Words won’t even come close.

Nothing I describe here will truly capture what this place is.
Still, I’ll try.
And I’ll try to keep it sweet and short….

For the first two days, I couldn’t stop crying. Eyes open, eyes closed — it didn’t matter. And it wasn’t sadness. No emotion attached. Just something so pure, so beyond words, moving inside me.

Isha isn’t just an ashram.
You don’t come here to do something — you come here, and something starts happening to you. 

It’s not loud. Not obvious. But you feel it for sure.
Like stepping into a different reality — one where everything is intentional, sacred, and designed to work on you from the inside out. 

No phones. No mindless distractions. Just you and whatever this space brings up within. 

 

Being absorbed by the energy

I’ve visited temples and attended ceremonies throughout the world, where the energy is high, where something special is in the air. But here… this was different. 

From early morning to evening, I meditated, spent devotional time, and just sat in these spaces — soaked in them. The energy of these consecrated spaces, the lingas, was unlike anything I’d experienced before. 

At first, I entered with intention — just a bit of meditation, I thought.

But when my mind started to wander and whispered “Come on, let’s stand up…” my body refused. My entire being was pressed to the ground, wanting more, going deeper. My mind super quickly surrendered. It got quiet.

There was no choice but to just be and receive. 

 

Annadanam – Eating with presence

I don’t know if you’ve ever sat on the floor, eating with your hands, surrounded by hundreds of people — everyone in complete silence. 

No small talk. No rush. Just the sound of movement, of food being served, of breath and mantras chanted by Sadhguru. 

That’s Annadanam at Isha — the sacred offering of food, open to all. 

The food is simple, sattvic, nourishing. But it’s definitely not just about what you eat — it’s about HOW you eat it. 
With presence. With gratitude. 
This makes it taste different. Feel different. It’s eating with all senses. It’s deeply fulfilling.

For years, I’ve been blessing my food, taking a moment before eating to energize it and show gratitude. But doing this as a collective? That’s a whole different level.
It’s grounding. A reminder of how little we actually need. 

 

Theerthakund – More than just a dip

Every morning, right after my own Sadhana, this was my first stop. It became my favorite routine — stepping into the cold, feeling every cell wake up immediately. 

Before entering Dhyanalinga, you pass through the Theerthakund — a water immersion that acts as a preparation, a cleansing. You pass through this energized water to balance your prana, your life energies and become more receptive for the Lingas.  

For men, it’s Suryakund. 
For women, Chandrakund. 

At the heart of the Chandrakund is a solidified mercury lingam — an energy source. 
You don’t have to believe anything — just step in, and you’ll feel it. The water is alive. Charged. Ice-cold.
The moment you step in, it hits you. 
A shock, a shift, a reset.
By the time I stepped out, I wasn’t just awake. My mind was extremely silent. I was ready. 

So when I entered Dhyanalinga, I wasn’t just sitting — I was very connected and actually receiving. 

 

Dhyanalinga – Time disappears

You might think of Dhyanalinga as a meditation space, but it’s definitely something entirely different. 
A power and radiance that I still can’t fully grasp — something no mind could logically understand.  

Sadhguru calls it his life’s work, something many realized beings only dream of creating. A consecrated energy form that holds all seven chakras at their peak, beyond any religious or cultural identity. 
It took him about three years to raise the energy of each of those chakras. 
There are no rituals, no belief systems — just an intense field of stillness.
 

I thought I’d sit for 30 minutes.
When I opened my eyes, went out and asked for the time, three hours had passed!
Dhyanalinga doesn’t need effort. 
No techniques. No chants. 
Just sit, and it does the work.
The silence isn’t empty. 
It’s full, heavy, alive.
At first, my thoughts resisted, trying to understand what, why and how…
But then, something inside just let go.
And suddenly, there was nothing — just presence. 

I wasn’t having visions, but there was this sense of floating, of moving through something beyond me, through different dimensions and places. It also wasn’t a dream state — it was more real than that

Then came Nada Aradhana — a sound offering that still gives me goosebumps when I think about it. Imagine a dome where sound moves like a living thing, filling every corner, vibrating through every cell in your body. 
Like the long-lasting echo in a church, but multiplied. 
And when it stopped? The silence that followed was even louder.
This is such a powerhouse and sacred place — wow! 

 

Linga Bhairavi – The fierce, the loving

Where Dhyanalinga is stillness, Linga Bhairavi is raw intensity. 

She is wild. Fiery. She doesn’t hold back. 

I sat there, and at first, it was overwhelming. She has super expressive eyes staring at you, and for the first few minutes, I gazed at her without blinking.
The energy isn’t gentle — it’s strong, untamed, all-consuming.
And yet, in that intensity, there was the deepest sense of being held. 

Like something was seeing every single part of me — the “good”, the “bad”, the struggles and worries — and saying: It’s all fine. You are seen. You have my love and compassion. I am with you. Always in your heart.  

Her presence worked through me in ways I still can’t explain. There was no day I sat in front of her without crying. 

 

Why is Linga Bhairavi in Linga form? 

A Linga is usually seen as masculine.
But Linga Bhairavi is not a goddess that fits into a category — she is the ultimate feminine force, beyond limitations. 

Her linga form signifies that she is not just about creation, but transformation. 

• She is not just motherly, not just nurturing — she is fierce, destructive, and beyond human categorization. 

• The linga represents infinity, the unmanifest cosmic energy. 

• While the yoni is associated with creation, Linga Bhairavi is the entire process — creation, destruction, and everything in between. 

• She works like a machine — you must know where you want to go, or she will take you somewhere you didn’t plan for. She doesn’t entertain indecision. 

Don’t ask, just sit, and connect. The rest will happen.
And she works fast. 

Her energy is deeply rooted in Tantric traditions, where the Divine Feminine is not seen as secondary — but as the ultimate force of transformation. 

Sadhguru himself says: “Those who earn the Grace of Bhairavi neither have to live in concern or fear of life or death, of poverty, or of failure. All that human beings consider as wellbeing will be theirs, if only they earn the Grace of Bhairavi.” 

 

Adiyogi & The Yogi’s night show 

Standing before the massive Adiyogi statue, I felt… small. 

Not in a powerless way, but in a way that made me realize just how much bigger life is. How much I don’t know. How much is beyond what the mind can grasp. 

I was blessed to see the Adi Yogi the first time in real on Mahashivratri few days before, but this time was so intimate and close.  

There’s no rush here. No urgency. Just this deep, steady presence that stares into forever. Extremely calming and relaxing. 

Whether you believe in Shiva or not doesn’t matter. Something is there. Unshakable. Still. Immovable. And in standing there, I could feel that stillness settling into me too.
 

And then came the show… 

But calling it just a “light show” wouldn’t do it justice. It’s not just lights projected onto this massive figure — it’s storytelling, Sadghuru’s voice, energy, and presence, all coming together. 

It takes you through Shiva’s journey — the moment he held the poison in his throat, and turned blue. The realization of Ardhanarishvara, the union of masculine and feminine within him. His transformation from a being to the first yogi, the Adiyogi, opening up the path for all who seek. 

It’s stunning. Visually, yes. But more than that, it’s the way the story sinks into you. The way it reminds you that yoga is not just a practice — it’s a possibility. A way of being.
 

This place doesn’t just let you sit with yourself — it makes you.

I would say this is pure inner engineering.
(Amplifying Sadhguru’s program of “Inner Engineering” and initiation I did a year ago.) 

And in that space, in that silence, in that intensity, things start to fall away. 
Things you didn’t even know you were carrying. 

And what’s left… feels a little closer to the real you. 

 

Isha – A place that stays with you…

More than a week has passed since I left. But Isha is still with me. 
Sadhguru is with me. 
The lingas are deeply rooted in my heart and when I close my eyes I can travel back there. What a gift.
The energy and remembering is with me.

Some places you visit.
This one works on you.
And you definitely don’t leave unchanged! 

 

Do you have any questions? Comments?
Please share below or text me directly through my contact options — I’m happy to chat <3 

 P.S. You’ll find more impressions, pictures, comments and videos about my trip there on my Instagram @jasmin.niedan.martinez