, direction and was somewhat excited to be returning home and seeing what 2019 would bring.
2019 became the year of NO – in previous years I had done the year of YES (an expensive year) and year of MAYBE (still an expensive year).
I was saying NO to things that no longer served me and to people whom I felt had been taking advantage of me. I shifted my mindset (not an easy thing to do) in choosing things that served me and the people who added value into my life and vice versa.
Having the month of no alcohol while undergoing my yoga teacher training, I became physically, mentally and emotionally stronger and decided to commit to giving up alcohol for a whole year as I believed it no longer served me.
I drank quite regularly whether it be at client and industry events during the week and then out with friends on the weekend (who could say NO to bottomless brunches? As of 2019, I did).
Having been able to change my mindset, I felt that I didn’t struggle as much as I imagined I would as my lifestyle is quite social, and most activities revolved around drinking. During the year I was still social but stayed committed to NO alcohol. Don’t get me wrong there were some testy times, but I held in there.
As my 365 days is nearly up, I am looking forward to a dirty martini or a glass of bubbles though I’m still contemplating whether I should indulge or not.
The perks of my year of sobriety:
- Willpower and discipline has been instilled in me (I’ve tried several times to give up carbs but my mind would always surrender, this time though I didn’t cave)
- I’ve been socially accepted as a non-drinker
- I’ve never slept better (my anxiety also led to insomnia, during this year I’ve slept so well)
- I’ve noticed that my skin has improved (except when I indulge in a bag of peanut m&m’s)
- My bank balance is up (yay)
- Overall, I’m feeling very content with myself having reached the goal of not drinking alcohol for 365 days. It provided clarity and gave me a new perspective on life.
Reflecting on 2019, I would have to say it’s been the best year yet, and I’m looking forward to another amazing year in 2020.