My first day off!

I'm adapting to India nicely. My time at the ashram is surprisingly very busy and that suits me fine! Our schedule starts at 5:20am and lights are out at 10pm. We are learning a lot about yoga in many different ways. Back at home in Canada, 'yoga' means only the exercise part of it. However, yoga is so much more. There is the entire philosophical side of it, the karma side of it (pertaining to helping others selflessly) and the singing/chanting part of it. I find myself exhausted by the end of the day, yet I am strangely energized as well! Last night we had a traditional Indian music concert. A man played a 'sipoor' (sort of like a small harp) and another man accompanied him with a 'gadjam'..... that might be spelled wrong. The music was so beautiful and the musicians were so passionate about their music.

The food is very, very good at the ashram. I will miss it a lot!! It is all vegetarian and it is so very tasty! We sit on the floor and we eat with our hands! I'm getting much better at it.... at first I felt like I was in play school making a mess of my plate!! Since I can't take any photos of the eating hall, here's a link to describe what it's like...

http://www.ifood.tv/blog/how-to-eat-indian-food-the-traditional-way-a-survivors-guide-to-indian-dining


The power goes out ALL the time here!! Luckily I brought my trusty headlamp! It has come in handy almost everyday! Also, we have had thunder and lightning storms every night and the rain POURS down! Last night I sat out in the rain for about 20 mins and I played with a few frogs!!

There are monkeys just outside our lecture hall and they sit and watch us!! I find it funny because when we are trying to meditate, we refer to our busy mind as a 'monkey brain' because it is so hard to stop thinking about things. The monkeys come around to distract us..... it sure is a TEST not to watch them!! Today, on our day off, we went to a temple in the mountains and monkeys were everywhere, and they came right up close to us. I have so many amazing pictures, but I will have to post them a little bit later. As I said, internet is very slow here and I have to do it when I have a lot of time.

We are already learning how to teach each other the asana classes. We get into partners and teach each other how to do one posture at a time. It's been very helpful for me and I like how we're gradually becoming more comfortable with it. This is a very great course. I am so happy I'm here.

When I first arrived here in India, Michelle and I spent our first 2 days in Madurai. We were very much OUT of our element. Everything was so very different from the way it is back home. A week has gone by and now, being back in this city for my day off, it's exciting to see how much less intimidating it is to me already!! I eat the way they do, I recognize so any of the things the people are doing and I understand why it so much better now. This is truly turning into an experience I will never forget.

Slowly Michelle and I are planning our next month of travel. We're getting tidbits of suggestions from many of our new friends who know the areas we're hoping to get to. We now have a lot of places to check off on our list!

One thing we know we plan to do is a 10-day Silent Meditation retreat. It'll be very difficult not being able to talk for 10 days. From what we've heard, no one leaves disappointed. It'll be such a great opportunity to go deeper within ourselves.... You may not recognize me when I get home.... I'm changing so much already.

Well, I have a few emails to write, so I'd best be finishing up. I might not have time for an in depth post next week. I think I might take my next day off and truly make it that.... a day for rest! That will mean I won't come into town for internet. But, know that I am safe, and absolutely loving and appreciating every second while I'm here!

Much love... xoxo

Life at the Ashram....

Hello all my fellow followers....

Internet is very, very slow. I won't be posting much until my day off on Friday.

So far, all is well. I am learning a lot and adjusting to life here.

My 15 mins on the computer is up..... see you Friday!

MADURAI

We've arrived in Madurai. We got ourselves a room for 500Rupees/night. That's about $12.50!!! We're getting pretty good at navigating the city and we got to the 'i-net' place today without getting lost once!! Today we toured the Meenakashi temple, the largest in India, and we had the most knowledgeable tour guide.... Nadarajan... he was amazing and taught us a lot! I don't know how much I remember, but I was fascinated at the time! Michelle and I got sized for our very own Indian clothing and it'll be ready for pick up at 5pm. We are going back to the temple tonight to watch the 'Bedroom Procession'... something they do every evening @ 9:30 with the fertility Gods. Should be interesting!

It is sheer MADNESS here on the streets. Traffic is everywhere. Horns honking, people crossing at any chance they get. We saw a cyclist get knocked over by a rickshaw on our ride in from the airport!





Last night it finally quieted down around 3am. By 4:30am I woke to the chanting and singing of the Brahman priests at the temple.... they were waking up the Gods.... obviously! :)

So far, people seem very friendly and helpful. Aside from the traffic, I feel pretty safe, but don't worry mom, we're keeping our wits about us! Often we are approached by people selling things or people asking for money, but they don't hound us for too long. They ask, accept the 'no' and easily move on with out much of a fuss.

People LOVE having their pictures taken!
This guy gave us our shoes back after we visited the temple...



This guy made us some chai tea this morning.... it was delish!



This fellow cooked our yummy dinner last night!



This little girl's parents thought she was so cute, they asked me to photograph her!



Tomorrow we leave Madurai and head to the ashram! Michelle and I are very excited to see what that place it all about. Our course starts Sunday!

The BEST part about the temple today was when we were blessed by the elephant. Our tour guide said it is a blessing of happiness and basically it means nothing but makes the tourists happy!! haha




A few of my favourites so far....

Making Our Way to India-town...

The clock on my laptop says 4:58am. I'm sitting in the Hong Kong airport, shaking off a 14hr flight, 5 movies, 2 meals and 4 wobbly bathroom breaks. The plane was HUGE, with a staircase and about 20 flight attendants! Michelle and I had great seats, right at the front of a section, with tonnes of legroom and envious glares. It was a pretty good way to start off our adventure!!

Monday night a bunch of my friends gathered at the Coppertank for some last minute farewells. Thanks for making me feel so special guys! Playlists, candy, Rupees, cards.. Awww shucks, I wasn't expecting such a send off!





Kerry made cute treat bags that she decorated perfectly for the occasion....



I stayed up late last night, packing... re-packing, and then packing once more.... until I had made my final decisions on what was coming with me and what was staying. Lexi almost made it into my backpack!! :)



Tara (my angel-of-a-friend who's living at my place and cat-sitting while I'm away) brought over her things a few days ago, and she saw Michelle and I off this morning.... wait..... make that yesterday morning....



There are things I've forgotten to do, but nothing major. Too late now anyways!! I'm dead tired, as I always am before a big trip, but I'm not worried. I'll be going to bed @ 10pm every night for the next month for crying out loud!! I've got a couple of hours to nap here in Hong Kong before the next leg of our journey.... 2 more flights to go while we wait in suspense. We've been told what to expect, but we won't really know until we see it all for ourselves.....

It's Getting Closer!

On Friday, Michelle and I headed out to a couple of travel shops to cross off a few more items on our lists. Mosquito nets, insect repellent, money belts, etc, etc. I also got a new camera bag that I think will work very nicely!!



Me with my new 'impregnated' mosquito net.... I hope this thing works!! We bought them at the Travel Clinic, where I got my shots earlier this month. The 'nice lady' gave us suckers..... :)


My buddy Michelle as we shopped in MEC. Does she look like a world traveler yet?

So... what am I gonna be DOING in India??

That's a very good question.

Next Tuesday (October 19th) my dear friend Michelle and I will be traveling to South India, to stay at an ashram just outside the city called Madurai. We'll touch down first in Hong Kong, then Chennai (formerly known as Madras) and then onto Madurai. I believe we will then take a taxi to the ashram (or a train, or a bus?). That's something we should probably figure out soon, hey? We'll be living at the ashram for a month as we both complete our 200 required hours of training for our yoga teachers' certification. After that, we will be full-fledged Yoga Instructors!!



This will be our daily routine:
0520 hrs Wake up
0600 hrs Satsang
0800 hrs Asana, pranayama class
1000 hrs Brunch
1100 hrs Karma yoga
1200 hrs Bhagavad Gita lecture or chanting class
1400 hrs Main lecture
1600 hrs Asana, pranayama class
1800 hrs Dinner
2000 hrs Satsang
2200 hrs Lights out

We'll have one day off a week. I expect that will be the time for adventures and day-trips to places not too far away!

Here's the link to the ashram where you can find lots more information if you're interested!

http://sivananda.org/india/ttc.html


*This photo looks pretty old. We have 'uniforms' to wear. I wonder if they'll look like these ones!! Ahhh!!


After the month-long certification, we'll have another month in India to do as we please! There's no point traveling half-way around the world to turn back before we've had some major exploring time!! For now, we have a very basic outline, and when Michelle gets here in a few days, we'll make a more structured plan. Some of the cities on our list are as follows....

Thekkady, Kumarakom, Alleppey, Varkala, Mysore, Bangalore, Bijaipur, Pondicherry, Mumbai..... and many others. I've been told that the state of Rajasthan is very 'India' with elephants and temples, etc. but at this point we don't know how far north we will get. I'll do my very best to post as often as possible, to keep the peeps back home informed of our 'whereabouts'!

So many future stories I don't yet know about!!!

One Week Until Departure!

In exactly one week, I'll be saying goodbye to my home, my kitties, my friends, my sis, my jobs, clean tap water and personal space!

There is so much I still need to get done before this week is over. Only once Michelle and I are on the plane will I take a deep breathe and say.... "I'm ready!"

Stay tuned for many 'Adventures in India'!!








*These are beautiful photos, unfortunately they are not mine, but ones I found online*