India 2015 - Part 4

I will begin this post with a classic Ang story. In my last post I talked about the amazing doctors I’ve seen since I’ve been in India, but I did not discuss the magical ora of Dr. Raj, they physiotherapist. To say the least, all the girls find him groovy, in the most Kindergarten crush kind of way. The last appointment I had with him, the power went out so we had half of our appointment by a combination of mobile phone light and candle light. The power was still out when I was about to leave so Dr. Raj offered me a lift back on his motor bike. I accepted, considering that I had seen 3 snakes since I’ve been in India and I did not have my torch with me. On the ride we had a nice chat about my research paper and how a full moon affects the human body (Think how if affects the tide of the ocean, our bodies our mostly water…).  When he dropped me off, there was still no power, it was very dark out. I stepped off of the motor bike and fell into a ditch. He was like, “Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!” I climbed out of that ditch so fast, said I was fine, thanked him, and then ran into my villa in a mortified manner with a scraped hand and leg.

With a bit of a bruised ego and bruised body,  I made it to the end of my program. Stephen literally completed his nearly 30 hours of travel just in time to make it to my graduation Pooja. It was really nice to have him there.

After two days of beach bumming, Stephen and I headed 7 hours East to Hampi. Hampi is known for it’s amazing rock formations and historical ruins built between 1300-1500.  Our first day in Hampi, while waiting for the boat to cross the river, an Indian family placed all of their 5 children in front of us and proceeded to take pictures. We just went with it. The photos didn’t stop there. Throughout the next three days, I posed for around a dozen photos with several school groups. Stephen was never asked again after the family photo. I'm not quite sure why they wanted photos with me. I'm funny looking?

Our Hampi visit would not have been complete without Stephen and I getting slightly lost on one of our excursions in 90 plus degree weather. We rode some shitty bikes with no gears over 10k up and down not very well paved rolling hills. We did eventually find the lake we were looking for and took a dip. Of course we couldn't stop there. After the lake, we rode to the "Monkey Temple," and climbed over 500 steps to get to the top. 

Wearing our selves out was the best thing we could have done. That night we had reservations for a 12 hour train ride to Mysore. Getting to the train station itself was something I have not yet experienced in my travels. I have definitely experienced some very uncomfortable and scary modes of transportation, but nothing like this. I don't even know how to describe this rickshaw ride other then when we arrived at the train station I felt as though all my organs had switched places and all of my muscles were soar. 

Thank God we splurged and paid a few bucks extra for first class train tickets, we got "beds!" At the train station, Stephen spotted Indian Ang, I made some more dog buddies, I prepared for my train ride with what else but the "Darjeeling Limited" soundtrack. The outside of the train definitely looked like the train in the movie. The inside, not so much.

Presently, we are in Mysore. Yesterday we saw the Mysore Palace which is unreal! Google it. The next few days I'm hoping to take some yoga classes with BNS Iyengar, who is my yoga teacher's teacher. BNS Iyengar studied under Sri T. Krishnamacharya. My teacher told me that I just need to tell the school that he sent me and I should be able to get into a class. Eeeek, I'm scared! Stephen's a bit under the weather today so we're chillin in a nicer hotel watching The Hobbit and drinking tea. This nice hotel only allows us 4 hours of internet on one device per day so I can't upload any pictures off of my phone quite yet.

Goa, India 2015 - Part 3

I wish I had taken a picture of myself every week since I arrived in India. I don't wish I did it to prove that I've magically lost tons of weight because I have not, but to show what no alcohol, Ayruvedic meals, and a regular yoga and meditation practice can do to you. Not that I fancy myself (I picked that one up from English roommate), but to show how much alcohol, your diet, and stress effect your physical appearance. I'm sure my insides are also looking pretty nice. You are what you eat!   I feel like I'm glowing. My skin is brighter, my eyes are actually whiter, and my hair and nails are shinny and strong. It's blowing my mind!

The last few weeks I've finished my research paper, "Reconnecting Ayurveda and Yoga," I've created an outline for my business plan,  I've presented my research paper, and taught a meditation and asana class relating to my research. On Monday, I will turn in my final portfolio. BIG sigh...

In my free time I've done a lot of watching crabs, frogs, lizards, dogs, and ants very closely. I went to the beach by myself one Saturday afternoon and spent close to an hour trying to get a good picture of a tiny crab. I didn't get one. I have also been taking advantage of cheap massages and Ayurvedic doctors and physiotherapists.

The local Ayurvedic doctor, Dr. Rohit, teaches my Ayurvedic class. Dr. Rohit welcomed everyone in our program to come for a free consultation; to find out our dosha (body constitution) and what we need to do to keep ourselves balanced. When I went in all he did was feel my pulse for 15 seconds and then proceeded to tell me; I am a Vata, I was bloated, and that my heart chakra needs work. For those of you that don't know me very well, I get bloated easily and I had open heart surgery, I still have a tiny heart murmur.

I was recommended to see the local physiotherapists by both of my roommates (whom are both Amazing - from London and Brazil) for my siatica.  Raj is his name and he is quite adorable and knows his shit. When I went in, he spent about a half an hour just asking me questions. When he began the physical examination, he literally put two fingers on my back and told me that I need to stop over exerting myself. Again, if you know me, I get told this a lot. We further discussed my 31 years of age aches and pains, but I shall spare you the details. My back is feeling great, I h

ave another appointment with him next week.

All in all, things are going great. I'm trying to stay present, but I am extremely excited for Stephen to get here next week! We'll be staying in Goa for a day or so and then head East for some real Indian adventures.

Also... I got my nose pierced.

Goa, India 2015 - Part 2

I've now been in India for 2 weeks and wearing the same blue shirt for the last 2 weeks. My life has consisted of a lot of asana and sitting crossed legged on the floor. My body is getting stronger and more flexible, I've actually seen a great improvement in my yoga practice already, but both my body and mind are feeling wiped.  By the end of each day, my knees are aching like a 90 year old woman and I usually have no feeling in my right leg. In our classes we are not allowed to sit with our legs extended. Showing the bottoms of your feet to your teacher is considered disrespectful. When I want to whine about my knees, I think about the Baba that has been holding one arm in the air for a year or more. I will survive.

Because I've been so achy, I decided to get a massage. Massage's here cost between $10-$15, steal of a deal.  I made an appointment for an Ayurvedic warm oil massage. I've had massages before, you usually get almost naked, underwear stays on. Not here.  The massage "therapist" had me get butt naked and just stood in front of me as I undressed. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but I was going with it, thinking this is how they do it here. First she had me sit down on a chair and then dumped a bucket of oil on my head and give my a head, neck, shoulder massage. It wasn't so bad. Next I got on the table, she dumped another bucket of oil on my back and proceeded to beat the shit out of me. Then... I had to flip. As if I wasn't uncomfortable enough. She dumped another bucket of oil on me and went to town. I was trying to stay cool, but my body was extreamly tense throughout the entire thing.  However, she didn't leave me feeling completely taken advantage of, she wiped me down with a towel.  After my massage, I went to dinner with the girls. They asked how the massage went. I replied that it was ok. They proceeded to talk about their experience and how annoying the paper underwear they give you is. Only me...

I quickly moved on from my massage experience and got sucked right back into the craziness of the program. [Side note: I did go to another place for a massage and it was great. I quickly became friends with the owner; I played with her little boy, she showed me a video of him moments after he was born (he was premature), she fed me curnels of corn off of her corn on the cob.] I have been chanting and meditating so much that when I go to bed the chants play in my head like I am actually listening to music.  My dreams also sometimes contain the chants as well as my fur child.

This past week we have been meditating on the chakras. I am the wiggliest person ever, so meditating is a challenge for me. Most days, I find myself day dreaming. However, this week I thought I was daydreaming, but apparently I was doing something right. After we meditated on the heart chakra, my face swelled up and I exploded in tears. I have no idea what I was crying about.  After we meditated on the throat chakra, I found myself writing down all the things I hate in my meditation journal. This yoga is some crazy shit. I love it!

Goa, India 2015 - Part 1

Getting to Goa is like having a baby. It's a pain in the ass and it hurts real bad, but once you are there you fall in love and forget all the pain you've endured. I've never given birth, but that's what people say. This is my second time coming to Goa, therefore it's like I've had two Goan children.

When I first arrived, my excitement got the best of me, instead of taking a nap after over 30 hours of *nightmarish travel, I drank masala chai, I swam in the pool, I walked to the beach and jumped in the Arabian Sea, bought some weird pants, and ate curry.

*Nightmarish travel - When I got to Mumbai, at least 3 different people told me to go take the bus (15 minute ride) to the domestic airport. I did, no big deal. I hung out there for over 3 hours. I got in at 11:30pm, my next flight wasn't until 5:30am, check in didn't open until 3:30am.  When I went to check in, the gentleman at the counter told me that I needed to go back to the international airport and that I was probably going to miss my flight. I almost cried, but instead I put my big girl panties on , grabbed a cab and navigated my way through one of the largest airports in the world. Seriously, google it. And then... on my flight the gentleman sitting next to me asked me a few questions. I responded politely and then went back to what I was doing. In one of my answers I mentioned my husband. He told me that I don't look or act like a married woman. I'm not sure what that meant, but I apologized to Stephen (my husband) for not looking or acting like a married woman.

On Monday, January 5th, I began my yoga program with Himalaya Yoga Valley. This program aint no joke! What my schedule looks like...
* Silence from 6:30am-11am everyday. Silence from 6:30am-6:30pm on Thursdays.
* Half-days on Saturday. Off on Sunday
6:30-7:30am - Meditation, chanting, pranayama (breathing)
8:00-10:00am - Asana (yoga poses)
10:00am-11:00am - Breakfast
11:00am-1:00pm - Lecture (either - philosophy, anatomy, ayurveda, business)
1:00-3:00pm - Lecture
4:30-6:30pm - Asana
On top of that we have homework and reading to do every evening and a research paper that is due at the end of the 5 weeks. I kind of want you to feel bad for me because that's a lot of work, but to be honest, I am loving every minute of it. In my few hours of free time, I've been hanging out with my local dawgs that are actually dogs - Lilly and Molly,  perfecting my English accent, drinking watermelon juice, and day dreaming of living here.