So, I just spent the last 4 1/2 days at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Neyyar Dam, Kerala...check out the website: http://www.sivananda.org/ndam/ and now I'm back in Varkala, just for the night, because tomorrow I....
1) head to Ooty to be in a bollywood movie!!!! Gloria (my friend from Poland who I met a few weeks ago in Ft. Cochin) knows a bollywood recruiter. We had a discussion about needing to make some money...well, pretty much the only way a Westerner can make some fast cash in India is by working in a bollywood film...so she called up her recruiter friend to see if he (by chance) had any work for us. Turns out he did!! So we head up tomorrow and start work on the 10th. They pay us PLUS cover our accommodation and food! And besides all of that good stuff, it'll DEFINITELY be quite an experience!!! I'll keep you posted!
2) The Sivananda Yoga Ashram was super intense, but helpful in discovering new parts of and deepening my own spiritual practice. Reflecting upon my time there, I definitely will incorporate a few bits and pieces...and leave the rest. You know...make it your own. I'll write more about it at a later time, but I'm grateful for the opportunity.
3) Kerala is for sure my favorite state in India. I've been in Kerala for a month now...and it just might be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's got this tropical goodness going on amongst a humble mountain range. Right now it's turning "winter" (and by winter I mean going to 90 degrees from 100)...so the leaves on the palm trees are turning this yellowish-golden-orangey color. Brings a smile to my face every time I look out the window of the bus or train.
4) I think my abs will be sore for the next few days...at the ashram we did two, two-hour yoga classes at day! Phew!! It was awesome though, and I learned some great pointers to share with my future students!
5) Traveling alone now for a few weeks...and so far so good! I met some really awesome Dutch girls in Ft. Cochin that I traveled with for a few days...then came down to Varkala to meet a Polish girl (Gloria) and we stayed together at a hostel (Sky Lark) for a little over a week. At Sky Lark I met some really great people and became close with another American girl, Fiana. Gloria, Fiana & I spent a lot of time together at the beach, drinking chai, and chatting with the locals. The three of us will continue our adventure together with the bollywood filming! And at the ashram (I left Fiana & Gloria in Varkala for a few days and went alone)...I also made some meaningful connections with people from all over the world. Thank Shiva for facebook!
But that isn't to say that I haven't felt lonely or homesick or stressed about my future or money or this or that...because I have at times...but it's all a part of the process, right? Overall, however, I feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude for this time...so grateful that I cried. Is that normal? Hahaha...normal for me, I guess. I cry at Oprah....
And now it's time for some food. Ah! I'm gonna eat something non-Indian because after 4 days of ashram food...I'm ready for the good stuff!
Would like to hear more what you thought about Sivananda (my vague experiences with it had me definitely 'taking some, leaving some' as you said).
ReplyDeleteAnd my thoughts to your above questions:
1) Yes, Right! Trust the process, woman :)
2) Totally normal. Well, that coming from me who cried at 'Air Bud'
Way to go, Solo Traveler!