I stayed at Sharanagati for the entire month of February and it was a great experience.
I wanted to spend a month somewhere to unwind and rejuvenate before another summer season of work back home. And this is exactly what I did at Sharanagati. For the most part I was left to vacation as I pleased. Hari informed me of some rules which reinforce his philosophy and enrich the ethos and environment of the grounds of Sharanagati. So you can really get away from it all there is no wifi and in order to create a real sense that you are on vacation there are to be no phones, tablets or any other electronic devices in the tea hut, yoga shala or around the garden. This really gave a sense of disengaging with the outside world while reconnecting with yourself. As well as that it really encouraged the group to connect and communicate during breakfast and lunch, where the conversation lasted in the the hut for usually up to 1hr afterwards. In any case, most restaurants on the cliff have wifi. Last rule, back at Sharanagati by 10:30.
Interestingly enough I never heard anyone complain bout this rule as most were generally in bed by this time. With pranayama and meditation beginning at 7 and 2hrs of yoga from 8-10 and another class from 4-5:30 everyone was generally happy to be going to sleep around this time.
With respect to the yoga it is based on the Sivananda sequence and stays the same generally, with minor variations. I thought that it might get too repetitive but I actually found it almost meditative in the sense that it was familiar. This meant that I could really understand why I came on vacation in the first place and that with each asana I was doing my mind and body a favor every morning and evening. I certainly wasn't complaining with my new found flexibility. The teaching was really really well instructed, also. Hari took morning classes generally and Gayatri, a wonderful Kerala lady, took the evenings as well as the half hour question and answer session at 1:30pm.
The food was sensational. Nobody ever misses lunch!!!
Again I'll reiterate that I had a wonderful time at Sharanagati and I feel blessed to have been able to experience it
