India is home. It is where my family lives and I visit every year but this time felt completely different. For the first time, I travelled without my children. And that quiet thrill of travelling solo, something many mothers will understand, brought with it a sense of lightness I had not felt in a long time.
There was no one demanding your attention. I could chat with my fellow passengers. I found myself finishing a book, it felt like a small thing, but also like a gentle return to myself.
Living away from India has changed the way I see it. I now notice things I once took for granted. It is a country full of people, noise and chaos, yet people from all over the world come here seeking stillness and solace.
Interestingly, it was only after moving away from India that I truly began to appreciate yoga. And this time, returning to the very institute where I did my yoga teacher training felt like coming full circle.
Before I arrived, I had my share of worries. Who would I be sharing a room with? How would I adjust? Would I manage without my usual comforts?
One of the biggest mental blocks I carried was around giving up tea and coffee. While I am not heavily dependent on caffeine, I do cherish that quiet morning cup. It felt like something I would miss.
But as the days passed, I realised it was just that, a mental block. The absence of it did not take anything away from my experience. If anything, it made me more aware of how attached we become to small habits.
Another quiet realisation came through connection. As we grow older, making new friends can feel harder. We settle into our circles and routines. Yet here I was, forming meaningful connections with people both much younger and older than me. It reminded me that openness has very little to do with age, and everything to do with willingness.
And then there was the thought I carried with me before leaving, that my children would miss me deeply.
They did, of course. But I also realised something freeing. None of us are truly indispensable. Life flows, adjusts and continues. And perhaps that is not something to feel guilty about, but something to find comfort in.
A gentle invitation
Reading this, you might not be planning a trip to India. You might not have the luxury of stepping away for weeks.
But perhaps the real question is not where you need to go, but how you are living right now.
Can you create a little space in your day, even if it is just ten quiet minutes without your phone?
Can you question one small habit you feel you cannot do without?
Can you allow yourself to connect with someone new, without overthinking it?
And most importantly, can you give yourself permission to step away, without guilt, knowing that everything will still find its way?
Because sometimes, the reset we are seeking is not in a different country. It is in the small choices we make every day.
Closing
This trip was not just a break. It was a reminder. That simplicity is enough, that we need less than we think, and that stepping away, even briefly, can bring us closer to ourselves.
And maybe that is something all of us can carry, wherever we are.