My last day in India, happens to be a holy festival day, called appropriately, Holi Day. It is the day when everyone becomes children and the colors in India become even more a part of you as you are covered from head to foot with colored powder. It is a holiday from school and work and if you venture out into the streets you will be as a peacock.

No one is spared ….

While here studying, doing yoga and exploring, I found time to read some amazing books and wanted to share.  I recommend them all:

1:  Holy Cow, Sarah Macdonald.  This is a very funny book about Sarah’s experience when she moved to India with her husband for a few years.  It is incredibly accurate and very well written.  5 plus stars.

2:  Yoga School Dropout, Lucy Edge.  This is also a very funny book.  It is about Lucy’s travels through India, searching for yoga and a little enlightenment.  I recommend this for anyone who is thinking about traveling here and visiting yoga teachers and ashrams.  She must have made it to almost every Ashram in the Country.  Not only was it funny, but it was educational and it is what spurred me to leave Goa and travel down to the Sivananda Ashram for a week.  5 plus stars.

3:  Mira and the Mahatma, Sudhir Kakar.  This is a wonderful book that primarily deals with the relationship between Ghandi and an English woman who came to be known as Mira.  Very well written and shows a different side of Ghandi.  5 stars.

4:  The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga.  A good, but slightly “dark” book that deals very realistically with the lives of people in certain situations within India today.  5 stars.

5:  The Ramayana, William Buck.  A very good story version of the famous Ramayana.  4 stars.

6:  Bridge of Rama, Ashok Banker.  Book 5 in the series (I have to find the first four immediately).  Really wonderful series that brings the Ramayana and all the characters within it to life.  5 plus stars.

Currently reading (yes, I really read all those books in my time here, and I was not just reading all the time!):

The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy.  So far, excellent.  But I am still not sure how to describe it to you.  ;-)

Read and Enjoy!!!

I have returned from my 8 day trip to the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala. Spending time at the Ashram always has the ability to “bring things up”, the commitment, intense yoga, breath work and everything involved in the experience tends to do that, and being here in India while at the Ashram, there was even more to face, but it was an amazing, incredible time and I’m so glad that I went.

The typical day at the Ashram for a “Yoga Vacation” looks like this:

5:30 Wake up Bell

6:00 Satsang (Silent meditation and Kirtan)

8:00 Yoga Asana and Pranayama (breath work)

10:00 Meal

11:00 Karma Yoga (Selfless service)

12:30 Optional Asana Coaching Session

2:00 Lecture

3:30 Yoga Asana and Pranayama (another 2 + hour session)

6:00 Meal

8:00 Satsang

As you can see, there is little time for being idle. Adherence to the schedule is mandatory, but I enjoy every minute of it.

While I was there, there was a Yoga Teacher Training going on with about 150 trainees and about another 50 or so Yoga Vacationers rotating in and out. It was a very beautiful setting in the hills of Neyyar Dam, right in the jungle, complete with crocodile warnings for the lake, the ability to hear the Lions roaring from the Safari Park across the way, the other jungle sounds of birds and monkeys, and then, the competing sounds of the three Temples that were nearby. Something about “whichever temple is louder is better” seems to ring true and Hindu music was played very loudly throughout the hills all day (and sometimes part of the night). All meals were traditional Indian meals eaten on the floor, in silence, without the aid of utensils. The kirtans and meditations were on thin grass mats on the floor, no soft meditation cushions. The Karma Yoga was in the middle of the day at high heat and usually involved some kind of physical labor (the harder you sweat, the closer to enlightenment perhaps?). And the yoga asana classes were intense and wonderful. All five hours a day of them. In the 8 days I was there we had 2 silent meditation walks, one early in the morning to chant and watch an incredible sunrise, and one at night to sit and chant by the lake. A quartet of musicians came to play for us one evening, leading us into meditation with their beautiful sounds. And, I just happened to be there for one of the biggest festivals of the year – Shivaratri. This is the day to honor Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. He may sound mean, but really, we sometimes need to destroy what is in front of us so we can move past and rebuild, yes? This day started with 12 straight hours of chanting (rotating people around) and then culminated in a puja (ceremony) with more chanting and dancing until 6:00 am (No. I did not stay up dancing until 6, I went to bed to the sounds of music and chanting and dancing so that I could get up early the next morning for asana class).

It was a really incredible, difficult, beautiful and intense week that has given me inspiration and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

I can say now, after being here in India for a little over two weeks, that this is a country of contradictions. Things that you expect to happen, don’t happen. Things that you think would never happen, happen. You are constantly surprised and it is never predictable. Unless you predict that you will be surprised. With that? You would be correct. It is definitely a place where you need to suspend expectations and learn to flow. You also need to drop preconceived notions and just accept what is in front of you. But, you know what else? I absolutely love it here. India is full of some of the friendliest, happiest people I have ever seen. It is a magical, wonderful place full of beautiful colors and smiles. Why are the people so happy? I think Sarah MacDonald captured it well in her book Holy Cow (a must read). She was talking to an Indian man who told her that in India, the people look at where they are in life, no matter where they are, and then look at the people who have less than they do, and they are truly grateful for what they have. But, he said that we in the West? We look at where we are in life and look at the people who have more and we always are wanting for more. The result? The people in India move in gratitude and gratefulness, while we in the West forget to do that on a regular basis. How true.

I will be spending the next 8 days at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala, getting my fill of Sivananda yoga, chanting, kirtan and karma yoga (selfless service). I will see you all when I return. Om Shanti!

I fully believe that in order to be able to really understand something, we need to experience it first hand. Yoga and Ayurveda both are subjects that require a lifetime of study to even begin to touch on all nuances of each of the disciplines. I decided that if I was going to be a half-way decent Ayurvedic Practitioner I needed to come to India, where Ayurveda began over 5,000 years ago, so that I could experience it first hand. And, in order to really experience it (solely for the sake of research and study) I checked myself into the Ayurvedic Natural Health Centre. The program here each day involves Asana classes (yoga), 3 hours of Ayurvedic treatments (based upon your constitution which is determined by a Dr. at the center), 3 meals prepared by Ayurvedic chefs, using all the Ayurvedic principles and then anything else you choose to add in. I choose to add classes on Ayurvedic Diet and Nutrition which included hands on cooking (and I was the only student in my session, so I had plenty of time to ask all kinds of questions … I was in heaven). I was taught how to make things from a digestive tonic called Manda (yummy) to made-from-scratch Chai Tea.

The Centre provides treatments for relaxation (primarily what I did) all the way to the extreme of Panchakarma treatments. My treatments mainly consisted of things like a two person massage (two people massaging me in tandom), Shirodhara (see picture below), head and neck massage and finishing off with a steam. Like I said, all done for the sake of research. 3 hours a day. I am a dedicated student.

If you are thinking of traveling to Goa, I would highly encourage taking advantage of the treatments and if you are interested in furthering your Ayurvedic knowledge I would also highly recommend the classes. The yoga? Well, the yoga at the Centre is not “my food group” but the benefits and learning I received from the rest of my experience was well worth it. And, all this (including my overnight stay in a “deluxe”, (remember, everything is relative here), room for about the price of a night in the Motel 6 in Seattle that Kelly and I have decided we will never return to … I will leave the reasons why up to your imagination.

My therapist, Gheetau is taking the picture, but is usually right behind me swaying the crock above my head back and forth, tricking the oil in my hair. 

Here is me in the steam box.  Like I said, research purposes only …

As I am studying to be an Ayurvedic Practitioner, and as I believe that we best learn through experience, I will be attending the Ayurvedic Natural Health Centre in Saligao from the 9th to the 15th.  I will be studying yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic diet and having Ayurvedic treatments (read:  massages, oils) daily.  Life is good here in India.  ;-) 

In the Yin classes I have been offering at Bend Yoga, I have focused on a theme. Each month I select a concept, or idea that I use throughout the classes and I read quotes or short stories or poems during each class that relate to that theme. In the month of January the focus was “letting go”. January is the month where typically everyone starts adding things to their plate…New Year’s resolutions become things that we must do, which adds a component of responsibility to these things we wish to add to our lives. But truly, before we can move forward on any path, in particular on a path that we may have never successfully navigated before (which is usually what our resolutions have to deal with) we need to let go of something. Whatever has been holding us back from moving forward and bringing this something into our lives before, we need to release. Perhaps it is a judgment, or an expectation … it could be anything, but we first must learn to let go before we can properly move forward.

I know that “they” say that we teach what we need to learn. Perhaps that is why “letting go” is something I am drawn to teach, because it is something that I personally need to remind myself to do frequently. Before coming on this trip I needed to have vaccinations. Being someone who is not a needle person, I have avoided them for most of my adult life. Now? I needed to face them head on. I don’t like to think about the “bad” things that “might” happen to me, and I don’t like to put things into my body (especially using needles) and here I had to put things into my body to avoid all those bad things I don’t like to think about, from happening. Talk about needing to release fear … it was a difficult experience for me. Tack on the fact that the doctor, as gentle and nice as she was, found it very necessary (her job, I am sure) to really instill in me the “dangers” and risks about all the different diseases and things that I might contract while here. And then, once she was done delivering her speech about the “bad” things, making sure I was sufficiently worried, she explained “Well, all that is nothing compared to the biggest danger. It will be more likely for you to be in a traffic accident than anything else”.

Now, I did a lot of reading and preparing before coming on this trip. Actually, I have been reading and preparing for years, just learning what I can about India. One of the constant themes in everything I read was that the driving here is crazy. However, nothing could have prepared me for what it is actually like. On my ride in the taxi from the airport to Satsanga, I was so amazed by what I was witnessing that I took pictures from the cab. Cars, (lots of them, all over) scooters (with entire families of four on one scooter, no one with helmets), people walking, buses filled to the brim, cows … all these things were fighting for space on the too narrow streets. Honking is the universal language of “I’m right behind” or “I’m passing” or “Move over quickly”. There are some lines painted in the streets, but even those seem just a decoration as people in cars and on scooters pass where they will, honking and waving and smiling as they go. I second guessed my thought that I would rent a scooter while here to get myself around. But, when I got to Satsanga, I realized that in order for me to experience anything, I needed a mode of transportation, and the scooter is what makes the most sense. So, I realized that I need to release and let go of this fear … the fear of driving the scooter, crashing and getting lost in the process.

Ayurvedic philosophy regarding someone with a constitution such as mine (Vata predominates, for those of you who are aware of the doshas) and who experiences worry, nervousness and anxiety, says that I need to cultivate faith in order to over come the challenges that are experienced because of the aforementioned worry, anxiety and fear. Because of my constitution, where I naturally go in times of stress is to worry. And to fear.

So, being in India and trying to live my studies and practice what I teach, I knew I had to release that fear. Yes? So, on a scooter I went. I started out great. Slow, but great. But, I hadn’t gotten very far and there were turns in the road. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of the lean-into-the turn thing … and well, off the road I went. Into a ditch. Thankfully going slowly enough that no damage was done to the bike OR to me. But boy was I stuck. So, of course my first thought was, “Darn, I am going to be late for yoga class”. And then, because I absolutely could not get the bike out of the ditch, I just stood there. And waited. Incredibly patiently and without any worry whatsoever (this place is rubbing off on me already! You absolutely must cultivate patience here.) I knew someone would be along shortly. I just had faith.  And then, there they were. A truck full of beautiful Indian folk, ready to help. It took three strong men to get the bike out of the ditch and onto the road. I thanked them profusely and they waggled their heads and smiled. I’m sure they had a huge laugh about the crazy Western lady standing in a ditch.

And then I realized the worst had happened. I tried the bike, I crashed the bike, and I was still fine. And, my biggest fear of course had been the other drivers, but the road just happened to be completely empty (it was a back road) when I crashed, so proof right there that we are the ones who cause our own falls. And perhaps that is what happens when we hold onto the fears and the worries. And when we do let go, when we do step out, we may fall in a ditch, but if we can find that faith, there is always a way out. We just need to be patient and ask for it.

The scooter directly in front of the taxi had a family of 4 on it.  The mother sitting side saddle in her beautiful Indian Sari and two small girls standing in the front of the scooter, smiling and waving as we drove by. 

Scooters are the biggest source of transportation as you can see from this next shot taken of a side street in nearby Mapusa…the largest nearby city (approximately 65,000 people).

I have been in India only 3 days and I have had the pleasure to experience the famous Goan tradition of the Arjuna Market, have braved the traffic (more about this to come) by riding on the back of a scooter, swam in the Arabian sea, have had numerous banana lassies (thanks a ton Kristy for recommending those!), made friends with cows (who are everywhere, and I mean everywhere) and have learned how to haggle! I can only imagine what more is to come.

Here is the beautiful retreat where I will be spending most of my time. If anyone is interested in a trip to Goa, this is the place to stay.  Satsanga Retreat

Here is a typical shot of a cow.  They roam the streets, chew on things, lie in the middle of the road … basically, whatever they want to do.  This one is eating the beautiful flower arrangement off the gate.

My dear friend Jodi called me from Goa, where she now lives, and said “Come.”

Have you ever gotten that call? The one that just resonates in your body and says “YES”? My thoughts started going to the reasons why I shouldn’t … financial-wise, practicality-wise, time-wise … All those “wise” reasons, which came from my mind, seemed so much less wise then the resounding “YES” that was coming from my body. Ayurveda teaches that one of the causes of disease is not listening to our inner wisdom. You all know that inner wisdom. That is the voice that says “Don’t eat that plate of chocolate chip cookies at midnight”, and not listening is when you do it anyway. This time, my inner wisdom was yelling that I needed to go … despite all the reasons why I shouldn’t. And so? I’m going.

And then, I had tea with another dear friend, Kate. Kate is a traveler. She was even more excited for me than I was. And she handed me a book. “The Art of the Pilgrimage” by Phil Cousineau. Just having a name to put to this journey, a name that automatically made it feel like a soulful, life changing event, changed my entire perspective. Instead of just traveling to India, I am now going on a Pilgrimage.

Cousineau says “Ancient wisdom suggests if you aren’t trembling as you approach the sacred, it isn’t the real thing. The sacred, in its various guises as holy ground, art or knowledge, evokes emotion and commotion”. This gave me comfort and explained the nervousness I was experiencing whenever I thought about this journey. We all take journeys, each and every day. Some are more apparent than others, but even if we remain within the comforts of our own home, we are still moving forward. However, when we begin an outer journey such as this, we have certain expectations that changes will occur, even if we have no idea what they might be. Yesterday, one of the gentlemen who regularly attends a class I hold asked me “You aren’t going to come back weird, are you?” I laughed and told him not to worry, I was already weird. The reality of it is, I don’t know who will be coming back, but I do expect to like her.