I have been living at an Ashram in India for a week. I'm about 30 minutes from the city of Nasik in a beautiful place called Trimbak. There are lush green mountains in the distance. The sunsets and sun rises are just breath taking. (I'm up ever day before sunrise, so I see them often.) There are small little houses and farms all around. The flowers and plants are gorgeous. A small elementary school is nearby. The school children walk to school everyday by our ashram. The level of independence they have is amazing. I will see small kids about 2-5 years old walking alone-that would never happen at home. The driving is crazy too. There are no laws that anyone follows and on the streets there is perpetual honking and switching lanes. I've thought I would almost get into a head on collision about twenty or so times. I saw a family of six riding on one mope head. Cows are often in the road. The colors of clothing are just amazing. I love watching the local women carry large baskets on their heads and see their multi-bright colored saris blow in the wind.
It has been a wonderful experience, challenging at times. I'm staying in a hut with my three close friends, Sarah, Sara and Laurel. We have our own sink and bathroom. There is no separation between the toilet and the shower, so the floor gets really wet all the time and we are constantly having to clean it. The hot water heater is broken, so cold showers are becoming the norm. Most of the time we just use a bucket and a water scooper. I'll feel so spoiled once I get a hot shower. I've been doing my laundry by hand. Our beds, are not the beds I'm used to. They consist of a thin mat that is only a little bit larger than half a twin sized bed. It rests on a metal frame with four posts around. Every night I sleep with a mosquito net on the four poles. I've been told the nets aren't even for mosquitoes necessarily, but spiders and scorpions. We had a huge centipede in our room the other day. Our accommodations are simple. It is a nice change from what I'm used to. I've lived my life with such excess. After a week I've found that my bed is becoming more comfortable everyday.
The schedule is full. A bell rings at 5am and we have "soy coffee" at 5:30. There is no real coffee.. no caffeine or anything stimulating for that matter. They don't even cook with onions and garlic. In Ayurveda it is considered too stimulating unless it is used for therapy or medicine. After the drink we chant mantras in Sanskrit and then meditate for a while. This is followed by two hours of yoga asana (postures--the kind of yoga found at a gym in the US. We have breakfast-usually fruit and some kind of potato, rice curry, bean mush. I've never eaten so many pomegranates in my life. They are delicious. We have 2 hours of lecture. Then lunch. We get an hour or two off, then it is karma yoga (cleaning, helping in the kitchen, planting etc...) We have 2 more hours of asana followed by dinner at 7pm. At 8:15 their is question and answers, and sometimes Sanskrit training. By 9:30 we are done and all I can imagine doing is sleep. Their are 28 people in my course, from all over the world.
My body is adjusting, but my hips still hurt after only a few minutes of sitting cross legged, my back aches from sitting up straight. I assume I'm interrupting some flow of energy when I move around, but I just have to always adjust. However, I'm definitely more flexible and postures are already easier. I feel the healthiest I have felt in a long time. I keep wondering what my body will be like when I leave. Or what would happen if a drank a glass of wine?
My yoga teacher was late to class the other day, because he was off catching a cobra. He literally hypnotizes them.
I came into Nasik today, Friday, our only day of for the week. A friend of mine and I decided to get a massage from somewhere we were recommended. I'm still a bit speechless from the experience. I think that every single ethical rule I learned in the US was just thrown out the window. I would never go back. It was the most nasty thing ever. A girl in
my school just raved about this place. So a friend and I went. We
thought "hey for $10 why not?" They brought us to the back room and
there were two tables and you could barely move. They asked us to
undress, while their other clients were still on the table. I felt so
gross after. They didn't even wipe down the table or wash their
hands. I felt like I was sliding on other peoples sweat and muck and
oil, cause the table was so slippery. I can't get over how gross it felt, even though the massage
itself was relaxing. Hopefully, I will find a place where I can get more authentic Ayurvedic treatments.
I saw moving huge advertisements attached to seven camels walking around the city. A man rode through the city on an elephant.
I went to Old Nasik this morning. It is considered one of the holiest places in the country. At a river we went to there were temples all around. People were bathing in it everywhere. I wasn't sure whether it was for ritual or to take a bath. I'm assuming both. The poverty is heart breaking small children come and beg constantly. They follow us everywhere, knowing that we are different and probably have money to give. If you give a few cents then more children come and it never stops. We have to say no and keep walking.
But the people are so sweet sometimes. A seven year old boy today followed us because he was interested. He wanted us to take his picture and he loved looking at himself on the digital camera. A family with many babies and young kids did the same. The loved posing for us and the children jumped up and down with laughter when we showed them the photo on the camera. A father holding his daughter dressed in pink sparkles loved having us shake her hand and wave.
Well, I'm heading back to the ashram. I'm finding that place a safe haven amongst the cities in place of immense poverty and filth. The smell and pollution in the cities here is unbearable. Although, in a way it is a wonderful to witness. I have lived my life with hardly any chaos, and here it is everywhere.
I'll write again soon.
