India – Through the Eyes of an Everyday Sage

Written by Sage Andreasen

I have always been drawn to the dusky beauty of India… her playful, beautiful people, the myriad colours of every kind that greet me from women’s saris as they work in the field, or cows wandering  town with bells and painted horns, and the gloriously decorated lorry trucks.

The blaze of light and colour that is India captivated my soul and my heart since my first trip there when I was 18, and I have been another five times since. Apart from it’s sense of spiritual atmosphere that I love so much, I also love those little moments, with marble beneath my feet staring up at ancient carvings, the sun gloriously lighting up the horizon of a dusty plane, or the time I rode a camel on a Mumbai beach, just for laughs.

And of course the original chai…How I love that first sip of aromatic boiled milk chai, served in tiny white cups, with a flavour that floods over your taste buds and spreads warmth through your whole body… it takes me away like a magic carpet ride in Arabian Nights.

For me going to India is like the ‘call of the wild’. If I haven’t been there for a while I feel an ache develop inside me, a yearning to go back to experience a special blend of colour and chaos that the West where we live just does not have.

It is a magic like no other place. I find it rejuvenating of Spirit, and refreshing to the mind and perspective, a chance to see the bigger picture and appreciate and contrast our own culture and experiences. Many people I know have returned home after an experience in India with an incredibly deepened perception of living, and share the same longing to go back, as if to connect to something long forgotten in themselves.

I’ve travelled alone 5 of the 6 times I have been to India (though have met up with friends once there), and have always organized my trips carefully and felt safe. I take caution when out at night just as much as I would walking at home here in Australia, hiring a recommended rickshaw driver or hiring from a company I can trust. With the right preparation and planning, India will open her arms wide and embrace you with her spicy but mellow, mischievous ways and make you want to return time and time again.

Sage Andreasen is a university trained Acupuncturist and mother of two living in Sydney. She is a senior practitioner at The Acupuncture IVF Support Clinic in Sydney’s CBD and has her own practice in Five Dock. Passionate about women’s health, travel and social entrepreneurialism, Sage has 5 sponsor children in Dhoblepuri, India and loves to help empower women with their lives and health both locally  and globally.