Held by the Mountains: Yoga, Silence and the Art of Receiving

Some places don’t just shift perspective—they deepen it, stirring both humility and awe and reigniting a sense of wonder. There are places that ask everything of you, yet in the asking, they fill your heart with new expanses of compassion. There are places that don’t just welcome you—they invite you to meet yourself more fully. Ladakh is one of those places.

View from Thicksey Monastery

The high-altitude air strips away what is unnecessary, the mountains speak in silence, and the land itself asks for your whole presence.

The Silent Valley, Hemis Shukpachan

Arrival: Entering the Rhythm of Hemis Shukpachan

In the high-altitude village of Hemis Shukpachan, life moves to a rhythm both simple and profound. The people live in deep alignment with the land, the animals, the monasteries and the changing of the seasons. Their way of life is challenging, yet so beautifully spiritually rich—woven through with ritual, connection and resilience. I arrived with clear intentions for this study retreat—to open my voice, to receive, to immerse myself in stillness. I imagined these would unfold through chanting, teachings and daily sadhana. Yet Spirit and the Himalayas had their own way of guiding me. What unfolded was not what I had planned, but I know it was exactly what my soul needed.

The Practice of Receiving

The altitude tested me at times, stripping me bare. I became quite unwell with fever, fatigue, congestion and at times losing my voice. The irony wasn’t lost on me: here I was at a chanting and nāda yoga retreat, unable to chant. Instead, I was asked to rest. To let my voice be silent. To listen. At first I resisted with disappointment. But slowly I softened into realising that perhaps this was the practice. Spirit was guiding me into exactly what I had asked for—silence, stillness, receiving.

To let the voices of others wash over me without needing to add my own.

To soften into being held by the mountains, by mantra, by life itself.

In that enforced quiet, I realised the essence of śānti in practice—peace isn’t only something we create; it’s also something we allow ourselves to receive.

Yoga is the art of listening deeply, not just moving. Here, I learned to let the breath, the earth, the slower cadence and the river guide me more than any posture could.

Have you ever been asked by life to rest, to be still, even when your plans were clear? How does that mirror your yoga practice off the mat?

Lessons from the Land

In that stillness, I watched the villagers harvesting barley and apricots, tending to animals, children laughing through the quiet village streets. I sat by the river flowing through the retreat garden, letting its healing soundscape and waters teach me how to surrender. I lay on the earth and felt the timeless embrace of the Himalayas.

And what I received was something I could not have planned: a peace that still hums in my chest now that I’m home.

A reminder that yoga is not only about what we do, but also about what we allow ourselves to receive. That sometimes the deepest openings come not from effort, but from surrender.

The land here asks everything of you, yet in the asking, it fills your heart with new expanses of compassion, awe and wonder.

Carrying It Home

This is what I carry back into our shala: the invitation to listen with all of your being, to rest, to allow the practice to expand you.

To let yourself be held by breath, by silence, by the rhythms of life itself.

In this way, yoga stretches far beyond movement—it is listening amongst and beneath the mindful movement, it is resting to become receptive, it is opening into the vibrational frequency of mantra and the Eternal sound, it is surrendering to the guidance of an Eternal Benevolent Presence.

And sometimes, it is the mountains, the silence and the unexpected detours that teach us this most clearly.

Jai Guru Dev

With heart,

Ruth x

🌺 Sacred travel has a way of softening the edges of your heart, opening you to life, connection and your own inner wisdom. If your soul is calling for this kind of expansion, Join us for The Way of the Goddess: Women’s Immersion November 1–7 in North Bali. A week devoted to ritual, movement, sound, and sacred feminine presence.

📸 If you’d like to see Ladakh, I’ve also created a photo gallery [here] with some comments alongside some images, so you can catch glimpses of the village life, the land and the energy of the mountains.