as much as i would like to duplicate my experience in india, the more i realize how much of that country is just incomparable. i miss it so much; at least my experience of the AT is remembered every day just going out of my house; the yogic experience of living in the ashram is quite unparalleled.
I was one american female in my group; my bud jeff was the other, hailing from atlanta area.
So, the international ratio was quite nice, something that I miss about the experience. Getting different perspectives under one roof with one language, in the yogic tradition. South Africa, Malaysia, Canada, Peru, India, Danish, Scottish, French learning in english (!) this study of yogic therapy from an established hospital treating over 25,000 people. Through the cleansing rituals, we were puking and fainting right along with each other, so it was hard not to find common ground somewheres. we lived together and coexisted in this place devised for a little taste of direction, in a country well known for it's spiritual pilgramages.
also, the scenery...good lord. Gorgeous. Seeing wild cows in the street. Third world country smack in your face. Being sick just from the air...the unbelievable strength of the sun, bucket showers, one hour of service (karma yoga) a day, immense self study diving into the Upanishads...Amazing experience.
the people made it incredible, for sure. i was prepared for the worst, as i usually tend to do, and was pleasantly surprised by how many people just helped me because i asked them. it was quite a trusting experience. then, the more i engaged and realized nobody was out to get me, it became more of an unforgettable experience. interaction was cool. i learned what 'indian time' meant. the value of carrying 5 million copies of your passport around with you (pictures, too). i fell in love with the color combo of purple and orange. i dressed the part to fit in, even got my nose pierced in homage to the ladies fashion. a change that was nice way to bring a little bit of culture with me.
still...the chanting, the meditation room where i wept for joy at the immense feeling of peace and acceptance in there, the union of wonderful people learning to give a little more back. the daily yoga nidra sessions.
Really incredible.
How I learned was quite interesting as well; I chose to do an intensive training program, so as more of a disciplined approach. i wanted the full yoga treatment; so no coffee, no meat, no onion or garlic. of course no alcohol. a flush toxically as well as a spiritual one, i suppose...but whatever it did, it flushed beautifully. I came back a vegetarian and tea drinker, and definitely lowered my alcohol intake from before i left. feeling good, glad to have taken the plunge.
As far as my yoga teachings that grew from that experience, I can say it was completely different from what I have been taught here in America. Asana is our limitation here, and for alot of people, that's what draws them. And how couldn't it? Drew me into it, for sure. Yoga has this amazing way of making you feel incredible every time you do it, whether or not it's physical or even if it creeps into your psyche, so the full benefits, as the Indians teach, are just beginning to scratch the surface. It actually gets better the more we practice, and in different ways. yoga nidra (yogic sleep) chanting (mantra), dhyana (meditation), pranayama (controlled breathing), shatkarmas (cleansing practices) in addition to asana can actually restore the body's natural healing mechanisms, cultivating that feeling of freedom on all levels of the body (koshas). you feel great internally and externally, which is indeed a God-given right. Balance is what we should strive for, not perfection. Yoga is excellent for discovering your internal balance that we seem to lose touch with.
I can tell you one thing...that wasn't my first trip there. I will go back, and soon. Hopefully for a little bit longer; I think that was the only thing I regretted was not staying there longer, and traveling the country a little bit more. However, the peacefulness of the ashram made it easy to slide into the culture, I was grateful for that. I tried on an adventure by looking into something I wanted to immerse myself in, and I succeeded with flying colors, as that first step tends to always pay off.
if interested check out http://www.yogapoint.com; a great resource for all things yoga, as taught by the world famous Bihar School of Yoga, founded by Swami Satyananda. I hope to finally post some pictures on here at some point, stay tuned.
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