The other day I cycled down to a friends place. It was a stop on my way back from a cycle trip to a powerful temple. I was telling him that it always helps me if one of the main stops on my cycle trips is a powerful temple or ashram or meditation spot. And he commented it may be as these spaces helped me focus.

That got me thinking about the various aspects of including a Temple Visit (or other meditation spot) as part of our Cycle Rides.

When I cycle, to non-meditative spaces, I have found that sometimes there is a feeling of irrelevance once I reach there. My cycle rides tend to be quite intense. Not necessarily fast, but they keep me in an intense zone. And once I stop, I guess, there is an unwind routine that needs to happen. In temples, open nature or meditative spots, this happens naturally. While in other places, the unwind may not happen and I feel disconnected or like a break in rhythm in those places.

Moreover, the cycling exercise, makes the body more conducive for meditation a lot of times. Not if I have been cycling in heat and am all flustered with that. But, in general, when the body hasn’t gotten aggravated, but rather energized by riding, then there is a better potential for meditation. Experience of the temple after the ride is often more powerful too.

In fact, for time when we want to do longer duration meditations, doing good bit of physical activity is supposed to be very conducive. Otherwise, the body does not fall in ease and keeps us out of deeper states of meditation. Obviously, this is a generic statement and we must understand what works best for us in our states. In Ayurveda, kapha types are asked to exercise vigorously while pitta & vata types are to exercise only in moderation – so we need to apply generic wisdom basis what works for us. Anyway, I digress…

As I mentioned earlier, if I am on cycle rides which are rejuvenating and not exhausting, then a temple visit is a special experience indeed.

People are often amazed that I have these very different interests in travel from cycle touring to temple visits. But both these come together so well! There is no conflict really. Except if we consider a very traditional religious set up. But I don’t ascribe to that. I ascribe to a spiritual, yogic & sattvic lifestyle. Cycling, adventure, being with nature, explorations, curiosity and all that fits in very well.

Moreover, a lot of my Isha friends in Coimbatore have their own cycling, trekking, adventure going on. And sometimes I can sync up with them on adventures. The best part is that they too would like a temple stop and often we exchange notes about amazing temples. And when we do take a break, nothing unusual to find us sitting for a quick meditation break! Cause yoga practices, obviously, happens in the house or on the road. As Sadhguru has mentioned ‘just check if you are breathing. If you are breathing, do the yoga practices that day.’ So, no breaks in that.

Having written this post, I am quite intrigued. I wonder if I can create an unwind routine for myself, for rides where I don’t get that meditative halt. Truly, blogging can be a very reflective and thought-provoking activity 🙂