Yoga, meditation and naturopathy @ kailvayadhana

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Feb. 7th- 8th, 2013

Friday I woke up at the usual time for my morning meditation, 6:00 AM, as it was a chilly brisk morning I decided to stay in bed wrapped in a warm blanket and meditate there. I began my meditation, about being able to be free and let the mind stop controlling my thoughts, actions, feelings and others, by taking a few deep breaths inhaling and exhaling on a count of 4 inhaling deeply holding the air and exhaling on the count to 4. It is an exercise I learned at the pranayama class and I have been using it as a tool to release my nerves, anxieties and worries. It really works! After this breathing. exercise, I listened to the guided meditation by Deeprak Chopra center about letting go of control. It was a good meditation to start the day. Then I did another exercise learned at pranayama. It is to help you be more energetic and awake. You start with a deep inhale and the a deep exhale and then you breathe normally, but when you exhale you do it in short and fast exhales and letting go a whiff of air. After these positive and active early morning rituals , I went to the yoga class. As usual we did a few of the same exercises I had done in the morning and then continued with some back stretches. We did a few more advanced poses and I was really focused on my breathing and therefore I was much more flexible and could do better some of the few poses.
I ate breakfast and then went for a calming morning walk around the ashram. I walked by some indian workers fixing the flower and plant garden of the naturopathy and Ayurveda treatment. There was some rosemary, jazmin, lavender, and other plants and herbs used for medicinal treatments. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze in the air that made the weather the perfect one for a outdoor walk. I saw the british girl and we agreed to go for a walk or rickshaw tour to the little town of Lonavla in the afternoon.
This morning I had a facial steam and neck and hair massage along with an abdomen massage.
The morning flew by quickly and lunch was served and then Nathalie and I headed out in the van of the transportation man (free ride to town but we had to tip him ) to the town. First we drove by some up scale residential area full of big and old house, but very well maintained and they all seemed to be owned by a middle class family. The roads were all broken and covered with dirt, sand from construction and garbage , but if you saw straight ahead you did not see this instead you saw a street with tall trees on each side of the road and so tall and full of leaves that they made a natural tunnel. It was a peaceful calm neighborhood in spite of being only about 5 minutes from the main street to the town. We arrived to a residential area and a family house where the owners had a bags and suitcase shop. Nathalie got a backpack and then we headed into town. We were dropped at a street where we wandered for a bit and saw the rickshaws, crazy driving, lots of street dogs and lots and lots of Chikki vendors. Chikki is an indian snack that looks like a pane of brick and it comes in many flavors and the vendors simply cut it in squares and sell it by kilograms-grams. My friend Agnes recommended it to me and so I went to a shop to get some. My idea was to get some for Kyle but when I asked the flavors they were all with nuts and Kyle is allergic to them so oops sorry Kyle no yummy chikki for you :-( i got some chucolate with nuts , coconut and sesame for me and a few mixed flavors to take to Tim and Agnes, It was very tasty! After a few minutes wandering. We decided to go back to the ashram as it was time for our second treatment.

After the treatment came yoga and then. meditation. I decided to do my own meditation using my podcasts because I barely understood the indian teacher and it was not really what I wanted to do so I walked to the little flower park in the ashram and lay down my sarong and sat down for my private little meditation. The air was cool, but a little bit of the warmth of the sun you could still feel and so it made a great outdoor meditation place and time. this time I meditated about being grateful and thankful for all I have in life and the opportunities I have been give and the people that I have met along the way, specially in my time in China. I felt relaxed and ready for my last day of yoga and meditation a the ashram and for he beginning of a fun adventurous trip through the desert of India with Kyle.

After dinner I went to my room read and watch some science videos and fell asleep in a deep state only to wake up the next morning by the little birds singing awakening and welcoming the new day.

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