My birthday in Afghanistan

Inspired by a book I read twenty years ago, Camino by Shirley MacLaine, I decided to walk the Camino in May 2013; from Ovido to Finstery in Spain. The walk was approximately 400km over twenty days in complete wilderness. It was utterly silent except the sound of your breath; or very rarely, the sound of a bell round a cow's neck; a truly novel experience. The pilgrimage mostly consisted of walking mediations, however, I did experience moments of truth which came from what can only be described as mystical coincidences. For example, at some points I was lost in the wilderness, feeling parched but had ran out of water and suddenly I would find an arrow of stones that would put me on the path to a stream, or I would bump into another pilgrim walking who would happily share some water with me. There are no agendas during the day except walking and arriving at your destination, mine being Santiago. At the end of everyday, the highlight for me was staying in Alburgues (guest houses) where you meet like-minded pilgrims. We would commune at the table, dividing up our remaining food and drink, and telling the stories of our individual experiences. Each conversation was unique and one would not hear them at a mainstream get-together. This adventure gave me a true appreciation of simple living and the beauty of nature. When I reached Santiago I had a great sense of personal achievement and felt blissfully at peace. These feelings evolved into elation as I was able to experience Botafumerio, the massive hanging incense holder that dates back to 800 AD. The incense was lit in these times for Pilgrims arriving in Santiago that hadn't washed during their journey and therefore it reduced the smell. I felt a strong soulful connection to all the previous passing pilgrims and realised that the beauty of this journey had no time barrier. Book details are below: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AHEKNPQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Every Full Moon brings its own unique aura, offering us a powerful energetic opening to birth our intentions of new possibilities, of surrendering patterns that do not serve us and of making closures to old stagnant beliefs. Do not miss this powerful invitation. We held our monthly Open circle of Meditation and Chanting. As a bonus, I took the opportunity to attend a Gong bath at Sikh missionary society (held every Sunday at 6pm) which felt like it had sealed within me the full moon's cosmic bath. Staying in the gratitude for these beautiful vibrations and sharing subliminally with one and all. Love and Light

In May 2014, I decided to partake in the holy pilgrimage around the Kailesh mountain and Mansarovar river. This can be done via both sides, Tibet or India but because of my Indian passport, I chose to trek via Tibet. The excursion took 15 days mostly on foot ( a vehicle is only used when the terrain means it is no longer safe to walk). You do a circumambulation around the river and the holy mountain staying in rustic places along the way. I can only describe this experience as the 'embodiment of Shiva' meaning there is everything in nothingness. I chose to swim in the Mansarovar river, the purest form of water ( -1°C) which was a true spiritual awakening. As I was walking most of the time, I was able to connect with myself beyond my comfort zone. Finally seeing the mountain sparkle at Sunrise (5am) as pictured above was well deserved after the long journey.

I worked for Etihad airline as the manager of operations administration for ... years, during my time in the office I realised that most of my colleagues suffered from work related stress and they also thought it was only possible to unwind properly when they changed their environment. My strength has always been connecting with the heart and others and I decided to share my experience with them to improve their feelings and work-style. I started doing sessions, these included chair and laughter yoga and a day of values (values they believe they exemplify, that they could enact and share). For example, as my strength/value was connecting to the heart and I taught the group 'namaste' and how to connect and bow down to your divinity. These sessions were not only fun, but were effective at creating a great sense of camaraderie. The response I had was that my team-mates felt much lighter and found that working together was easier. I also felt that the atmosphere greatly improved and everyone had a better understanding of one another. Since leaving this line of work, I have been running office yoga sessions on behalf of clients. I have ran sessions for *PUT EXAMPLE HERE*. Please feel free to contact me if you want to improve your office working environment or to teach you and your colleagues some work-related meditation techniques.

In October 2018 for the whole month, I ran yoga and meditation sessions for the in-house guests and private sessions for the guests on request at the Gaya Island Resort. This was a non-monetary exchange as I got to stay in ultimate luxury at the resort. Whilst I was there, I also ran a partner yoga session fora couple on their honey-moon. It can only be described as paradise, I was completely in touch with mother nature and I felt very grateful to stay here. During my stay I had the opportunity to do a range of different activities including; Jungle trekking, water sports – kayaking, snorkelling, scuba diving , in house cultural activities etc. Full details of the resort are at the following address: https://www.gayaislandresort.com/index.html