some Pictures

Mailing Postcards

Ashram Flowers

Sorry.. this isn't easy or fast... so here are a few two more pictures from the last little while. But supper I have a test to study for in two days, a class to teach in three and dinner to eat in 15 3 minutes... what a frustrating experience... all the other pictures are coming up "server error!" I will likely NOT do this again.

whoa! Wait... a few more! I guess the internet needed a dinner break too!

Who lives in a Pineapple under the Himalayan Foothills?

Typical transit truck

The View of the Ganges near the Ashram

Mash-up Remix Update

Howdy! Although you've seen posts all this week (thanks to future-posting abilities) I feel like it's been a long haul until I've had a chance to reflect... these last 6 days are especially hectic with both work and energy. Lots to experience. Lots to comprehend.

Okay, actually too much! I wish my biggest challenge had been finding the post office (check) but there were many more; in particular... Anatomy class. Thankfully this was embodied anatomy so I got to spend as much time palapatating (uhh or some similar sounding word that means to feel the anatomy of another person) as reading text-heavy biology-related books (one style of litereature that have not grazed my fingers in years!)

First of all - wedding season. This is not limited, in Rishikesh, to a few weekends in summer but rather every auspicious day before a new moon. Last week: five. Ooookay... No problem. But here's some of my own myth-busting on the topic.
(Myth)They are all the way across the valley! Busted. When we could hear the mic checks from the roof-top terrace... at 4pm... I knew I needed to re-evaluate my expectations (or find a way to sneak over and Wedding Crash). I guess outdoor and semi-outdoor functions lose that "noise buffering" feature.

But if they start at 4pm surely they'll be done soon after! Busted. Busted and MORE Busted. Silent meditation after supper feels almost ironic when done in the beautiful resonance of the meditation hall that has perfect acoustics for the traditional Indian dance songs the band was playing.

At least there's a noise curfew! Busted... as with most a few rules here... I am pretty sure I don't get them... or if they exist a few (hundred) rupees can change the game. But 11pm? No problem... I never go to bed early... IN CANADA! I am all tuckered out and tucked in by 9pm. Once I stayed up until 10pm and I nothing less than astounded.

...at least I won't be able to hear the chior of dogs! *single tear* Busted... they are massively talented these dogs. More lung capacity than after a Yogi Guru after a one hour session of Pranayama.* Sleep: 0; the Dogs: 1.

At least it's a cultural experience! I am not even going to say it... the first four, across the valley DID have traditional music (and exceptionally loud, but still Hindi-speaking, Emcees) but the last one? Across the street (i.e. think your neighbour in suburbia) definitely opted to go more "Western" with a DJ and such savvy remixes and dance songs that I have not even heard it. One of my fellow students/ashram dwellers/go-to-bed-early-ers... even said she heard a Ke$ha song. No. Not okay.

But luckily for us the days have become less auspicious again - three consecutive days of dogs-barking-only-silence.... but speaking of silence (another post, for another post...)

*yoga's breathing exercises to help strengthen respiration and to increase the volume of the body to incorporate as much energy as possible (from the breath).

Contentment Study

I keep mixing up the words "compassion" and "contentment."  This is especially odd because they are ENGLISH words and not things like "shaucha" and "santosha" or "dharana" and "dhyana" (which I am having little to know problem keeping straight (when I remember them at all...)

But now I know that santosha and contentment are one in the same. Well, okay I kind of knew that already... at least I did as of a few weeks ago. That's when I decided (even while still at home in the throws of moving and winter and job-ending and life upheaval) that I would be writing my paper/giving my yoga-talk on the yoga sutra* 2.42 - Contentment leads to unsurpassed joy.

I'm now on the search for contentment... intellectually and philosophically by next week, but practically for every moment... my whole life. But it's a tough one to realize. To actually, fully be content. No matter what.

Yeah, some things are easy "contenement points" a Saturday afternoon in summer when the yard work is done and you've got nothing in between you and your favourite book (except maybe the most delicious chilled glass of iced tea in the county). That's the kind of contentment you only need to acknowledge. It's the bleak-day, nothing-special assignment with cold coffee and a hang nail kinda days that "contentment" gets a lot harder. So that's why I picked it. It's actually something I look forward to learning more about and practicing.

Two things on this Contentment Study I've already learned. Gratitude is a big part of it (more on that later). And the more I get to look at amazing Indian bookstores & libraries to find sources and inspiration for this study the more content I'll be! I've got 6 new purchases including a couple books of poems so I'm pretty much delighted, never mind content!


*Patanjali's yoga sutras have been translated a great many times but a great many people. This one is just one take on it but the concept of contentment as translated from santosha is fairly consistent.

Ganges Experiment

Best Saturday morning activity? Yoga!

Afternoon? Well this past Saturday's 6km walk (one way) to a beach on the Ganges river with a picnic lunch sure hit the spot! It must have been 24 degrees (Celcius) and Even though we draw attention like a parade as we walk it was SUCH a beautiful day and a perfect little outdoor excursion. That was also a very inspiring moment: writing poetry in my journal, dipping my feet in the chilly mountain water and eating flatbread and beets and curried chickpeas in the sun on a rocky beach? Yes, I definitely love it here!

The Ganges was more then just a river. I KNOW I am not the first one to say that. Millions of people worship the sacred waters as a Goddess and there are daily rituals, offerings and chants all along it's 2506km. Many in India call her the Ganga Ma or mother Ganga.

foot in the Ganges

There were donkeys and dogs and oddly close-hovering middle-aged male swimmers that added, uh, atmosphere but on the advice of my inspiring-ly spiritual roommate I took a few moments of contemplation and give an offering to the river before dipping my feet in. I had a small flower and lots of respect for the beauty and power of the waters... and was brought to tears after my 30 minute river-gazing session. I felt inspired to write a poem or two and then even felt the bright blue sky with its wispy clouds smiling with sunshine. Actually though, I'm not sure I'll type the whole poem out here... I'll save that for my Tourist Candy blog; which will have to wait until next weekend :) I've got a test to study for!

Aurevedic Sunday

Today I must have really been listening... my intuition led me to skip breakfast. And I LOVE breakfast! I was told last week about a really good Aurevedic doctor here in Rishikesh, Dr. Aurora (How can you go wrong with a name like that? It reminds me of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. sold.) and to have an assessment one cannot eat for four hours prior to the appointment.

I walked up the hill/road to the main road and down the comparatively empty street. Apparently Sunday morning at 9:30 is the time to take your pictures without being trampled by a combination of truck/motorcycle/crowds taking your picture/cows. I walked up to the small green building with white lace curtains and pushed open the door with the red cross on it. "Dr. Aurora is not here now," said the plump man waiting on the bench with a polite smile and oddly proportioned backpack. He was dressed in a traditional suit of baggy blue green pants and a tan tunic shirt. He appeared to be a decorative element in the almost all mint green room with a row of ceiling-level cupboards and a little window into a room of bottles, jars and spices. However, his discomforting and persistent cough made me think otherwise.

For those of you not quite sure if I was at a walk-in clinic or health food store... you'd be right if you blended the two together (and throw in a little energy-balancing & astrology - no system of science in India can be without it!) Aureveda is the holistic herbal/medical tradition of India and is closely aligned with yoga. We are actually going to be studying a bit more about it in the coming weeks of this course, but suffice it to say it's a whole, complex system based a lot on nutrition and the regulation of three types of energy or dosha.

Everyone has some of each dosha (kapa, vata, pitta) but has a tendency towards one or a blend of two. Apparently (I was reading ahead in my course material) very few people are "tridoshic" or have an equal measure of all three doshas. So I found out I am a Vatta/Pitta.

Now you are thinking, great. What the heck does that mean? I was also given a longer assessment and a simple "prescription" (which I'll mention later), but in general I am a Fire/Air person. My kapa (or water) is balanced. Basically there are different kinds of foods, environments and life-planning systems* that work best for each type to try and balance things. Luckily my assessment included focusing on the naturally sweet foods (check!), drinking lots of water and herbal tea (check!), avoiding laziness (check!) and not getting so emotionally wrapped up in things (uhhh... I'll work on that).

The doshas also have "common ailments" including things about digestion, skin conditions and typical pains/afflictions and diseases. I won't go into all that but the underlying message for me today was: at your age, don't worry about it!

So I asked about one superficial thing: acne. My prescription? It was actually written on formal Doctor's Only paper... 1tsp of Tumeric every day for three weeks. And drink lots of water. Hm, I think I can manage that. Right, and stop worrying... Not quite as short term, but I'll get on that too.

*life planning systems is a term I just made up to include: climate, sleep patterns, rigidity of scheduling and other aversions/attractions that are divided up along these three lines.