Meet Ashley, a Chinese woman who worked for Apple in Shanghai, embraced Christianity and Buddhism, then left it all to move to India. Medha Sri Dahiya follows her journey as she learns the way of yoga at a monastery in India.
A Chinese woman’s bold spiritual journey to India
Ash had a seemingly successful life, ChinaShe worked at Apple, where she flexed her crisis management muscles amid the company’s marketing maelstrom: “I lived in Shanghai for nine years and worked at Apple for eight years before quitting and moving to China. India“I have been married to my loving and supportive husband for four years, and we raise a dog together named Taco,” says Ashley.
“I loved reading, dancing, hiking, ice skating and chanting mantras. I also did a lot of volunteering,” Ashley says, recounting a life-changing journey that took her across the country and exploring religion in search of inner peace or “inner engineering.”
I was baptized as a Christian
“I was baptized as a Christian in 2010. Through the teachings of Jesus, my fear gradually disappeared and comfort and gratitude began to emerge,” the 31-year-old recalls.
She added: “But Christianity“As I looked at my Christian brothers and sisters living joyful lives, I struggled to find my place among them.”
And so she continued her quest. In China she frequented Buddhist temples and explored Buddhism. It brought her clarity, but she knew there was more to life and the soul and she wanted a taste of it. So she took a life-changing trip to India.
Embark on a peaceful journey – Rishikesh, Delhi to Coimbatore!
One day, Ash decided to do something courageous: he left the life he had built in Shanghai and bought a one-way ticket to India.
“I spent a month in Rishikesh in February 2020, doing a yoga teacher training course and getting certified. Although I didn’t feel prepared to be a teacher after one month of study, my time in Rishikesh brought me immense happiness. Everything was new and exciting, and it brought me joy,” she says.
It was a book she read at the New Delhi airport that changed everything. “On my way back to China, I came across a book called Sadhguru: More Than Life, and that’s where my three-year journey of exploration and growth began. It really changed the direction of my life’s journey. I prayed fervently to meet my spiritual leader Sadhguru and be a part of his ashram in India,” she says.
“There are many Buddhist temples in China. While visiting these temples, I kept praying to get a chance to come to Isha, India and meet Sadhguru,” she said, adding that her prayers were answered when she received a call from the Indian embassy approving her work permit in India.
“I quit my job. My boss wanted me to keep my job and promised me a promotion and a raise that year, but none of it mattered to me. I politely turned her offers down and it was the best decision I ever made,” she says.
“I don’t talk much about myself, Spiritual journey “My family has been observing the changes in me since the beginning. They know I am passionate about volunteering and understand that this is the main reason I am here (India),” says Ashley.
A truth that transcends words and worlds!
“Initially, I was looking for a deeper change, a better version of myself. But joining Samyama in January this year has completely transformed me,” she says. Samyama is an intensive residential programme led by Sadhguru at the Isha Centre. Participants spend eight days in extended meditation in complete silence.
“It was a profound experience where I witnessed the light and encountered an indescribable truth. May we all experience this truth in our lifetime,” says Ashley, who has done a number of intensive yoga kriyas over the past few years.
She describes her transformation thus: “I have gained so much physical energy and emotional stability. I also feel better equipped to handle any situation life brings and have gained a deeper acceptance of uncomfortable situations, knowing that the solutions lie within me. I have realised that karmic cycles repeat themselves – it’s just the same thing happening at different times and places with different people, and I now have the awareness to choose my own path to break out of repetitive patterns.”
“I have a positive approach to life and embrace every moment of it with 100% yes. I realise that I am just a part of life, like the trees and insects, and this realisation fills me with kindness and compassion,” she smiles.
Last wish? Conscious death!
Having experienced the yogic way of life, Ashley wants to live in India for as long as possible, volunteering at an ashram while living the yogic way of life. Beyond life, she wants to die.
“That day when I read More than a Life in the Delhi airport, what resonated with me deeply was Vijji Maa’s (Sadhguru’s wife Vijaykumari) notion of mahasamadhi, or the profound ability of a human being to consciously leave the body,” she recalls.
She added: “I hope to follow in Vijji Maa’s footsteps and similarly leave this world through mahasamadhi and consciously leave my body like the yogis do.”
Medha Shri Dahiya is a mindful living enthusiast and writes about everything from books, business, life, lifestyle, leadership etc. She currently heads Wildr, a harmful content free social media network in India.
