Yoga Retreat, Day 1:

The picture is of "fewa lake" in pokhara,  which I overlook.

Today I had my 1^st serious flashback to the movie, “Eat, pray, Love.”     I remembered the scene when Julia Robe3rts wakes up  on her first day in the indian ashram to her alarm clock at 4:30AM for meditation, looks at the clock with disgust, rolls over, & basically pulls the cover over her head

This morning the bell rang at 5:30 for meditation. (see above) J

We did exercises to stretch before beginning the pose we’d keep for an hr,  which I thought was good.  I’ve always considered myself better than the average person when it comes to understanding accents, however, in light of the fact that I am seriously not a morning person, it took every ounce of my be3ing to decipher the direction from the instructor (who made Deepak chopra’s accent seem like nothing)

The 1^st chant was “so-haam” which means something like “I am the supreme consciousness of god”, kind of cool.  Then we broke into “om”ing.  Being a beginning meditator, I fully anticipated my mind wandering & had no intention of beating myself up over internal chatter.  And So it was….. “i really like her yoga pants.  i wonder where she got them.” , “the girl behind me sounds like a sick cat wailing when she om’s.”,  “am i doing this right?”, “ my foot just fell asleep.”  “he’s kind of cute.”

1^ST YOGA CLASS: ASHANGA, THE OWNER & YOGA TEACHER, IS A SHINING EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE PURSUEING THEIR PURPOSE IN LIFE.  YOU CAN FEEL IT IN EVERY WORD HE SPEAKS.  HE EXPLAINED THE DETAILS OF WHY WE WERE DOING EACH POSE & BREATH.  BEING IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, I  THOROUGHLY APPRECIATE THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW WHAT I’M DOING AFFECTS THE BODY, AS WELL AS THE MIND/BODY CONNECTION .  HE SAID THE YOGA EXPLANATION IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE MEDICAL INTERPRETATION.  I LOVE BRIDGING THAT GAP.

 THE MUD BATH WAS AWESOME!!  WE GOT IN BATHING SUITS & SMEARED RED MUD ALL OVER OURSELVES, THEN BAKED LIKE A CLAY POT IN THE SUN UNTIL DRY, & RUBBED(SCRUBBE3D) IT OFF.  the whole thing took about 45 min.  In ayurvedic medicine, it is a detoxifying process (& astringent as well I think). 

Every Monday, ashanga’s wife  does a silent meditation for 24 hours & has for years.  She said it is good to go inside & be in touch with our inner life & inner world.  We are normally so externally focused.

 

I can honestly say, today has been one of the best days of my trip (& it’s only 3pm). I feel like my trip has just begun in a specific respect. in light of the fact that a major reason I’m here is introspection, I feel like in this retreat will make good on that promise I’ve made to myself

 

annie.