Chronicles in the clouds 3

This weekend, we started off with a thorough 'Sat kriya cleanse' that I'm sure looked somewhat cult-ish and grotesque to passerby's enjoying their peaceful walk via the waterfall...

Once in Nature

It was 7am and we all crouched, scattered across the bank of grass behind the main yoga hall, retching on empty stomachs at staggered intervals after having drunk multiple glasses of warm salty water. The technique is advised to be done once a month to cleanse your stomach and intestines of all the gunk that gets stored up over time... But I was surprised by how many of us were willing to engage in the activity, it was a bonding experience to say the least.

Trikonasana

We watched skeptically as our main teacher Mahi demonstrated, while instructing us to take our glasses, fill them up from the vat of salty water and drink until we needed to throw up. My mind grappled with the bulimic association of the activity and the phrase 'driink the Kool Aid' but I tried to keep a positive & open mind. My turn came to cleanse my stomach and in between my serious-faced retches I couldn't help but giggle at the surrounding sounds and S. Shrieking in a German accent 'Ya, Ya keep going, do it louder it's helping me!' Those that had completed the task wondered back along the path with puffy faces and tears streaming, ready to move on to the cleaning ritual for our nose & eyes... I'll spare the bizarre details.

Posting postcards in the tiny post office!

I emerged from the experience feeling somewhat vulnerable but cleansed of all the mental & physical waste that wasn't beneficial anymore. I felt for O who was walking around with a full belly of salt water that hadn't made its way out yet :/ ... If not one end, then the other?
For breakfast we ate plain, soothing porridge with no harsh or acidic flavours to disturb our stomach lining; lunch was 'Kichidi' a plain, 'ghee' filled risotto of sorts and then it all went downhill at dinner as I couldn't resist the outside temptations, gorging on 'momo's' and Bhagsu Cake (millionaire shortbread, that deserves it's own post altogether) ... whoops.

Beautiful lunchtime escapes with T.

It seemed fairly ironic that we began our day with a cleanse and ended with a rave, but alas, the nature of impermanence struck again. N, the nomadic American-Indian DJ was playing some deep house infused with worldly sounds at 'Once in nature'. The night started off fairly tame as teachers and students came together to eat organically sourced vegan food and enjoy a beautiful view, where the clouds changed with the sun set.
The slow, Sanskrit chanting began and soon transitioned into a cosmic rave, provoking impressive yoga poses all over the dance floor... everyone's inner party animal came out as cobras flowed into scorpions, surrounded by walking bridges and one-legged trees. The party moved along up the steep path to 'The Welcome Cafe' where we danced until the sounds slowed down (restricted by the early sound curfew). A Bhagsu cake and one too many Masala Chai's later and I was out...

Practicing in Shiva cafe

I arose the next morning, looking out the window and becoming the clouds that were lethargically floating around me. Up the cobbled path I walked along with my yellow umbrella (that I've managed to keep a hold of despite losing it daily), feeling surprisingly fresh at 8am after the rave the night before. The staff were feeling a little rougher, so K guiltily woke them up and a group of us rejoined for breakfast, sitting exactly where we'd eaten dinner 12 hours before. The indulgent 'chocomango bowls' arrived and the morning began: Home-made muesli, fresh mango, a dollop of home-made chocolate and almond/ coconut milk or yoghurt mmm yesss!!!

This is where we live!!

And now, I close my eyes and return to the present moment. I sit with my legs crossed, becoming aware of the lack of sensation in my bum... I'm on 4 chai's and can feel the caffeine running through my veins. Drinking in a deep breath of air, I feel my lungs expand as my heart takes comfort in the melodic chatters of my yoga family that's sat next to me. The sun's going down and suddenly, the weekend is almost over. We've spent 2 weeks getting to know the intimacy of our teachers, each other and our own journey through yoga. An important lesson I've learned while studying Patanjali's '8 limbs of Ashtanga yoga'  is that 'asana', the 3rd limb (that originally stood for only sitting postures and has grown to encompass all yoga postures) is only 1/8 of what yoga represents. The other aspects are detailed and dense so I won't go into them now, but they make up a pure yogi's existence, a set of ancient laws to live ones life by... It was interesting watching the documentary the other night that described how the west so often takes yoga out of context, focusing only on the 'physical' and turning 8 limbs into one. It's so special being able to learn the practice in its entirety.

From day 1, the learning has extended beyond the classroom; the number of people on the course was 'accidentally doubled  (don't ask) and although this required adjustment (from both the management and us) we have so many interesting characters, I don't think we'd change anything. Everyone has their own special thing, an educator in their own right, and through sharing their personal experiences, I've learned about the most diverse areas of life ... the courageous journey of a 12-step programme, the ridiculous technical engineering (with E as the mastermind) behind the scenes of Lady Gaga's flying costume (?!), living as a member of the R.A.F or working with illegal immigrants in Holland. There are teachers, journalists, engineers and photographers; everyone's a different character of different ages and nationalities... yet through a shared interest, we've found a smooth, unified harmony.

I've started to take joy in the little things: the comfort of a dry towel in damp weather (that happens twice a week at a push after laundry day), the enriching smile of the shoe-walla at the bottom of the steps as we say 'namaste' and...  radish-free salad ;). That which annoyed me on day 1 has become somewhat comforting - I quote S. when I write 'with time, you can get used to anything'... and I feel, it's about that time.

At the beginning of a yoga class, it's nice to think of a San Kulpa (intention)... So in a moment of reflection, as this week comes to an end I hope to resist the daily Chappitis that make my tummy hurt :(, engage in the hard work of our extraordinary teachers and fully take advantage of our cloudy surroundings with prayer-flag scattered waterfalls and the occasional flash of red.

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