RYT 500! Graduation from my 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training program in Rishikesh, India

And just like that, my 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) program in Rishikesh, India, is over.

I’m an Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) 500 now!

If you’re not familiar with the world of yoga instructor credentialing, an RYT 500 designation is basically the next step after the initial RYT 200 designation. It means I’ve completed 500 hours of training, and it’s an official qualification granted by Yoga Alliance, which is the governing body of yoga teacher credentialing.

I submitted my certificate a few days ago, and it was approved pretty quickly. So, it’s official!

I just wanted to share a few photos from our graduation ceremony, which was held on November 16.

I’m honestly still processing everything. I feel like I’ll be writing more posts in the coming weeks/ months as things start to sink in and I start to reminisce.

I’ve grown so used to my routine: waking up to the chime of bells at 5:30 a.m., reciting pre-sunrise mantras in an echoing yogshala, consuming poha and chai for breakfast, inverting my body twice a day during asana practice… and now I have autonomy over my life again?!

Please take me back to the 5:30 a.m. wake-up bell I complained about.

We wrapped up our exams on Friday afternoon, and then had the rest of the day to relax. I napped… hard.

Afterward, our chefs prepared us a special meal (Chinese food!) as our last ashram dinner.

Then, we had a small celebration in one of the ashram’s yogshalas, where we listened to music, danced and chatted.

Afterward, I spent some time sitting around the ashram’s kund while some of my fellow students sang, chanted mantras, played instruments and enjoyed each others company for the last time.

Then, it was off to bed.

Valerie and I were up with the bells at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for our commencement.

Between all the girls at the ashram, we somehow cobbled together hair dryers and straighteners, pigment powder for eyeshadow, lipstick, eyeliner and other makeup.

We had help from the wonderful women working at our ashram — who expertly pinned us all into our stunning saris — and then we arrived at our yogshala for mantra chanting, a ceremony, speeches, congratulations, photos and tears.

So many tears.

I have to say, it was so, so incredible to have Ryan there with me to celebrate.

I’m so, so lucky to have such an incredibly supportive partner in my life.

I’m just so grateful for him.

I’m also really grateful for everyone at the ashram who made my experience what it was. From our instructors and teachers to front desk and admin staff to chefs and cafeteria employees to porters and even the other students. I can’t imagine having undergone this experience anywhere else surrounded by anyone else.

And, one final note: These saris definitely put all my previous graduation gowns — high school, undergrad, grad school — to shame, that’s for sure.

And, that was it! Ryan helped me pack up my things, we took a few photos and lounged around in the ashram garden for a bit while we waited for my cab, and then Ryan helped me porter my things down the hill one last time.

We stayed one final night in Rishikesh so we could catch a Ganga Aarti ceremony and grab dinner (we went to OM Freedom Cafe), and then on Sunday morning we made our way to Dehradun so we could catch a flight to our next destination.

Ryan and I have a few weeks we’ll be traveling around India before we head back home, and I’ll share more about those adventures after they happen.

In the mean time, I’m such a mix of emotions. The past several weeks have been so much, but I am so, so grateful to have had them.

Namaste!