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Yoga Teacher Talk (YTT) is authenic yoga conversation with your favorite yoga mentors, trend-setting yoga teachers, and wellness experts who are changing the paradym on traditional instruction. YTT invites you add to your 200 or 500-level yoga teacher training and elevate your presence as an instructor. Host Becca Schmidt, E-RYT5000/YACEP, has more than 20 years experience on the lead mat, having taught more than 10,000 classes, workshops and wellness retreats. This show, formerly, The Language of Yoga, offers a fun, engaging platform for yoga teachers of all branches of yoga to gain confidence and continue their YTT for years to come.
Krystal Ginac FINAL_mixdown
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Becca: [00:00:00] Welcome to Yoga Teacher Talk. Well, today we have an exciting adventure, at least virtually. We are going to India. My guest today is Crystal Janak and she's with Grounded University. In fact, she's the founder and Crystal. She has just returned from her seventh group trip to India, so we're going to learn all about what she did there, what her students did there.
Crystal's going to talk about all the wonderful adventures she had in India. But she'll also share some tips. So if you're planning a trip to India or maybe even just a, a trip with your group of students, she has some wonderful ideas on, uh, some of the logistics, [00:01:00] uh, what to expect, what you do need to pack, what you don't need to pack, and some of the other logistic.
Of setting up some wonderful itineraries for your people. Crystal, it's so good to have you here today.
Krystal: Thank you so much, Becca. I'm so happy to be here and I'm still dreaming of my time in India, in Rakesh specifically, and I can't wait to share more information with you.
Becca: I know you have a lot to share about your experience, but, uh, again, we wanna talk to some of the listeners out there who might be just kind of thinking, you know, index finger on the cheek.
Hmm. Could I get a group together and could we go to India? So, toward the end of the interview here, we'll talk about some of those tips. Crystal, let's start with your personal experiences with India.
Krystal: Excellent. So I have been to India multiple times and some of my first excursions to India were really, because I had done multiple 200 hour trainings [00:02:00] in Canada, which is where I'm from, and I, I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, but I knew there was something more.
And so my very first trip to India occurred in Miso, which is very, very South India. And I stayed for five weeks and it was a Tonga teacher training. It was incredibly difficult. In fact, um, you know, I've traveled to lots of different places, but I still consider my time there to be some of the most intense times that I've experienced.
Um, and some of that was because of the climate. South India is incredibly hot. I'm from Northern Ontario, Canada, so that was a big change for me. And, uh, just lots of, lots of differences culturally, and food and smells and sights, and I almost felt like I was just sort of dropped in.
Becca: Now, was that Miso experience by yourself?
Krystal: [00:03:00] Yeah, so most of my travels actually have occurred solo. Sometimes a friend or I'd, I'd almost convince someone to come with me, but it wasn't a very big um, uh. My, I, I, I should say my, my circle of friends weren't too keen on going to India, and so I would generally do this on my own, um, up until these last few excursions or adventures to India.
Becca: Okay, so how many have been. With other people. Oh, last handful.
Krystal: Yeah, the last handful. So I've run, uh, two full trips that have been guided trips by myself or like I've guided these trips. Um, and then before that has been mostly myself and sometimes an a, an additional instructor friend may have come with me or something of that nature.
Becca: Now, this very last trip. Included an emphasis on Ayurveda. Yes. So I wanna know all about that and, and I want you to tell me like, why [00:04:00] for one, was this a particular group of students who, uh, tend to lean in that direction anyway? Or was it like, surprise, we're gonna find out what your doshas are and we're gonna dive right into Ayurveda?
Krystal: That's a great question. And, and most of the students who joined me on this trip, it was kind of that it was. They knew they were there for Ayurveda, and, and I of course specifically planned the trip around Ayurveda. And each time I go to India, I look to immerse myself in something. It's not just traveling around and sightseeing, it's always an educational experience.
Mm-hmm. And so I actually met the doctor that, um, took such good care of us in this last trip. A few years ago, I had been to see him, uh, three years in a row and, uh, for little trainings and then my own treatments. And then finally I decided to put this trip together and, and be with him because [00:05:00] we just, we clicked, we clicked, we became friends and, and I learned so much every single time that I was in his presence.
Becca: Wow.
Krystal: So the group of students, it was quite interesting because nobody really knew anything about Ayurveda. And that's kind of how, not necessarily how I like things, but I, you don't need to know anything about yoga to enjoy the style of adventures that I, that I run in India. I
Becca: love that. So tell me about the itinerary day one through Oh, right.
How, how many days were you there, by the way? This
Krystal: last
Becca: trip?
Krystal: Oh, I, ooh, man, I think it was close to 17 days.
Becca: Oh wow.
Krystal: Mm-hmm. And it's so, such, so far that it's nice to spend a little bit of extra time there. So we all flew in and landed in New Delhi. So we spent a couple of days in New Delhi making sure everyone was able to settle in time zone change and whatnot.
And then from New Delhi, we took a shuttle. All the way to Rakesh, which is a [00:06:00] good se. It depending on traffic and the day, it's a good seven to. Sometimes nine hours.
Becca: Oh, wow.
Krystal: Um, but I love the drive and I make that part of the experience because you see so much of India.
Becca: Mm-hmm.
Krystal: We stop on the side of the road, different little cafes or restaurants, and we have that again, more a deeper cultural immersion.
Becca: Wow.
Krystal: And, and then we make our way to the foothills of the Himalayas in Rishikesh. Oh wow. Which is the birthplace of yoga. So it's very special for so many reasons.
Becca: Yeah. Wow. Mm-hmm. What an experience.
Krystal: That's so good.
Becca: I, of course, I'm thinking, okay, what about people's tummy troubles? I'm sorry for asking that question, but do you have to prep your guests?
Krystal: It's what everybody is concerned about, and I'm so proud to report that seven times in India, no one who has ever come with me and myself included, have ever suffered. The deli belly. Yes. Often referred to. [00:07:00] Um, and really I don't do anything special except I do not eat street food. And that is a, that for me is huge and I tell everybody who comes with me, I.
Not to eat street food, to be very careful of the water mm-hmm. That we drink. And um, and even in restaurants, it's the purchase of bottled water rather than tap water.
Becca: Right.
Krystal: And even brushing our teeth depending on where we are. Brushing your teeth with bottled water. And in the shower being careful that you're not swishing water all around your mouth.
Becca: Yes. Wow.
Krystal: They, that really helps
Becca: because our bellies aren't used to that. Exactly. They're, they're water.
Krystal: Yes.
Becca: Yeah. It takes some time. So can I jump ahead to the. Kja Temple.
Krystal: Yes.
Becca: And explain where that is and what the significance of. It's
Krystal: wonderful. Kja par temple is a sacred site and it is deemed a sacred site.
Um, and I've fortunately been able to visit it for several years [00:08:00] in a row. And what we tend to do with that excursion is we wake up early. We wake up very, very early. We shuttle our way up the mountain and it's a windy zigzag on the cliff, kind of, uh, kind of movement. And it's before the sun rises, so you don't see a whole lot.
You're just kind of moving all around. Um, and then we get there and we watch the sun rise over these mountains. It's quiet, it's peaceful. There's birds flying, and it seems everybody who's there. Because it is a sacred temple site. Everybody's quiet, everybody's respectful of the space. And there's, I have pictures that don't even come, come close to the actual views, of course.
And, um, but the true sacredness of this site is. That Shakti, who's Shiva's wife?
Becca: Mm-hmm.
Krystal: Um, there was a big problem, and I won't get into all the details of the [00:09:00] story, but essentially she charged her body, she walked into a fiery flame, um, because her father was upset with her husband and. Then her body was, was kind of broken up into a bunch of pieces and scattered.
Becca: Okay.
Krystal: And this is where her chest landed.
Becca: Ah.
Krystal: And so this is the heart chakra.
Becca: Ah, wow.
Krystal: Yeah. The heart chakra of the world. So it's very, a, a beautiful, really a, a interesting story. Very beautiful all around and beautiful sight to see as well.
Becca: Let's back up to the, the ride there. Before the Sun rose, were you talking to your passengers about like the story and what they might expect and, um, tell me about what you were.
Coaching them about.
Krystal: Excellent. So yes, we, we do share the story and I share it with much more detail because it's really an exquisite story and it has a lot of, um, in interesting facts or [00:10:00] kind of relevance to even today's world of, uh, the busyness and, and being able to, to relax or calm down. Uh, so interesting stories.
And then a lot of the ride, well, some of the ride actually is in silence because. We respect that it's early morning and that we're moving towards a, a sacred space. Hmm. So we, we do have some dialogue, um, and. And then there's a whole bunch of stairs to climb. And this is true for many sacred sites as part of the devotional practice of marching your way up and making your way up through altitude, through struggle or challenge of some sort.
Becca: And I immediately just think of walking meditation, right? Yes. It's just focused attention. It's, um, soft and silent. Mm-hmm. Reverent.
Krystal: Yes, exactly.
Becca: What an experience.
Krystal: Yes it is. And we all kind of take it at our own pace. Of course, everybody's showing up with their own, uh, unique abilities [00:11:00] and, and so we take our time, which is why we.
Get up extra early just to enjoy not having to rush, hurry up. The sun's coming. Mm-hmm. We just enjoy walking up and then settle ourselves. We, we meditate up there sometimes practice, uh, various sun salutations. It really depends on, on the group dynamic.
Becca: Wow. And how long were you there?
Krystal: Oh, we were there for several hours.
So we, uh, this time we actually left a little bit later than usual. Oh. Ordinarily we get up around four o'clock in the morning and start making our way up the mountain. But the time of year, and it was a little bit cloudier at that time, so the sun, the sun shifted just a little bit. So we got to sleep a little bit longer than usual.
Yeah. Which I think the group appreciated. But I would say we were there for a solid three to four hours.
Becca: Okay.
Krystal: Mm-hmm.
Becca: Okay. So the Beatles Ashram tour.
Krystal: Yes.
Becca: Talk about that.
Krystal: That is also an amazing place. Uh, this is Maha Rishi Mahesh's [00:12:00] Place, and it became very famous because the Beatles went there in the early sixties or seventies and spent time in, in all parts of, of this raam, but specifically in the meditation pods.
And it's quite beautiful. It spans a good distance. These, these, um. It's in ruins at the moment, and so you can walk through and, and walk into each of, of the corridors and the facilities, which had everything from uh, dorm rooms, massive dorm rooms to a postal system and a library, and so many beautiful places.
But what was unique this year, and I've been there for several years, so what was super surprising this year is that it's under restoration. So I ca I was telling our, our group that we're, we're making history being here right now. Oh, this place will never [00:13:00] look the same again. And our almost tuition to walk through it is helping to restore these beautiful old buildings.
Becca: Do you know much about the Beatles time there?
Krystal: No, I don't know much about it. I know that they wrote majority of their white album songs there, and, and that's, that's really about it. Wow. But we did sing some nice Beatles songs as we walked around.
Becca: I love it. They definitely opened the eyes of Americans at that time.
Yes. I'm sure all over the world. The Brits as well. And you know. What, what this sacred practice is all about.
Krystal: Yes. And really their time there was, was all about transcendental meditation. Mm-hmm. Um, so that was. That was their, their, their deep studies and, and where their focus was drawn.
Becca: Is there anything else you wanna add about some of the ashrams or the, uh, places you went before we move into the [00:14:00] Ayurvedic experiences?
Krystal: Hmm. Okay. Yeah, sure. So. Every time I go to India, I'm, I'm looking generally for new facilities somewhere else that I can grow and explore and, and just see how things are done. So a lot of my stays have been in, in ashrams. So you're waking up very early every single morning for meditation and chanting and your sana your, your self practice.
Um, and then. Eating very particularly, very particularly, it's a sattvic diet generally that mm-hmm. That you're fed. Which, um, you know, quickly, or just to summarize what a sattvic diet is, quickly, would be a bland and highly digestible diet.
Becca: Okay.
Krystal: So it's not super exciting for many people, and, and that's very challenging for many people.
Um, and, uh, there are no sugary treats or things of that nature. It's food that fuels [00:15:00] your body and tames your mind so that you can come closer to the practices that are more meditative or more spiritual.
Wow.
Krystal: Mm-hmm.
Becca: So, moving into the Ayurvedic. Experience, uh, just talk to us about that.
Krystal: Okay. So this was, uh, my first time staying at Heal Ayurveda.
Uh, but as I mentioned, I've known this doctor, Dr. Pratik Ott for several years, and, and I just. I love him. He's just a wonderful man, and, and I always learned so much about myself and how to better care for myself, which is why I wanted to theme my last trip around Ayurveda specifically. I knew that, uh, or I'm, I'm noticing that more of us are, are desiring that additional education.
How do we really take care of ourselves outside of Western medicine and the things that. That we've probably grown up [00:16:00] learning about being good or bad or whatnot.
Becca: Mm-hmm.
Krystal: And food differences as well. And so we actually stayed on site right in his facility and his facility was very different than a NASH stay, which I.
Believe was very important for the students who were with me because it was easier. We had beautiful accommodations, we had hot water, electricity, we had delicious, exquisite food, which was ayurvedically influenced, but not necessarily Vic, as I just described, that yes, you know, bland, digestible diet. This was very digestible, but so tasty.
Becca: So was there an entry period where there, they discovered their dosha and then was the food accommodating to their particular constitution? How, how did that work?
Krystal: Well, that was a little bit tricky because there were so many of us and, and, um. One [00:17:00] kitchen, but there were definitely some great accommodations made and doshas were revealed as time went on throughout our training.
So every day we had lectures with the doctor where he was introducing concepts of Ayurveda and because you don't need to know anything about Ayurveda to go on these kinds of trips, we started from scratch. What is Ayurveda? What are the doshas and how do you know where you sort of land? Every student received a private consultation with the doctor.
Becca: Good, good. Like that.
Krystal: And three treatments, which were really, really, really nice.
Becca: And what were the treatments?
Krystal: Well, most of the treatments were very therapeutic, like massage based or Shiro Dara, where they, they drip a particular based on your dosha oil on your forehead, and you lay on this beautiful table and for an hour of time.
This warm, nurturing oil drips on your head, which maybe doesn't [00:18:00] sound so nice, but it, it was, it's absolutely amazing. It's incredibly restoring and balancing, and you walk out of there. Basically needing to be carried back up to your room because it's just so relaxing.
Becca: Sign me up for that.
Krystal: Oh, yes.
Becca: Is there a guided meditation with that, or is,
Krystal: how is that done?
No, it's actually in silence.
Becca: Okay.
Krystal: Mm-hmm. It's in silence and you get comfortable and the space is adequately warmed and you're covered in in nice towels and blankets, and this facility was very clean. Which is a top priority for me hosting this for other people. When it's just me, I kind of accept as is, especially in an ASAM setting.
But this, I wanted to make sure was going to be exquisite for my guests. Yeah, and it certainly was.
Becca: My next question is actually about your guests. I'm, I'm just curious, are these people who came from, uh, all over the place, from Canada, from the United States, how, how did [00:19:00] they hear about this program? How did they get to you?
Are they all ages? Tell me about just the span without revealing their names or anything, but just kind of who was on the trip with you.
Krystal: Alright, so this last trip was, uh, because I'm new to, to the US and to Florida specifically. Uh, my, my. Group of people is still small in the classes that I run. However, almost everyone was from my very small boutique yoga space.
Mm-hmm. And my, my first trip, or my previous trip, the one before that, where I led a group of students, there was quite a mixture. A lot were coming in from Canada, um, and some from the us. This time it was all from the us. We, we filled it quite quickly. I keep my group small. Mm-hmm. So it's a little bit more of an intimate, um, experience and age
Becca: span,
Krystal: ages.
Yeah. All over the place. In fact, I was, um, I. Uh, I was gonna say I was the [00:20:00] youngest on the trip as the host, but there was one just a couple of years younger than me who joined, uh, a wonderful woman who, uh, yeah, we just had a wonderful time together. But then anywhere after that, it was from 60 years old and up.
Becca: And that kind of leads me to some of the tips, right? And we'll go back, um, and kind of finish out some of the more colorful experiences in just a minute, but if. The, the people who listen to our podcasts, our yoga teachers, and that might just be something that's been burning inside of them for years. I'd love to take a group to India.
Uh, what, what are some of the logistical, uh, suggestions you have just off the top of your head?
Krystal: All right, so my biggest suggestion. Is to go to India. I really feel like for me, it took me five trips to India before I even wanted to bring a group that I [00:21:00] was leading. I wanted to really find a place that I felt comfortable and I felt that, um, I don't, I don't know if adequate would be the right word, because of course we can find that anywhere, but I needed to feel comfortable myself and not.
Knowing much about the culture outside of whatever we might learn in yoga, which is nothing really. Right. Um, I think it's very, very important that we go to India. So whether it's on a trip like Adventure India that I host and just kind of get a feel for the space and what it's like, or venturing off and doing something on your own.
I think for me that's, that's a very important part going there and seeing it because what you find online. Is not always exactly what reality is. And I've learned that many times in booking hotels or hostels or something like that, where the image looks very different than what real life is. And then what do you do?
Becca: So [00:22:00] see it for yourself,
Krystal: I
Becca: think. Yeah, I love that idea. And you know, maybe if you're listening here and you've done other workshops, you have. Have a comfort level with scheduling the itinerary, you know, with the food and, uh, accommodations. But India is a whole different experience.
Krystal: Yes.
Becca: It's a huge cultural change.
Krystal: Yes.
Becca: Yeah.
Krystal: And I mean, the people that are joining Adventure India, for instance, are, they're investing a lot, and I don't mean only financial investment. They're investing a lot of time and, and energy and, and hope. Hope that they're going to learn something, hope that they'll come back with newfound respect for themselves or something along those health lines, especially if they're coming for the practices of Ayurveda.
Becca: Yeah,
Krystal: so I, to me, it's very important that I know what the facility's going to look like and feel like, and that I can. [00:23:00] Better talk about it, right? With the students that are attending
Becca: and how do you add in like geography or history or some other cultural aspects. In this sort of checklist.
Krystal: Great. Well, I've traveled all over India.
I've gone, uh, through Calcutta, which is east, uh, south India. I've gone west in Gowa, Kana, which I spent time in the world's biggest meditation center, heartfulness. That was really, really nice. But all of these. Areas, although offer their own deep significances. For me, Rishikesh has been such a cool place because it's, it's a smaller town, although busy now with a lot of tourism, but it's a smaller town and, and its relevance in the yoga traditions specifically are huge being that mm-hmm.
It is the birthplace of yoga,
Becca: right?
Krystal: So, so many of of our stories, our [00:24:00] mythological stories, our our lineages are coming right from there and. Just that alone is so special.
Becca: Yeah. I'm thinking of art too. You know, if you, if you love the history of yoga and all the deities and all the poses that are named after the Hindu deities, it's so interesting to like, oh my gosh, that's Hanman or that's Shiva or Durga.
So you're, are you seeing all this sort of in the, the, the culture and the art and the. Maybe names of things.
Krystal: Oh, yes. And that's another reason that I particularly like the shuttle from New Delhi to Rishikesh, because in previous years, I would just fly, I would fly across and then take a small, a short taxi, and, and I did that with another group as well.
But the drive is special because you're passing fields where there's a giant, and I mean like, like skyscraper size of [00:25:00] Lord Shiva. And it, it just, it occupies such a large space and it's just so beautiful.
Becca: I love this.
Krystal: Yes.
Becca: Wow. Do you get to get, get up close to that
Krystal: sculpture? Well, not that one, but we do, we, we spend quite a bit of time in our, our off time of lectures and yoga, asana practices and things like that.
We spend time sightseeing and going to various other temples and many of them will have, um, the, uh, statues is perhaps not the right, the right word, but we'll say statues just for ease.
Becca: Mm-hmm.
Krystal: Statues of all kinds of deities.
Becca: Wow. So those were a couple of the suggestions. What about packing just in general?
Krystal: Hmm. Packing is really important. I'm a light packer. I'm a, I'm a travel simple girl. And in India. I don't get fancy. We don't, you don't need to be fancy, and it's really not [00:26:00] about that. It's not about your curled hair and makeup and all this nice clothes. You're, you're there for a very different immersion.
So I really, I try to guide people into that. I know that's difficult for some because we become, of course, really, uh, habitual in, in what we want and need. But packing light is really key. So you're not losing luggage, you're not waiting for things on the airplane. Um, and there are so many little shops, so you, anything that you may need or that you've forgotten in no time, you can get your hands on it.
There's, there's so many cool little shops that line the streets, and that's a huge part actually of the experience. The
experience,
Krystal: yeah.
Becca: Yeah. What about language?
Krystal: Language. Well, there's so many dialects, right? In India, so, um, I've not learned much truly, but I have found that so much of the population actually speaks English.[00:27:00]
And although it may not be, um, you know, it's, it's sometimes broken English and that's okay. But we all get by. We understand each other and. It's never actually been a concern.
Becca: Yeah.
Krystal: Mm-hmm.
Becca: So I had a teacher years ago, uh, an Ashtanga teacher who went to my So, and she said the class is completely taught in an Indian language, so I.
But you just have to, well, if you know the numbers and you know the names of some of the poses, and I guess you're, you're seeing other people, but they're not necessarily on the same pose that you are. Correct,
Krystal: yes.
Becca: Yeah.
Krystal: Yes. In the My style. Is that a barrier? Yeah. Well, I mean, the first couple of times definitely it was very intimidating for me, especially as a solo.
Traveler and, um, but, but I, I don't know. I just never really let that actually be a barrier. I just sort of figured that I could mind my way through and someone may [00:28:00] understand and that that ki kind of has happened.
Becca: Yeah.
Krystal: But also where I just was with Dr. Petite, his English is exquisite and, and so it's, it's much easier to connect and be able to share with him what I'm looking for for this group and to kind of.
Play back and forth with one another on our wants and needs and desires for the outcome.
Becca: I want you to think back on your trip and share your favorite memory. If it can boil, be boiled down to one.
Krystal: It's tough to boil it down to one truly of the seven times that I've been to India, this last trip was quite honestly my, my favorite time.
But there is one thing that stands out and, um, we did a village tour, so we left. We left where we were in Rishikesh and went higher up the mountain and spent time in a very small village where we got really close to buffalo and [00:29:00] cows and wheat fields and these, these small, but. Really beautiful sort of rustically, beautiful dwellings and, and just gorgeous people who lived off the land or live off the land.
And they showed us how they dried wheat and how they make flour. And we learned how to make chapati on an outside fireplace. Oh wow. And we dressed in traditional garment and we danced to traditional music and we had this, this beautiful party. In, in a forest and we walked deeper into this forest with huge, huge trees and we made a circle and we laid down on our backs and practiced yoga nira.
And the, the village experience was really exquisite. Ah, it
Becca: sounds incredible. Is this where you also got the henna tattoos?
Krystal: So the henna was actually our yoga Asana [00:30:00] teacher, our morning practice teacher. She was so wonderful. She, uh, she really respected that everybody was coming in from a different angle of yoga.
And there were some students who had never practiced yoga before on this trip. So again, you don't need to know anything about yoga. To, to enjoy it. Uh, so she was quite accommodating. But, um, also we learned a lot about various adjustments that are always different in India than they, than what we expect here in, in the West.
And, um. Then one day she came in and, and her English, her English was a, a little bit more broken, but she said, I have a gift for all of you. And she walked in with, with her henna, and she was actually, uh, trained in college to do henna and partook in. Um, competitions. Oh, wow. Kind of competition. Wow. So in moments, she had our sleeves done or whatever it is that we wanted, and [00:31:00] she made them very modern.
So, you know, if you had a child, she might make a heart with your kid's name in it, or
Becca: Oh my
Krystal: gosh. They were very, very personalized.
Becca: Wow. And, uh, henna usually lasts for a few weeks. Yes. Right? Mm-hmm. So besides the henna tattoos, which I'm super excited that you had that experience, what else did your guests take home with them in their heart?
Krystal: Oh, in their heart. In not their suitcases. In their, okay. Both of those. Both of those were full. I can, I can promise you, yes. Both were full suitcases and hearts. Um, in, in the Heart. I know that this trip was. It was so influential on so many different levels, and as we departed, uh, Dr. Petite's facility, he brought us into his office one at a time and gave a heartfelt thank you and just so much love and gratitude for our staying there with him and trusting in him and whatnot, and then blessed us.
With a, [00:32:00] a, a necklace of, of, uh, marigolds. And it was, it was so emotional. We all walked outta that office in tears and hugging and loving and, um, we learned a lot. We gathered a lot and we came home with a lot. And because I'm close with this group of students, they're all students of mine, I see them routinely.
I know that this has had an impact still right now. Mm-hmm. They're eating differently, they're feeling differently, and they're really applying much of what we learned in just that short-ish amount of time. Yeah. Into their everyday lives.
Becca: They say immersion is the best way to learn something. You can't learn necessarily from a book or a lecture, but when you experience it, it, it stays there.
So what an experience.
Krystal: It's so wonderful. It's so wonderful. I always leave feeling humbled and gr [00:33:00] so much gratitude for everything that I, that I have. It really. That was one of the big reasons that I kept going back to India, even when my first few rounds were quite challenging for me personally, and, but I just felt like I was coming back with something different and I couldn't quite exactly label it, and I don't think it needs to be labeled.
But some of that is just humility. And again, I'll use the word gratitude and that's what keeps me going.
Becca: Well, I don't wanna close our interview without. Talking about the next time you take a group there, when, where are you going? To the same spots?
Krystal: Yes. Well, we had such a wonderful time there, and again, my connection with Dr.
Pratik, we've decided to repeat a similar adventure, but we're adding more to it. So some of the things that I took away just observing and speaking with the students is that we learned so much about food and how to. Better feed ourselves physically, [00:34:00] mentally, even of course with the doshas. Mm-hmm. And emotionally.
But, um, some of it is not usual for us to be cooking. So next year we have a cooking class almost every day, which I'm so excited about. Um, in fact, we're doing what's called the four Cs. And the four C's will be classes cleansing, which is part of the Ayurvedic treatments. Cooking and clothing. So it is the land of, of exquisitely made, um, uh, natural fibers.
So cottons and linens. We're gonna learn more about why natural clothing makes such a difference in our lives, and we're gonna create our own little. Shirts and we're gonna learn how to stamp them. Wow. With wild flowers.
Becca: That's great. And so are you taking registration right now?
Krystal: Yes, I am. Applications And what I'm gonna do a little bit differently this year because this, this adventure is, there's a lot happening in it and I always wanna make sure that the [00:35:00] right people are part of the adventure.
And, um, and what I mean by the right people is that. That they know what to expect. And so I've created an application form for next year's adventure. And in the application form it talks about a few things that you might, that you might encounter, and how would, how would you maybe, uh, handle something like that.
And, um,
Becca: snakes,
Krystal: uh, snakes kidding. Another really common question,
Becca: people always think they're gonna be, uh, encountering a cobra, right?
Krystal: Oh yeah. The land of the cobras. Yeah. But I do position my adventures in February. I love the climate. It's perfect temperature, daytime is very comfortable. Maybe a light sweater, but or you walk out in a t-shirt.
Mm-hmm. Evening times and mornings are a little bit more cool. So they're a little cozier. As you crawl into bed at night, um, and much less snake occurrences and bugs in general.
Becca: Okay.
Krystal: Yeah.
Becca: Crystal, thank you so [00:36:00] much. That was, I felt like I went to India with you. I could visualize all these beautiful.
Sights and smells and sounds. So thank you so much for sharing that with us today. We'll have your information in the show notes in case there is somebody out there listening today who just got really excited about your content and is ready to go with you next year.
Krystal: Thank you so much, Becca. It was wonderful being here.