Chronicles in the clouds 4

My blog posts seem to have fallen short of time; the weeks have blended into one another and somehow the 200 hour yoga teacher training journey that we all embarked upon, has come to an end. Everyone has parted ways and flown the Bhagsu-nest, travelling to mountainous peaks in Nepal, Rajasthani deserts or summer days in Europe. A few of us have stayed on, transitioning slowly, renting little rooms (for 1 pound a night!) and settling into Bhagsu a bit...

Challenge complete!

Shopping in Mcleod

There was a lovely quote by our satvic teacher dressed in white at the closing ceremony: 'we meet to learn and we part to share'. Over the last month we've followed a strict 12 hour schedule for 6 days of the week, wondering in and out of lessons with intermittent breaks to the local market, or a nearby cafe. K. perfectly described our structured lives, living as 'yogabots.' The strings started to loosen for some faster than others, Masala Chai became a gateway for caffeine addictions to resume & the smokers haze in Dharamkot drifted down to Bhagsu. Satvic meals occasionally got replaced by a creamy curry & the consumption of Bhagsu cake became a regular occurrence; I could see the flash of  headlines in bold print 'Beware of Bhagsu Cake, the slow killer'. 'Hello to the King/ Queen' is another indulgent item on the dessert menu that I have recently discovered - the name some sort of a remnant from the British Colonial era.. it consists of an ice cream sunday with hot banana and bhagsu cake, mmm; it definitely left a sweet note at the end of our last group dinner.

I'm sitting in Om Star Cafe, looking through the giant dream catcher made of rope & watching the comings and goings of locals; the truck that's been trying to make

Once in Nature's 'pet' snake

a 360° turn on a narrow road for the last 5 minutes, another yogini doing their last walk down the hill with their backpack and yoga mat. Silent Baba's just ordered his hot cardamon milk with ginger and honey and is lighting his chillum - a distinct wave of charras floating through the room to join the clouds outside. Baba is the local, charismatic 'holy man' of sorts. He's 3 years into a 12 year vow of silence and communicates through gestures, sharp looks and his little notebook that he keeps tucked into his fisherman pants. Wherever you are, Baba will find you - walking bare foot, his one versatile dread swinging back and forth across his shoulders, brandishing his medieval walking stick with menacing dark brown eyes. His presence is loud despite the silence and his poetic messages allow a deep and somewhat confusing insight into the mystery behind the dreads.

An interesting Tibetan lunch :)

A traveler is walking down the stairs now, with a huge guitar on his back and a strawberry hat on his head. I feel like I'm in some sort of fantasy novel, the other day I was walking up the hill to 'Once in Nature' and I passed the woman selling her beeswax products on the rocks. I asked her how her bees were doing and she took me through that mornings routine. The next prehistoric landmark was the rock with the yellow painted sign leading to 'The Vegan Cafe' ... on this sat 2 monks and another man also wearing deep maroon garments. They leaned towards us as we walked by and showed us a picture of an Israeli man. They had been sitting from morning till evening for 2 days, asking everyone who walked by that rock, whether they'd seen the man that had lost his wallet. A man behind me happened to own the hostel near where the Israeli was staying, so they took down his number and thanked him. We wished them good luck, gave a little bow of respect and allowed them to continue their noble quest, having been given another piece of the puzzle.. For a minute, I reflected upon the ridiculousness of how frustrated we get in our daily lives when we have to wait for things, like when a webpage takes an extra minute to buffer and that hot, restless sensation takes over your body. These men had taken 2 days out of their lives for a complete stranger, you've got to admire that selflessness.

The shrine under the rock

The external simplicity of monk-hood has a gentle attraction; it's what I kind of love about Mcleod Ganj, despite its fairly chaotic energy, it is home to so many Tibetan Monks that carry around a contagiously peaceful energy. On our 3rd week into the course, we had a very special experience visiting The living Karmapa monastery, a stunning Tibetan temple and the Hindu temple that our main teacher Mahi had been to growing up.

Blessing the lingam

 I blessed the Shiva lingam with fresh water and leaves, following A's instructions. Listening to a few golden nuggets about how the blue Hindu god Krishna could be differentiated from Shiva because he always carries a flute... The 3 petaled flower that was a part of most statues and images in the temple stood for The 3 Gunas/ energy bodies (Rajas: Active/ awake state, Tamas: sleepy state and Satva: peaceful/ balanced state) that we fluctuate between during the day. It was interesting applying some of our knowledge to our cultural surroundings. We wandered down the rocks to the waterfall and poked our head under the huge rock with a tiny Shiva Shrine hidden beneath it... Back inside the temple I joined the circle of our group that was sitting with the local astrologer who was giving readings. A boy came in with a metal tray and sat down in the centre of the circle; after passing around the little metal cups, we sipped hot Chai and listened to our astrological destiny. Despite the slight lack of authenticity given the presence of the 'automatic astrology programme' on the computer in front of him, it definitely gave me something to ponder.

Tibetan wood-work

The day blossomed along with the deep wooden grooves and turquoise on the outside of the Tibetan temple... we watched how they paint the intricate Mandala's, carve the little wooden statues of Sakyamuni or bash circular metal plaques that become delicate goddess wrists. We crowded into a restaurant and ordered our food (all of which was probably cooked by one man; those at the end of the queue weren't too happy), receiving the nimbu-pani (lime soda) and breathing out a sigh of relief at the touch of a cold glass on a humid day. The Monsoon downpour began, and the dry roads were soon flooded with waves of rainwater, the traffic at a standstill and the horns continuously honking. Mahi took control of the overwhelmed staff behind the counter as we lined up to pay for our food, emphasizing the school-trip vibe :p.

The living monestary

A moment of silence

We dashed through buckets of water and piled into the taxi that wasn't ours - distinguished by my yellow umbrella that was missing for the 100th time. Arriving at the large yellow monastery I felt a wave of tranquility with the the collective energy of all of the monks that surrounded us. I walked past the metal bowls filled with water alongside the yellow Buddhas, half-listening to a jumbled Mahi explanation as to why so much water was used (something about the importance of the water element). I sat on one of the long, low maroon sofas in the room, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. The monotonous chanting of monks reciting their scriptures sending me into a meditative trance. How often do you get to sit in a room listening to layers of ancient sounds, recited by monks rocking back and forth in such a repetitive, familiar motion.
                       

I'm brought out of my past reverie by the sounds of the speakers; mmm how organically music shapes your mood. Bhagsu is as awake & Rajasic as Bhagsu can be; the eggman has delivered the eggs, the milkman milk, the washing has been hung on the multicoloured plastic grooves and the sound of one motorbike engine has drowned out everything else on the street. A month ago, a group of multicultural yogini's met dressed in white, to learn about the beginning of a world of knowledge and now we part with our slightly off-white clothes to share our experiences across the globe.

Quote of the day: 'Impermanence' 

Getting my new tat!

'Impermanence' in Sanskrit

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.

Quote of the day: