Things are moving nicely along in the ashram...A major breakthrough--I have learned to not be competitive! (well in asana class. I cannot be--the other yogis in my class comprise of an ex gymnist, an ex dancer, and a CURRENT acrobat for Cirque Du Soleil...yes. Mmm hmmm. And so I am fine with remaining the er 'class project").
Inbetween the asanas, chanting, and eating with the hands, we actually DO get some free time. Ashram doesn't have as rigid a schedule as it may appear (although we do have to ask permission to leave the premises) and many extra activites are available.
I will list a few of these activities here:
1. "Silent" walks. There have been two silent walks so far that replace meditation. The experiences couldn't have been more different. On Sundays we wake up at 4.45 am to see the sunrise and mediate on the mountain near our ashram. Its beautiful, the air is clear, and people sing with hearts full. We have some amazing singers among us. Compare this to the Wednesday night Lake walk. Unbeknowst to us, the town was having some christian revival during the same time as our night walk. Indian Revival style is something else...oh those southern Baptist have a long way to go. Indians may not have money for food, but they do for speakers. For miles outside of the revival podium, speakers were positioned through the forest to blast the words "praise the lord. hallelujah!" and some 10 syllable Indian gibberish. People lined up along the street to wave their arms in unison. Our meditation spot was occupied by the Christan revival leader herself, so our confused walk leaders just had us sit down in a parking lot near the lake, and encouraged us to try to chant our meek Hindu words ("OM") over blaring 'Praise the Lords'. I felt a competition brewing... "OM!" "Praise the Lord!" "OM!" "Praise the Lord!" Then mad chanting started. "Om namo narayanaya..." To make matters worse, our chant leader was so bad and off key no one knew what to do so everyone just sang their own chants to their own beat. All the good singers seemed to have left. It was truly a frightful experience. I am putting this into the suggestion box 'chant leaders must audition to lead the group. Off key chant leaders make us want to join the Christian revival group.')
2. Neti. Yesterday instead of yoga we learned to clean the nose. 0kay--I was fine with pouring a little salt water into one nostril and let it drain out the other (weird but doable)...but we were asked to do the 'catheter up the nose out the mouth thing'. For those not familiar with India nostril clearing practices...people put a tube UP their nose, yes all the way.....and then grab it at the back of their throat and pull it OUT their mouth. Good times. After watching a few brave Germans gag on the tube, I declined to try this. I guess we learn purging next week. Yeah.....I think I may leave before this.
3. Aryuvedic massage. As I mentioned earlier I used one of my free hours to try aryuvedic massage. My brother was already alarmed with my mention of "areola rub" (he is afraid what the "new" Heidi may be into) so I will keep this simple. You enter a small dark room. The massage therapist instructs you to COMPLETELY disrobe. You then sit in a chair totally naked. She then pours oil down your head. It slightly stinks...naturally. You then lie down on a board while she gently rubs oil into EVERY body part. I would be more specific but we do not want this on the wrong website. It was...er...akward. After you are rolling around in oil like an eel, the "masseuse" (she doesn't really massage--she just spreads oil) takes a little tiny tube from a boiling pot of water and steams you...all over. Lovely. It is 100 degrees outside and now you are getting steamed. After the steam you are ushered into a shower where you are instructed to rub the oil off yourself with a chickpea paste. Yes, I took a garbanzo bean bath. I lef the room greasy and with chickpea remnants all over me legs. I smelled like a salad.
4. Pursuing the hot yogi. I think a few of us women include this in our daily practice. 'Oh your karma yoga is to clean toilets? Why, I LOVE cleaning toilets! Why don't I come and help you!!' I see him again under a tree reading "How to be Pure." We chat. "But of course eating meat is disgusting. Besides a few filet mignons now an then I don't eat much. Did I mention I was a vegetarian for 14 months...so perhaps I was 19, but I really liked not eating cow for those 14 months."
5. Beach trips. Every Friday we have off (well, after our morning meditation--that is NOT optional--they even take attendance). Happy to escape, I convinced a Israeli bartender, a Singaporean therapist, and a Swiss banker to join me to Varkala, a beach town with dramatic red cliffs that drop into the ocean and the most amazing fruit smoothies! We all did a bit of body surfing, got pedicures and ate taboo foods (garlic and fish) and felt utterly indulgent. A perfect day!
See, ashram life ain't so bad afterall!!
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