By the end of week 2, we'd found a nice rhythm. Our final class of the day is meditation, and our meditation teacher, Ram, joins us for dinner. After dinner we all sit around the fire, crack walnuts courtesy of Vikas, drink hot ginger and lemon and go deep on the questions. Mithun has an endless supply of philosophy questions for Ram, that range on everything from "What is time?" to "What is a siddhi?". Ram is a very funny, very spiritual yogi. Over his years of practice, he's even completed 2 years of hard sādhana. This for him was 2 years of living in a cave and meditating for many hours a day. He is very patient, even from the persistent line of questioning on Tantra and celibacy coming from some (one) of the group. All our teachers have very different attitudes to the yogic lifestyle, and I am enjoying learning a lot from Ram, Vikas and Sonu.
A recurring theme of the week seems to be that pranayama is incredibly powerful, in particular kapalbhathi. This is because the body needs oxygen, and breathing also has a powerful impact in calming the brain. Even a few minutes makes a big difference, and I want to try and keep it up once we leave. When it comes to the physical, we have progressed in Ashtanga and Hatha, and also had our first Art of Teaching class with Vikas. As the week went on, the yoga food and increased pace of Ashtanga has taken a bit of a toll on me, and by Sunday my neck/ shoulder was feeling the strain so I took things easy. By next week we will start leading each other through our sun salutations, and I need to get learning the names of all the asanas.
The food has continued to be delicious. Every morning, after Pranayama and Hatha, we have breakfast in the sun. This includes team favourite papaya, and sometimes additional fruits. 2 new ones include chikoo and sugar apple/ custard apple. Sugar apple in particular is so tasty, and we have had them a few times. Lunch and dinner is always amazing, with lots of dhal, curry, rice and chapatis. I am also enjoying lots of chai. I've now been veggie and booze free for over 2 weeks, and haven't even really noticed as everything is so varied. Who am I? Will ahinsa continue into 2024?
My daily walks have got a bit patchier, but on one of the days we made it to the nearby Secret Waterfall. It's amazing how clean and clear all the water is, and how alive and calm all the nature is. The monkeys are everywhere, and if occasionally a bit optimistic when we're having breakfast, they are very friendly. The cows continue to be iconic.
For our day off this week, we went for a sunrise trip to a temple that looks out over the Himalayas. The view was breath taking, and in the mist we could see the sun rising, bright and red. We did our sun salutation mantras and saw some other yogis doing their kapalbhati to sunrise. It was stunning being there, and we spent a good hour taking in the view and living our best influencer lives, before heading back into town. On our way down, we stopped for chai and I made a new four legged friend.
Big news for lunch, we headed to the market for some pani puri, it was worth the wait! Vikas took us to his recommended spot and it was sensational. The spicy one was hot, hot, hot, but very good. I ended the day off with an ayurvedic massage that was heavenly. My back is feeling better, and I'm feeling good for week 3. We have a new schedule and I can't wait!
Loving these updates!