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!