Got a new yoga mat bag out of pure silk..for 3 dollars! My god you wouldnt believe the deals around here. Check out my 'neti' pot...the little white thing that looks like a penis on the floor there...I had to fill that sucker up today with warm saline, tilt my head to the side and jam the nozzle in my nostil, and pour. until half of it had poured out my other nostril onto the ground. They change nostrils and repeat. Imagine yourself taking a giant suck of water up your nose in the pool. Amoungst men and instructors, I had to watch giant gobs of snot pour out of my nose and then blow. Put your finger on one nostril and puff 10 quick bursts of air (not air, snot filled spatter), then the other side, and then just 10 huffs in general to get all the remnants out. Apparently my nasal surgery I got in 1997 after a year of sinusitis was crafted such that I could pour properly into my right nostril and it came out fine, but when i poured it into my left, it pooled in my sinus and a build up that I had to cough and sputter out. It's not cool to complain that you've had surgery and therefore cannot do the daunting task, so I at least attempted it. This is going to be my ritual for the next 45 days from 630-7am...so I better get used to it, and I'll have to fake the left and just do two rights. Amazingly enough, you do feel cleaner than ever after..and it really helps with your breathing.
Here are some shots of the ashram:
Luckily I have my shots! Some of the people wont go near her for that very reason. I just want to take her home with me! After learning a whole bunch of new chants, spending an hour singing and praying, we did a greulling 2 hour yoga session and I promise you there are poses there that I had no idea even existed. I pushed myself and that was a mistake. I'll explain later.
After that session, some of the girls wanted me to show them the market so they could buy some stuff, so me and Catherine from Austria, and Blagitza the play writer from Macedonia went hunting for deals. Hence the new yoga mat bag. I have to admit, I am a shitty bargainer. I have to work on it. 3 dollars? I could have gotten it for 1. They play on your guilt, you filthy rich westerners. Here is a couple shots from the path to the market, and the second is overlooking the ganges from up on the cliff. I'm not sure if you can make it out, but there are some white water rapids happening down there near the shore..apparently this place is a mecca for white water rafters who would like to increase their fecal coliform count.
So yesterday, while I was with Ryan on the path, we bought some of these crispy yellow looking thingies to eat from some crippled dude tending over a fire. I was weary but Ryan said he'd eaten them before and not gotten sick. So, I grabbed one. They look like cardboard, but are full of flavour, and they even have hot chilies throughout and make for a great light snack. So, I picked one up. Not 50 feet later I noticed a HUGE monkey approaching me from far away through the trees. Everyone in my party started to panic.
He was coming right for the crispy. Foolishly, I broke off a little peice and tried to hand it to the monkey, who jumped right at me, landed a foot from me and grabbed onto my yoga pants. Jesus. He didnt want the little peice. He wanted the whole thing. He wrestled me for it. Lets just say I felt like I was being robbed, but I was not about to argue. I savoured the last bite of my now non existent crispy. Considering it was 10 cents for the whole thing..it was easy to part with. Those monkeys are feirce! Again, thank god for my rabies shots. All of the locals were mocking me, and I was glad to be the spectacle.
That afternoon after lunch (the food is amazing by the way) we learned about Anatomy and Physiology of yoga, and had another yoga session for two hours. I fell asleep a bunch of times because I was so exhausted. 4 hours a day...my god. Turns out, the philosophy of yoga is much more interesting than I thought..it talks about the human condition and how yoga is going to save the world. They plant these little ideas in your head that leave you thinking about our planet on a global level. The yogi talked about Westerners, and how the family unit is breaking down, and therefore society is becoming isolated and detached. He said we dont use our brains anymore, and that these days not one person has the ability to remember a 7 digit phone number. It's not far from the truth, considering our divorce rates, and ensuing screwed up children. Ahhh, philosophy. He asked us what prevents us from getting what we want, and with all the excuses, he just sat there and said...you have free will. If your dream has not been obtained it's because you did not let yourself follow it, no matter what the barrier, you let it stand in your way.
Dinner was scrumptious, and I am so freakin tired I'm going to crash. It's been storming here, but warm...and that's all that matters. Namaste! xoxo
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