Om Sweet Om

Greeted by a lovely Ashram. 

I've made it to Tapovan, India.  Just outside Rishikesh.  The ashram I'm staying at is a beautiful, wonderful place!  I'm so happy to be out of the city. The ashram is nestled up against the Himalayan foothills.  They are absolutely breathtaking.  They are so huge, I can't even imagine what the size of the actual Himalayans are!  Speaking of which, Briee left early this morning for Nepal for her journey to Base Camp.  I'm already missing her.  But the truth is once I started school last Monday I haven't had a chance to see her.   I have a little room with my friend Julie from England.  We did our 200 hr training together in Mexico.  Its so great to have a great friend to go through this process with.  We were given a stainless steel plate, bowl, cup and spoon the day we arrived.  Our room has just enough space for the two of us with a private bathroom and a balcony!  It feels like the Ritz really after all the dirt, filth and chaos on the way here! Each day starts with my alarm clock screaming at me around oh ya know 4:45 AM!!  BOO.  I stay in bed until 5 and peel myself up and wimper as the wind howls down through the foothhills.  I fumble through the dark down two flights of stairs to the meditation hall and find a "cushion" (it's a flat sorry excuse for a pillow) to put on the cold dark floor.  Then I muster up as much will power as I can and tell myself that I will focus on my breath for the next 45 minutes....hmmm.  All I can say it that it's getting easier.  At 5 till 6 I peel my stiff body up (for the second time) off the cold floor and trudge up four flights of stairs to the yoga hall.  We begin a two hour yoga practice that consist of several sun salutations as the sun comes up.  Its absolutely beautiful.  A little bird, I'll have to find out what type it is, sings a lovely little mantra every morning at 6:05 sharp.  It is a sweet, happy song that fills my heart with joy.  The style of yoga is very balancing and I always feel fantastic after each class.  Then I rush downstairs grab my little steel dishes and walk, oh yes in silence, to the dining hall.  Silence, or Mona as it is called, it from 9PM to 9AM everyday. 

After breakfast I wash my dishes quickly and get back to my room, prop them on the window sill to dry.  Fill a bucket with soap and water and dirty laundry, grab my books and rush upstairs for class.  At noon, it back to the dinning hall for lunch.  We eat sitting on the floor on little foot stools.  We chant a beautiful prayer before each meal and then eat a wonderfully sattvic meal.  Then I've got an 1 1/2 hours to finish and hang my laundry, catch up on reading, and get to my next class at 2:30.  6PM is supper and Tuesdays and Thursdays is Kiirtan (singing and chanting).  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is personal time but I'll tell ya, by the time 8:30 rolls around all I want is a hot shower and to fall into bed.  This 4:45 (ok 5) thing is killing me!  My favorite class is...surpirse, Yoga Philosophy.  I'm learning so much.  I love my teacher she is like Naropa on wheels.  She is so excited about these teachings that she can barely stay in her skin while she contmeplates them.  She has us do a lot of personal digging into the meanings of the sutras and Vedic teachings.  This last week we looked at the 5 Kleshas.  Patanjali's 5 causes of suffering.  All so facinating.  I love it...mostly becuase there are no worng answers in philosophy right!?  The yoga techniques and anatomy classes are great too.

My little Swami Vishva Ji is such a gem.  His broken "Hidglish" (Hindi and English) as he calls it is so cute and funny.  He is quick to laugh and is full of brilliant pearls of wisdom and depth.  I love listening to him speak.  Oh and so yesterday we had to learn about some of the Satkiryas (sp?), or cleansing techniques.  We learned about the Jal Neti (water) which I've done before so no big deal.  Basically is pouring water into one nostril and it flows up and around the sinuses and out the other nostril...BUT we also had to try the Sutra Neti...yeah I said sutra...meaning thread...or in this case a rubber thread...yep we had to try to stick it up our noses and it comes down the back of the throat, then we reach back there and pull it out of the mouth and proceed to "massage" the thread back and forth massaging the optic nerve!  UM yeah.  I wasn't successful...this time.  Apperently we'll be practicing 2-3 times a week.  Yay! not.  Oh and I'm totally looking forward to swallowing a cloth.  Yep. Thats right you heard me.  A cloth.  22 ft of it.  But...we'll talk about that later. 

View from my balcony.

The Luxman Jula Bridge is a beautiful thing and so is the Holy Holy Ganga River.  Its amazing.  There are monkeys everywhere and if you've got any food watch out because they'll nab it!   Crossing the bridge is an interesting task as there are monkeys, cows, motor bikes, people, etc going both ways.  I just have to hum a mantra and just cross as the pace allows.  There is no such thing as getting anywhere quickly in India. Across the bridge are tons of street venders with everything from clothes to bags to pashminas to jewels to household decorations.  All cheap price, cheaply made and smell of yummy street smells.  Its fun to go and look aound and even by some stuff but I'm sort of glad I only have time to go on the weekends.  I am very happy being isolated in the ashram.  Sometimes I forget that I am in India.  Then, while inhaling coming out of a forward fold I hear a cow moooo right out the window and motor bike horns blaring and I remember, Oh yeah.  I'm in freaking India man!  I'm loving it here!  Love to all.  Write again soon. 

Crossing the Luxman Jula Bridge

 Krishna and Sunset before the Artti (light) ceremony