En route to Dharamshala |
I, along with many other beautiful souls are halfway through our journey to become Yoga Teachers with 'Mahi Power Yoga', far far away in a little town named upper Bhagsu (Dharamshala, India).
I arrived in Delhi alone, feeling that familiar rush of humidity in the airport after a long journey from London via Dubai ... a phrase that has resonated with me throughout this trip is ´You may make plans in India, but in the end, India makes plans for you´... this lack of control was initiated from the beginning. A group of us got in touch with each other and organised via whatssap to meet up at the airport, before our last leg of the journey in a tiny aircraft to Dharamshala ... but alas, the wifi was not working and we had no way of recognizing our fellow virtual strangers..
I sauntered around the airport for a while and then sat down to sip on a king coconut and hide my bare legs from the wrath of disapproving looks, wishing I had access to the leggings in my backpack that had been shuttled off somewhere else... The expats in the little airport were soon reduced to shaved head Hari Krishna devotees, or a bunch of slightly worn-out yoginis; so it didn't take long to find each other and the excitement began as we shared stories of our lives, journeys and expectations of the course...
The opening ceremony |
Our beautiful teachers |
Yoga in 'Summer Hall' |
The fumes of incense twirled around the 40+ new faces and sound waves of chanting resonated all around us, soon to be drowned out by the heavy monsoon rain. A few strands of red string were tied around each of our wrists as a symbol of protection, our commitment to each other & the upcoming month. We ate dinner that night (blissfully unaware of the ´eat in silence´ signs that were taped on the walls) and formed our initial bonds before welcoming our first glorious sleep.
Yoginis |
Drying the tomatoes on our balcony |
From 7am - 7pm our minds and bodies are imbued with the ancient knowledge (Vedas) and writings (Upanishads) of the Rishis (ancient architects of knowledge from medicine to music). Our bodies are strengthening as we engage in Mahi's therapeutic yoga classes, become accutely intune with our own (mis)allignment in asanas, follow a strict Sattvic diet (mild, vegetarian, Indian food, adoorned with cumin seeds...) and a healthy sleeping pattern. The meditations each day have been an eclectic mix to say the least; from dancing to jibberish, Osho to visualisation techniques and pranayama to Tai Chi - each has been approached by everyone with an open mind and allowed a lot of emotional release.
One common favourite was the dancing meditation that began with 10 minutes of closed-eye 'body shaking' and lead into 40 minutes of spontaneous dancing to the changing beats. Laughs were echoed as 'I'm a survivor' by Destiny's Child transitioned into a fast paced Hindustani tune (and everyone began screwing in their imaginary lightbulbs...) The windows soon transformed from transparent to a sweaty opaque with everyone's body heat, we finally lay down in Shavasana (corpse pose), closed the practise and stood blissfully in line for dinner that snaked from the yoga hall to the buffet table.
The emotional release from all the self-work has been manifesting itself physically as the numbers in lessons continue to sporadically decrease, yogis retreating to their rooms after falling victim to another cold or tummy bug... Luckily (touch wood) I have remained healthy so far, trying to stay aware of whatever comes up & steer clear of becoming the next protagonist of a Delhi belly story (just as my stomach rumbles :s)...
Lunchtime escapes to our local waterfall :) |
The other day as I turned another page, there was a moment where I sat back and laughed... the ink had faded at the beginning of all the pages of the book, forcing my mind to pause and figure out the meaning of the sentences... I laughed at the text in front of me and the sounds of my 'quiet escape': loud conversations in Hindi and nearby drumming, not the most relaxing but appropriate background music nevertheless...
Ah, the limitations of time... that's the end of my lunch break today, time to get the books out again.
Message of the day:
"Nothing can make you suffer without your silent permission"
I love the way you write, perfectly describing our journey here in Dharamshala. You're beautiful inside and outiside Jessy!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to share this deep jpurney with you :)
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