Here are some random monkey pictures for your delight....we now have a 10 day old baby joining the herd. The baby has a curiously humanlike face. She is glued to her mother and grips on for dear life.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
A soft gray day
Last night the mist rolled in and has not yet left. Today is overcast and strangely comforting. I have now been in India for almost five weeks, and will leave on Feb. 12 for the Kerala beach towns of Cochin and Varkala. On Feb. 24 I will fly to Delhi and take a train to Rishikesh which is located in the foothills of the Himalayas. Rishikesh is the unofficial home of yoga...and the home of the International yoga festival. I did not know about the festival until I arrived here...an extra surprise! My yoga trainee buddy Diana from Mexico City and I will meet up at Parmath Niketan ashram to participate in yogic fun until March 7.
Dr. Senthil has been loading on the work...he outlined our final exams which will be both theory and practical. I won't bore you with the entire list but it covers pranayama, asana, disease and yoga therapy, chants and prayers, reports from patients we have worked with for therapy, and lots more. Diana figured out we are doing about 6 hours of yoga a day which is working visible changes in our bodies. My spare time is used for sleeping, studying and absorbing what is all around me.
Movie recc: The Three Idiots starring Amir Khan
A very funny Bollywood movie that cracked us all up..long but worth it. We watched it here at the retreat but it took 2 nights as we were all falling asleep after dinner...All is well!
Dr. Senthil has been loading on the work...he outlined our final exams which will be both theory and practical. I won't bore you with the entire list but it covers pranayama, asana, disease and yoga therapy, chants and prayers, reports from patients we have worked with for therapy, and lots more. Diana figured out we are doing about 6 hours of yoga a day which is working visible changes in our bodies. My spare time is used for sleeping, studying and absorbing what is all around me.
Movie recc: The Three Idiots starring Amir Khan
A very funny Bollywood movie that cracked us all up..long but worth it. We watched it here at the retreat but it took 2 nights as we were all falling asleep after dinner...All is well!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Jala Dhouti
Warning: do not read this post if you are squeamish.
Kriyas are yogic techniques to clean the internal organs. They remove the waste materials from our internal organs that are not expelled normally. Dr. Senthil told us this morning would be our lesson on kriyas and to bring a bucket and a towel to class. Diana and I laughed nervously when he told us we would be vomiting, which is called jala dhouti. Essentially, the salt water washes your esophagus, helps digestion problems, and releases acids and gas from the digestive tract. When I asked him if that was also called bulimia he gave me the stare and said this was a serious technique.
Anway, we arrived at class, buckets and towels in hand and watched the good Dr. mix up a litre of warm water and salt. He then drank 5 glasses of salt water quickly and vomited into his bucket. If that wasn't horrifying enough the sounds he made were! He stirred up our vomiting solution and had us face the wall, sitting on stools with our buckets in front of us....Diana is teeny so after 2 glasses she was vomiting away, which made me laugh then ended quickly as I started gagging up the water. Fast forward to the end of class when we did kappalabhati breathing (fast exhales through the nostirls) tried to churn our abdomens, called nauli, and were told the capper of the class was basti (colon cleaning). Luckily, we were told to do that on our own time. The ultimate goal with jala dhouti is to have all of the water come out in one jet, like the water jet that comes out of the trunk of an elephant!
Result....we both felt great after!! Yogis are to do this technique once a month, accompanied by jala neti (nasal cleansing). Advice: don't try this at home alone :-)
Kriyas are yogic techniques to clean the internal organs. They remove the waste materials from our internal organs that are not expelled normally. Dr. Senthil told us this morning would be our lesson on kriyas and to bring a bucket and a towel to class. Diana and I laughed nervously when he told us we would be vomiting, which is called jala dhouti. Essentially, the salt water washes your esophagus, helps digestion problems, and releases acids and gas from the digestive tract. When I asked him if that was also called bulimia he gave me the stare and said this was a serious technique.
Anway, we arrived at class, buckets and towels in hand and watched the good Dr. mix up a litre of warm water and salt. He then drank 5 glasses of salt water quickly and vomited into his bucket. If that wasn't horrifying enough the sounds he made were! He stirred up our vomiting solution and had us face the wall, sitting on stools with our buckets in front of us....Diana is teeny so after 2 glasses she was vomiting away, which made me laugh then ended quickly as I started gagging up the water. Fast forward to the end of class when we did kappalabhati breathing (fast exhales through the nostirls) tried to churn our abdomens, called nauli, and were told the capper of the class was basti (colon cleaning). Luckily, we were told to do that on our own time. The ultimate goal with jala dhouti is to have all of the water come out in one jet, like the water jet that comes out of the trunk of an elephant!
Result....we both felt great after!! Yogis are to do this technique once a month, accompanied by jala neti (nasal cleansing). Advice: don't try this at home alone :-)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tea Time
Everday day at 4:00 tea is served (masala, ginger or green) and we gather round and shoot the breeze for a little while. Don't be disturbed by the people in robes, they are waiting for or have just had an ayurvedic treatment. I am dressed in white as yoga students have to wear a white uniform, very angelic. I feel a little nurselike wearing this. Another tea time in paradise.
Cooking class
Every Tuesday we have the opportunity to go to a cooking class in the retreat kitchen taught by our beloved cook Mohan.Today he showed us how to make coconut chutney (fresh ground coconut, roasted chickpeas, chile, cumin seeds and fresh cilantro, buzzed with a little hot water in a handy chopper, we have this every morning to put on pancakes or dosas), dosas, and a pancake called uttapon. Mohan puts out great food 3 times daily from his tiny kitchen and 4 burner stove. It is all very low tech. Many of the dishes are cooked using a pressure cooker. Bonus..when we leave we get a copy of the retreat cookbook so we can continue the deliciousness. So good.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday day tripping
Sundays after the 7:00 a.m. yoga class we are free to sleep, study, frolic or do whatever we choose. This past Sunday we hired a tuk tuk driver to show us some sights around town. We drove up into the mountains to look at the views but unfortunately we were socked in by white fog..still had a great time though. Sims park in Coonoor is lovely..notice the people paddle boating and the decrepit life vests left on the dock. Only in India! This gave us a huge cackle.
The bottom photo is of the current student body...Diana from Mexico, Kerrie from Australia, and myself. Kerrie is studying ayurveda, and Diana is taking the yoga TT. Our next Sunday adventure will be to Mysore, which is about 4 hours away to see the temple and take in the sights.
The bottom photo is of the current student body...Diana from Mexico, Kerrie from Australia, and myself. Kerrie is studying ayurveda, and Diana is taking the yoga TT. Our next Sunday adventure will be to Mysore, which is about 4 hours away to see the temple and take in the sights.
Happy Pongal to You!
Yay! Yet another festival day in India! Pongal (harvest festival) happens every mid-January as winter is deemed officially over and the sun starts making its way north. Pongal lasts 4 days, and today was the day to celebrate and worship cattle. Animals and humans coexist side by side here...it's not uncommon to be walking along a path and see chickens or goats meander by. No one blinks an eye. You can see below that cows are especially honored by decorating them with flower wreaths and putting a bindi on their heads. We have 3 cows at the retreat who are well taken care of. Today their little barn was decorated as well as themselves! They looked a little embarrassed to me. India is big on decorating...cows, busses, cars, trucks...they are all named and covered in decals.Pongol is also a rice dish as well. Here's a link if you want to learn more about pongal... http://www.pongalfestival.org/pongal-festival-celebrating.html
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tuesday
Since I am on enforced sick bay for a cold I took a little walk to see the monkeys...have not had time to visit them lately. It was a bonus day for them because we liberated a bunch of small bananas from the breakfast table. Have you ever seen a monkey peel a banana? They gently bite the skin and delicately peel the skin away, taking tiny bites of the inside. They have better manners than some humans I know!
It's always good to see the monkeys. It's hilarious to call them down...soon the branches way up start rustling, the big ones come down first followed by the smaller ones.
It's always good to see the monkeys. It's hilarious to call them down...soon the branches way up start rustling, the big ones come down first followed by the smaller ones.
Musings about India from a Western mind part 2
Everything happens for a reason, doesn't it? I have caught a small cold and have not been able to shake it, feeling raspy and a bit feverish. This afternoon Dr. Mouli felt my pulse and confirmed I have a mild respiratory infection and told me to take 2 days off from major exertion, cover my head! and eat lightly. It's amazing what the ayurvedic doctors can tell about you just by a brief check of the pulse. He and Uni are now brewing up an herbal concoction in the lab for me to take. It's nice to take a break and sit her in bed tapping away...okay by me.
A few days ago I had some hours of feeling completely overwhelmed and exhausted. I felt teary and weak after the morning practice session, which preceded my private class with Dr. Senthil. I told him I didn't know if I could do this thing and doubted my ability to finish the course at my advanced age of 56. He assured me 17 or 70 makes no difference and the intention and motivation to practice would be the tipping point. He also assured me that a meltdown was perfectly normal as imprinted patterns we carry in our bodies are being unlocked to create room for newness. Hip openers, especially, release a lot of emotion. He said," You have been very busy for a long time, haven't you? This is the first time you have time to practice intensely and see what comes up with no distractions." So true but of course I was embarrassed...he was very sweet and said it was all good and to just let whatever comes up happen.Well, he does have a Ph.D in philosophy. When I talked with some others here who are doing the ayurvedic or yoga training they all told me stories of their own wee meltdowns and we had a good laugh. Part of the process as I always say....easy to talk the talk but not alway walk the walk. The power we have in our bodies to unlock and process what lies within us is vast. Diving deeper into yoga therapy, learning more about mudras, chakras, pranayama, and meditation and other healing modalities will improve my teaching immensely. I'm ready to jump in armed with faith and the guidance of my teachers and others in this strange and magical place 6,000 feet high in southern India.
The photos with this post are of Dr. Senthil demonstrating variations of padmasana (lotus) for your viewing pleasure.He assured me that if I practice lotus consistently I will be able to do the posture by next year. We'll see..I'm currently a no lotus person. Padmasana is the first in a 36 posture series I just started learning...many of the asanas are familiar to me but let's just say they are advanced. Wicked advanced.
A few days ago I had some hours of feeling completely overwhelmed and exhausted. I felt teary and weak after the morning practice session, which preceded my private class with Dr. Senthil. I told him I didn't know if I could do this thing and doubted my ability to finish the course at my advanced age of 56. He assured me 17 or 70 makes no difference and the intention and motivation to practice would be the tipping point. He also assured me that a meltdown was perfectly normal as imprinted patterns we carry in our bodies are being unlocked to create room for newness. Hip openers, especially, release a lot of emotion. He said," You have been very busy for a long time, haven't you? This is the first time you have time to practice intensely and see what comes up with no distractions." So true but of course I was embarrassed...he was very sweet and said it was all good and to just let whatever comes up happen.Well, he does have a Ph.D in philosophy. When I talked with some others here who are doing the ayurvedic or yoga training they all told me stories of their own wee meltdowns and we had a good laugh. Part of the process as I always say....easy to talk the talk but not alway walk the walk. The power we have in our bodies to unlock and process what lies within us is vast. Diving deeper into yoga therapy, learning more about mudras, chakras, pranayama, and meditation and other healing modalities will improve my teaching immensely. I'm ready to jump in armed with faith and the guidance of my teachers and others in this strange and magical place 6,000 feet high in southern India.
The photos with this post are of Dr. Senthil demonstrating variations of padmasana (lotus) for your viewing pleasure.He assured me that if I practice lotus consistently I will be able to do the posture by next year. We'll see..I'm currently a no lotus person. Padmasana is the first in a 36 posture series I just started learning...many of the asanas are familiar to me but let's just say they are advanced. Wicked advanced.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Hot water bottles
OK, let's be honest. Have you ever put a hot water bottle under your quilt to warm up the bed, and then put it on your feet? I have never experienced this particular joy until last night. It gets chilly here at night up in the mountains, about 50 degrees or so. Early morning at 6:30 is brisk, but the temperature rises quickly when the sun comes up.So, we go from wearing sweaters and fleece to early yoga, to sunbathing and taking walks wearing sleeveless tops from 10 to 3.
Anyway, last night I saw someone trudging off to bed hugging a hot water bottle to her chest with a big grin on her face. I asked Uni if I too could have a hot water bottle (I'll call them HWB for short) as I had never tried one...pure bliss! I put the HWB under the blankets for a few minutes and slid into a deep sleep with the HWB near my feet.
I highly recommend this method, especially during the chilly New England winter that most of you are enduring.
You will not be sorry.
Anyway, last night I saw someone trudging off to bed hugging a hot water bottle to her chest with a big grin on her face. I asked Uni if I too could have a hot water bottle (I'll call them HWB for short) as I had never tried one...pure bliss! I put the HWB under the blankets for a few minutes and slid into a deep sleep with the HWB near my feet.
I highly recommend this method, especially during the chilly New England winter that most of you are enduring.
You will not be sorry.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tired
I don't think I have been this tired physically since I was training to run a marathon WAY back in my younger years...I am loving the yoga though and hoping after this first week my body adjusts and I won't be quite so beat. Dr. Senthil's mantra is stagnation breeds disease, and I am sure there is no cell in this body that is currently stagnant!
One thing that is helping are the abyhanga ayurvedic massages I am getting in the morning. Heated medicated herbal oils are slathered on you by 2 ladies who massage the soreness away. The massage table is like a giant wooden platter with a lip to catch the excess oil...very slippery. Totally marinated! This helps to calm excess vata, hydrate the skin and heal stress.
One thing that is helping are the abyhanga ayurvedic massages I am getting in the morning. Heated medicated herbal oils are slathered on you by 2 ladies who massage the soreness away. The massage table is like a giant wooden platter with a lip to catch the excess oil...very slippery. Totally marinated! This helps to calm excess vata, hydrate the skin and heal stress.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Yoga!
Well my friends, I am the only yoga student here for this training. It's a good thing as I get a lot of one on one time with Dr. Senthil. This is my schedule:
6:30-7:30 morning yoga
7:30-8:30 Advanced yoga with Dr. Senthil
8:30 breakfast
10:00 Advanced yoga theory
12:30-1:00 core strengthening yoga (called weight loss yoga)
1:00 lunch
3:00-4:00 Intermediate yoga (ass busting class taught by Ganesh, Dr. Senthil's brother)
4:30-5:30 yoga therapy, where I work with other guests one on one
5:30-6:30 yoga and meditation
Saturdays I have a weekly test, and Sun. I teach a morning class and then have a free day. I am sore in places I never knew exsisted but it's all good. I am working hard on my challenging areas of the body...hips and shoulders. Dr. Senthil makes me sit on the mat cross legged for our talk sessions to open my hips, and has designed an exercise series for me to do every day in my spare time. Groaning to him does no good, he just smiles and says "next stop for you army". My muffin top is melting away! That is a very good thing.
I am also learning prayers to chant at the opening and closing of class. This is my favorite one so far:
Om, dyauh saantih, antariksam saantih
Prthivi saantih, aapha saantih
Osadhayah saanthi, Vanaspatayah saantih
Visvedevah saantih, brahma saantih
Sarvam saantih,saantir eva saantih
Om saantih, saantih, saantih
In heaven peace, peace in the space between us, on earth peace, on the waters peace, in plants peace, in trees peace, peace in all powers, in spirit peace, peace in everything, peace alone,Om, peace, peace, peace
6:30-7:30 morning yoga
7:30-8:30 Advanced yoga with Dr. Senthil
8:30 breakfast
10:00 Advanced yoga theory
12:30-1:00 core strengthening yoga (called weight loss yoga)
1:00 lunch
3:00-4:00 Intermediate yoga (ass busting class taught by Ganesh, Dr. Senthil's brother)
4:30-5:30 yoga therapy, where I work with other guests one on one
5:30-6:30 yoga and meditation
Saturdays I have a weekly test, and Sun. I teach a morning class and then have a free day. I am sore in places I never knew exsisted but it's all good. I am working hard on my challenging areas of the body...hips and shoulders. Dr. Senthil makes me sit on the mat cross legged for our talk sessions to open my hips, and has designed an exercise series for me to do every day in my spare time. Groaning to him does no good, he just smiles and says "next stop for you army". My muffin top is melting away! That is a very good thing.
I am also learning prayers to chant at the opening and closing of class. This is my favorite one so far:
Om, dyauh saantih, antariksam saantih
Prthivi saantih, aapha saantih
Osadhayah saanthi, Vanaspatayah saantih
Visvedevah saantih, brahma saantih
Sarvam saantih,saantir eva saantih
Om saantih, saantih, saantih
In heaven peace, peace in the space between us, on earth peace, on the waters peace, in plants peace, in trees peace, peace in all powers, in spirit peace, peace in everything, peace alone,Om, peace, peace, peace
Botanical gardens and Mudumalai park
After Sunday yoga class at 7:00 we have a free day, so a group of us ventured to Ooty. Ooty is called the "Queen of the Hill Towns" and is home to a steam powered toy train that winds its way up the mountain back to Coonoor Station. (On the way back, we had to wait a bit as a small group of bison blocked the track.) The Botanical Gardens were lovely. Many families were there enjoying the day...a small boy followed us and asked where we were from. He and his family (pictured below) were quite excited to chat. Everyone I have encountered so far has been friendly and curious, full of questions about where I come from, accompanied by a big handshake with a hearty happy new year.
After the trip to Ooty, our driver brought us to Mudumalai game preserve, where we hopped on a small bus to drive around and look for cheetahs, tigers, and bears. Unfortunately, all we saw were 2 peacocks and many black faced monkeys. This didn't prevent all on the bus from going nuts when they spotted the peacocks..maybe they're a rarity in these here parts.
After the trip to Ooty, our driver brought us to Mudumalai game preserve, where we hopped on a small bus to drive around and look for cheetahs, tigers, and bears. Unfortunately, all we saw were 2 peacocks and many black faced monkeys. This didn't prevent all on the bus from going nuts when they spotted the peacocks..maybe they're a rarity in these here parts.
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