Ahram life and birthday

Tuesday 6.20pm
After a very long and exhausting journey, which was altogether 26 hours long, I finally reached the Ahram yesterday at midnight. I felt a little guilty, because some people had be wakened up to bring me to room etc., but after all I was just so glad to finally get a bed and some sleep. So, I had a room for myself for one night to let the others sleep and could sleep very very well, which was no surprise after being awake for almost 50 hours.
The rain that started in Mysore on Saturday keeps chasing me and so it also started to rain here very heavily in the night and it is still pouring. Today was still a sort of an introductory day and we where off until 4 pm. Most of the others went into town, but I went back to bed and slept another good 4-5 hours, which I definitely needed.
So far my impression of this place and of the people is very positive. Eventhough we are more than expected – I think we’re 44 total – I’m sure it’s gonna be an important and intense experience. The students I met so far had very different backgrounds, but everybody was very open and friendly. Our inaugoration ceremony was held by “Guruji” the actual founder of the Yoga Vidya Ashram. An old wise man, dressed in orange with a good energy. He gave us a short lesson about Yoga, life and this course. Then we sang a funny song that was written by the man who sang it to us, who is also an old wise Indian man with a cool vibe. The song went like “Heart, my heart calm down and be good. Be good be good and practise Yoga everyday. And so on.” He sang and we recalled. I loved it, cause it’s so simple and innocent. Then we got a lot of warnings about the wildlife here.Apparently we got foxes, hyenas, scorpians and loads of snakes here. In the office there are tons of pics with king cobras, which were caught in the Ashram. That’s why every room has a sort of protection step to keep them out. Well, great then after the leaches I gotta deal with their big daddys, he? I don’t mind snakes though as long as they stay away, I’m fine. Now I moved into the other room where I have 3 roommates who I just briefly met. Two ladies are already a bit older and married moms. One from Australia and one from Mumbai. The other girl is Polish and living in Portugal. They all seem to be super nice. I’m surprised to see how many people just flew over for this course. They also offer a volunteer programm for after finnishing the course. I met some who are volunteering now and they seem to be quite satisfied. We’ll see. This is my first day here and tomorrow the regular schedule will start at 5.30 sharp. I’m excited and really glad to be here.

Wednesday, Nov.11th 9pm
So, this was my first day at the Ashram…
It was full and full and full of so many different impressions. The day started at 5am. After a night without much sleep due to the rain and storm that is still going on by the way. It’s apparently a cyclon, which devastated the whole costal region. Here it was quite intense as well. We had to stop our lecture, as it was raining to heavily for the roof and we all got wet and was way too loud to understand a single word, too. Then moved to a “new” buildung for the Asana class (new means here still under construction;). So, the day was really experimantal today. Nice was that I had the chance to talk to some other students. Altogether my first day was full of ups and downs for me. I think this Ashram situation s actually much more challenging for me than I expected it to be. It’s just so many new things that one has to get used from now to then. No speaaking while eating, a full programm from morning to evening, 4 hours of Asanas and then they told us that there gonna be exams as well. When I heard that I suddenly wanted to leave immediately. I hate it to be tested! Especially cause I have my joint issues, which totally hold me back from some progress. And then I see all these much more flexible people…pressure. Well, I try to take it easy and focus on my own practise as I did before.
The food here is absolutely delicious. Most of it is organic and vegan (though I miss ice-creamJ). After the Asana class I went with Karolina – my roommate from Poland – to the meditation room, where we sat for half an hour. My joints felt so bad after that already and I’m starting to realize how hard the Vipassana will be. Not only mentally, but also and especially physically.
My roommates are cool ladies, but none of them is really chatty right now and everybody is sleeping already while I’m writing this. At least we have curtains, so I don’t have to have such a bad conscience. Oh, the power went out AGAIN! This is daily routine here. At least for 6 hours we don’t have any power daily.
They forcasted rain for the next 10 days. I really hope they’re wrong! It sucks so much to be wet all the time. I washed all my clothes the day before yesterday and everything is still wet and beginns to smell. Then these wet feet. Arg! OK, that’s it for today. A quick shower and that’s it for today.
Hari Om
Thursay 9pm
Today was challenging again. I could hardly get any sleep last night, cause the matress is so thin and so the bed is so hard that my roomate Mag even got bruises from it. So, I was very tired today. I talked to Guruji and Kate, who is working here since 3 years, about my joint pain and menstrual cramps and I’ll get some herbal treatment plus massage. They also told me that I’m NOT supposed to push any postures when it hurts. I must admit that I was pushing very hard even under severe pain I stayed in the Asana hoping that it would make me more flexible. Well, I’m gonna listen to them it sounds like the healthiest way. The lectures were great as well, now that we could finally hear what thery were saying, cause the rain and storm stopped. Thank god. I’m gonna try to sleep.
Hari Om

Friday 8.30pm
Finally the sun came out and surprised us with a magnificent view, which lets one think of Australia or Utah. Huge Canyons beautifully rise upon the horizon when I step out of my room.
The other “special” today was that I got my period. Now one could wonder why this should be mentioned at all. But being here at the Yoga Ashram the menstruation plays a big role as we’re learning new Asanas every day and over 50 % of them should not be practised during the period. Some of the teachers here even recommend not to do any Asanas for the first two days of menstruation. Due to the fact the we have 4 hours of Asana practise daily I had to deal with it. It’s somehow strange, cause we talked about it yesterday in our discussion (I was the one who started asking about it). I decided to takepart in the practise and to replace the inverted Asanas with others. Well, this somehow is also an inofficial statement for having your period, which is kind of strange to share that information with another 45 people who you normally probably would not inform about it…but I feel like it’s totally OK to deal with it openly here.
Yoga claims that women are spiritually much more open during their menstruation and I must say I can feel some of that today. After the class I was so full of bliss and I felt so balanced and joyful. Somehow that all goes hand in hand with my appetite. The longer I’m here the less I need to eat, which is always a good sign in my case, as I normally tend to eat more than I should. So, this is a natural development. The other interesting development is that I didn’t have any have menstruation cramps so far. Usually I can’t get through the first day without heavy pain medication and I was afraid first as I purposly didn’t take any with me, cause I wanted to stay away from anything unnatural as much as possible.
Many of the students are here with their partners and it’s interesting for them as they’re not allowed to share a room nor to show any affection. Most of them are ven married. I guess it must be very challenging but exciting, too. Tonite I would have loved to be able to talk to Marty for a bit. But the only possibility to call is from the shop and the shop is full with shopping and giggling fellow Yoga students and I decided to avoid any more phone calls where others are listening as it makes me feel and act akwardly on the phone. I’m gona try to study a little bit the Sanskrit expressions for all those new postures we’re learning, otherwise it’s not gonna be possible to keep up and also not to pass the exam on November 17th. I’m so glad that I came here. Every day shows me more and more how unique this experience is and how much it will shape every single one of us. By the way I love the food here so so much! It’s so delicious and nutricious. Om Shanti


November 14th, Saturday 9.30pm
WOW! What a day! Full of awesomeness, love, silence, spirituality, chanting and more love!
When I woke up in the morning I didn’t even remember that it was my birthday until we were in the Asana class. But then I decided not to tell it around as I didn’t see the point in it. I was so happy anyways I didn’t need or at least didn’t want to ask for any extra birthday-attention. So, I just told Nita and Mag (two of my roommates). After I had a little nap in the afternoon I woke up and found some organic sweets, a CD with YogaNidra on it and a greeting card next to me. It was from Nita and she must have told Ling (our Asana teacher, who is an adorable young lady from Singhapur). Then there was not only one but two specials today. First we all went together to the meditation room and did 108 Mantras for health, which was led by an old Guru-lady. It was amazing. During dinner Kate ( the longterm volunteer here) told us that at 8pm there will be some dancing and singing in the hall. Wow, we were excited about what would be going on. I changed my clothes and wore my Indian weird “costume” in pink and green and went with the girls. It was so awesome. The whole group of teachers and volunteers was on stage including the Guru-lady and played traditional Indian instruments and sang with us. It was so wonderful everybody was clapping hands and smiling into each others faces. Just when I thought this can’t get any better Kate and Prashant (one teacher) came down the stage and encouraged us to dance. We made a huge circle and they showed us some moves, which we did altogether. It was so much fun. Then we sat down again and I got such a moving surprise. Kate took the mic and told everybody that it’s my birthday and everybody started applauding and then singing happy birthday. Oh, it made me so happy to look into so many sincere faces who all wished me the best in this moment. This was probably one of the best birthdays I ever had in my life. It’s gonna be hard to top that. By the way. When I think of what I did last year on my Bday I can only say, how much more different can you spend your birthday? One year in Las Vegas and the next one in an Ashram in India…
Hari Om;)

Sunday November 15th 9pm
I still can’t believe what I’ve just seen!
Our teachers just gave us a little show of what they can perform; which kind of Yogic posture they can do and it was just AMAZING! All these people who walk around during the day and fix your light bulb or clean something or give you a lecture now were standing on stage and let all of us stand there full of awe. I mean one of them did the Scorpion in handstand then he did the locust and lifted up his feet to his head, while was lying on his belly. Do these people have bones?! They told us again and again that this is not Yoga and that we’re NOT supposed to do these things. But, hey you can’t show me a chocolate cake and tell me then that I’m not allowed to eat it…frankly I feel like after watching “Rocky” when I was ten. Obviously I didn’t mature at all, cause I’m so excited still the only thing I can think of is doing Asanas Asanas, Asanas to get better and to do these crazy things. Man! So insane! I’ll load up some pics as soon as I can. Wowwowwow!
Other than that it was a pretty relaxed day today. Also because it was the first time that I could finally sleep for a full night from 11pm to 4.30am. That felt so great. Then we had an Anatomy lesson, where the doctor explained to us why Yoga during menstruation should not be practised, especially not any inverted positions. And, gosh, after today I definitively know that period and Yoga do NOT go together. It’s horrible, cause if you’re really unlucky and you do an iverted posture when you’re menstruating some bloodcells can wander back into your abdominal area and multiply, which causes that whenever you’re menstruating these cells will bleed in your body, too. And there’s no healing for this and hurts so badly! Everybody got so scared after hearing this. He even claimed that any Yoga excersice is absolutely inappropriate and even harmful during your period. After this we (me and two other girls) decided not to take part in the class today, though I think tomorrow I’m gonna participate again, at least slowly. This show tonite won’t let me rest for very long that I know already.
Hari Om
P.S.: How will I sleep tonite with all these Yogabees in my belly?!

16th November 2009 9pm
Today we had a guest lecture by a sports-psychologist who talked about the power of imagination/visualization. Another prove that the “secret” apparently works I guess.
Well, besides this there was nothing really special today. I was very very tired though, so tired that I almost nodded of in the lectures. The Asana classes were nice today and in the evening I practised with my roommates Mag and Nita to be prepared for our Asana-exam tomorrow. At least as much as possible. The good thing is that we’re all more or less in the same shape, so nobody has to feel inferior or so. I could talk to Marty today after a very very long time, finally. I don’t know for how long we didn’t talk, but it feels like ages and then it’s always somehow weired as well to be on the phone surrounded by a crowd of people and having to deal with a super old Indian phone that gives you a connection that really s..ks.Anyways, it was good to hear him for at least some moments, which is better that nothing. Wednesday is our day off and everybody is already looking forward to all the forbidden worldly temptations like: Garlic, internet, onions, chocolate, coffee, chai etc. I gotta go to sleep, my eyes are shutting down.
Hari Om
P.S. Did I ever mention how much I like Gandha? He’s one of our lecturers and coordinator. He’s just a very smart, wise and funny Yogadude! Cool man.

November 17th. 8.30 pm
Yay! The exam is over and everybody is happy, also because tomorrow is our first day off. Yay again. So, the exam was fine I guess, at least it felt alright and to be honest I don’t really care about the points I got. We were tested in a group of 6 people in a separate room and each assessor made us do 2 Asanas each. We’ve been examed in 9 different Asanas plus three rounds of Surya Namaskar (sun salutations). It’s funny how sweaty everybody got eventhough we’re doing these things for 4 hours per day without shweating;) Anyways, I’m happy it’s over and looking forward to tomorrow to do some city browsing in Nasik and to hopefully finally get a cell phone to be a little bit more reachable for all my dearest Schnuffifriends and family. Everybody went up the hill behind our room to watch the sunset and it was so gorgeous. The landscape around the Ashram is just amazing. Tonite everybody was very relaxed and chatty, so that people even talked during dinner, which normally never would happen. I really like our group here. It’s such a good energy!
Hari Om