I Came to Rishikesh for a Yoga Retreat
And India Changed Me in Ways I Did Not Expect

I am Julia, born and raised in Italy, and for most of my life I believed that travel was about seeing new places. I never thought of travel as a mirror, or a teacher, or a force that shows you the parts of yourself you have been avoiding. That happened only when I came to India.

People told me India would overwhelm me.
People told me India would confuse me.
People also told me India would open something inside me.

All of them were right.

My first step in India felt like a mixture of welcome and cultural shock

When I landed in Delhi, everything hit me at once. The smells, the sound of honking, the speed of the city, the way strangers look at you with curiosity and no judgement. Italy suddenly felt very controlled in comparison.

And yet, between the chaos and the warmth, I felt safe.
People helped me without expecting anything.
A woman at the airport touched my shoulder and said
You are going to love the mountains, they heal everyone.

I did not know what she meant at the time, but I carried that sentence with me.

The journey to Rishikesh felt like entering another dimension

As the car drove out of the city and the landscape began to change, I felt my breath slow down. There was something about the air, something about the mountains becoming visible in the distance, something about the quiet confidence of the Ganga flowing beside the road.

When I arrived in Rishikesh, I understood why people call it the world capital of yoga.
It is not the number of ashrams.
It is not the teachers.
It is the energy.

Rishikesh feels like a place where people come to remember themselves. You see it in the faces of travelers, in the seriousness of students walking to class before sunrise, in the way everyone listens more and talks less.

My yoga retreat was not perfect, and that was the most perfect thing about it

I had romantic expectations. I imagined myself meditating peacefully, feeling enlightened in a week, glowing with serenity. Reality was different.

I struggled with the schedule.
I cried during meditation because my mind felt too loud.
I laughed at how stiff my body was.
I got frustrated when I could not hold a pose everyone else seemed to manage.
I felt lonely at times.
I felt incredibly connected at others.

Yoga uncovered emotions I did not know were stored in my hips, my chest, my throat.
Breathwork made me dizzy sometimes.
Philosophy classes made me question everything I believed about myself.

But slowly, very slowly, something inside me softened.

The spiritual side of India is subtle and direct at the same time

You do not need a temple to feel it.
You feel it while crossing Lakshman Jhula.
You feel it during morning aarti on the river.
You feel it in the old man who smiles at you for no reason.
You feel it in silence, which feels different here, almost alive.

One morning, after a tough practice, I sat by the Ganga. A local woman sat beside me and said
Whatever you release into this river, the mountains will carry for you.

I had no idea why that sentence felt so profound. But I closed my eyes and let tears fall.
India does that.
It breaks you and comforts you at the same time.

But it was not all magical. India also challenged me in ways Europe never has

I struggled with:

Dust and noise.
Food being too spicy.
Cold water showers.
Getting stomach sick for two days.
Moments when the cultural differences felt huge.
Moments when I just wanted familiar comforts.

Yet none of these made me want to leave.
If anything, they humbled me.
India teaches you surrender.
India teaches you acceptance.
India teaches you that control is a story you tell yourself.

The real transformation happened quietly

Not during the big moments but the small ones.

The first time my breath and movement finally felt connected.
The first time meditation did not feel like a fight.
The first time I looked at my reflection and did not judge myself.
The first time I sat with difficult emotions and did not run.

Rishikesh did not solve my life.
But it gave me space to see my life clearly.
I came searching for yoga.
I found presence.
I found honesty.
I found myself.

Leaving India felt like leaving a version of myself that I did not need anymore

When I packed my bags, the same path that felt overwhelming on my first day now felt familiar. The same sounds that confused me now felt like part of a rhythm I had learned to understand.

India did not change me in a dramatic storybook way.
India changed me by showing me who I had been avoiding becoming.

I left with a softer heart, a clearer mind and a deeper breath.
I left with a sense of trust I did not have earlier.
I left knowing I would return.

Because India does not just welcome you.
India holds you.
India teaches you.
And when you are ready, India transforms you.